Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) 1990-2008

1990s

• 1990 (63rd) Dances with Wolves - Michael Blake from the novel by Michael Blake
  • Awakenings - Steven Zaillian from the book by Oliver Sacks M.D.
  • Goodfellas - Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese from the novel Wise Guy by Nicholas Pileggi
  • The Grifters - Donald E. Westlake from the novel by Jim Thompson
  • Reversal of Fortune - Nicholas Kazan from the novel by Alan M. Dershowitz

From 1991 the category became Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published:

• 1991 (64th) The Silence of the Lambs - Ted Tally from the novel by Thomas Harris
  • Europa Europa - Agnieszka Holland from the autobiography by Solomon Perel
  • Fried Green Tomatoes - Fannie Flagg, Carol Sobieski (posthumous nomination), from the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
  • JFK - Oliver Stone, Zachary Sklar from the novel Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs and the novel On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison
  • The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy, Becky Johnston from the novel by Pat Conroy

1992 (65th) Howards End - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by E.M. Forster

• Enchanted April - Peter Barnes from the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim
• The Player - Michael Tolkin from the novel by Michael Tolkin
• A River Runs Through It - Richard Friedenberg from the story by Norman Maclean
• Scent of a Woman - Bo Goldman from the novel Il Buio E Il Miele by Giovanni Arpino

1993 (66th) Schindler's List - Steven Zaillian from the novel by Thomas Keneally

• The Age of Innocence - Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese from the novel by Edith Wharton
• In the Name of the Father - Terry George, Jim Sheridan from the autobiography Proved Innocent by Gerry Conlon
• The Remains of the Day - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Shadowlands - William Nicholson from his play

1994 (67th) Forrest Gump - Eric Roth from the novel by Winston Groom

• The Madness of King George - Alan Bennett from the play The Madness of George III by Alan Bennett
• Nobody's Fool - Robert Benton from the novel by Richard Russo
• Quiz Show - Paul Attanasio from the novel by Richard N. Goodwin
• The Shawshank Redemption - Frank Darabont from the short story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

1995 (68th) Sense and Sensibility - Emma Thompson from the novel by Jane Austen

• Apollo 13 - William Broyles, Jr., Al Reinert from the novel Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger
• Babe - George Miller, Chris Noonan from the novel The Sheep Pig by Dick King-Smith
• Leaving Las Vegas - Mike Figgis from the novel by John O'Brien
• Il Postino - Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, Massimo Troisi (posthumous nomination), from the novel Ardiente Paciencia by Antonio Skármeta

1996 (69th) Sling Blade - Billy Bob Thornton from the play by Billy Bob Thornton

• The Crucible - Arthur Miller from his play
• The English Patient - Anthony Minghella from the novel by Michael Ondaatje
• Hamlet - Kenneth Branagh from the play by William Shakespeare
• Trainspotting - John Hodge from the novel by Irvine Welsh

1997 (70th) L.A. Confidential - Curtis Hanson, Brian Helgeland from the novel by James Ellroy

• Donnie Brasco - Paul Attanasio from the novel Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley
• The Sweet Hereafter - Atom Egoyan from the novel by Russell Banks
• Wag the Dog - Hilary Henkin, David Mamet from the novel American Hero by Larry Beinhart
• The Wings of the Dove - Hossein Amini from the novel by Henry James

1998 (71st) Gods and Monsters - Bill Condon from the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram

• Out of Sight - Scott Frank from the novel by Elmore Leonard
• Primary Colors - Elaine May from the novel by Joe Klein
• A Simple Plan - Scott B. Smith from the novel by Scott B. Smith
• The Thin Red Line - Terrence Malick from the novel by James Jones

1999 (72nd) The Cider House Rules - John Irving from the novel by John Irving

• Election - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor from the novel by Tom Perrotta
• The Green Mile - Frank Darabont from the novel by Stephen King
• The Insider - Eric Roth and Michael Mann from the article The Man Who Knew Too Much by Marie Brenner
• The Talented Mr. Ripley - Anthony Minghella from the novel by Patricia Highsmith

2000s

• 2000 (73rd) Traffic - Stephen Gaghan from the teleplay Traffik by Simon Moore
  • Chocolat - Robert Nelson Jacobs from the novel by Joanne Harris
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Hui-Ling Wang, James Schamus and Kuo Jung Tsai from the novel by Du Lu Wang
  • O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Joel & Ethan Coen from the poem Odyssey by Homer
  • Wonder Boys - Steve Kloves from the novel by Michael Chabon

• 2001 (74th) A Beautiful Mind - Akiva Goldsman from the biography by Sylvia Nasar
  • Ghost World - Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff from several comic book stories by Daniel Clowes
  • In the Bedroom - Todd Field and Robert Festinger from the short story Killings by Andre Dubus
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson from the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Shrek - Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman and Roger S. H. Schulman from the children's book by William Steig

From 2002 the category was renamed Adapted Screenplay:

• 2002 (75th) The Pianist - Ronald Harwood from the book by Władysław Szpilman
  • About a Boy - Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz from the novel by Nick Hornby
  • Adaptation. - Charlie Kaufman from the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
  • Chicago - Bill Condon from the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins
  • The Hours - David Hare from the novel by Michael Cunningham

• 2003 (76th) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson from the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
  • American Splendor - Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini from the comic book series by Harvey Pekar and the comic book series Our Cancer Year by Joyce Brabner
  • City of God - Bráulio Mantovani from the novel by Paulo Lins
  • Mystic River - Brian Helgeland from the novel by Dennis Lehane
  • Seabiscuit - Gary Ross from the book by Laura Hillenbrand

• 2004 (77th) Sideways - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor from the novel by Rex Pickett
  • Before Sunset - Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke from a story by Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan
  • Finding Neverland - David Magee from the play by Allan Knee
  • Million Dollar Baby - Paul Haggis from Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner by F.X. Toole
  • The Motorcycle Diaries - José Rivera from the books Con el Che por America Latina by Alberto Granado and The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara

• 2005 (78th) Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from the short story by Annie Proulx
  • A History of Violence - Josh Olson from the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke
  • Capote - Dan Futterman from the book by Gerald Clarke
  • The Constant Gardener - Jeffrey Caine from the novel by John le Carré
  • Munich - Tony Kushner and Eric Roth from the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas

• 2006 (79th) The Departed - William Monahan from the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. At the 79th Oscar Award night, the Commentator incorrectly stated that the movie was adapted from a Japanese film. Director Martin Scorsese corrected the error when he received his Oscar for Best Director.
  • Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Sacha Baron Cohen, Peter Baynham, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips from the TV series Da Ali G Show
  • Children of Men - Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby from the novel The Children of Men by P. D. James
  • Notes on a Scandal - Patrick Marber from the novel by Zoë Heller
  • Little Children - Todd Field and Tom Perrotta from the novel by Tom Perrotta

• 2007 (80th) No Country for Old Men - Joel & Ethan Coen from the novel by Cormac McCarthy
  • Atonement - Christopher Hampton from the novel by Ian McEwan
  • Away from Her - Sarah Polley from the short story, "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro
  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Ronald Harwood from the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby
  • There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson from the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair

• 2008 (81st) Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy from Q & A (the novel) by Vikas Swarup
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth and Robin Swicord from the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • Doubt - John Patrick Shanley from his stage play
  • Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan from his stage play
  • The Reader - David Hare from the novel by Bernhard Schlink