William Goldman

Screenwriter, novelist, playwright, and non-fiction writer, William Goldman has won two Oscars, two Edgars, a WGA award, and a BAFTA award. Among his creations are Marathon Man, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Ghost and the Darkness, and The Princess Bride. His numerous adaptations include All The Presidents’ Men, Misery, Absolute Power, and Hearts in Atlantis. He also wrote the hugely popular book, Adventures in the Screen Trade, and coined the phrase, “Nobody in Hollywood knows anything.” We were honored to have him back at the Screenwriting Expo again last year.

John August

Expo 4 Fantasy Writer of the Year

After earning a journalism degree from Drake University, John August moved to the West Coast to earn an MFA in film from USC. He landed his first big screen credit in 1999 with the young and hip Go. A year later, he showed his versatility with the animated Titan A.E. and the action flick Charlie’s Angels. August continued to cross the genre barrier in 2003 with his adaptation of the fantasy drama Big Fish for Tim Burton. August later teamed up with Burton again for the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride in 2005. Read his blog at johnaugust.com.

Susannah Grant

Susannah Grant’s first writing gig came in 1994 when she landed a spot on the TV series Party of Five. After producing and directing for the show, Grant crossed over to features with Pocahontas (1995) for Disney. She later freshened up the classic fairy tale Cinderella with the 1998 fantasy romance Ever After. Next came the Sandra Bullock alcohol rehab flick 28 Days, which she followed up in 2000 with the based-on-a-true-story hit Erin Brockovich for director Steven Soderbergh. Grant wrote the original script and made her feature directing debut in 2005 with the drama romance Catch and Release, which stars Jennifer Garner. She also adapted Charlotte’s Web for Paramount, which is set for release in 2006.

Paul Haggis

Expo 4 Breakthrough Writer/Director of the Year

After a long career in TV, Paul Haggis broke into the feature film world in 2004 with his Academy Award nominated adaptation Million Dollar Baby. Haggis merged a number of short stories from the same book to write Baby, which won interest from director Clint Eastwood and later Best Picture honors. Haggis followed up with the co-written original screenplay Crash, which opened to wide audiences in April. His partnership with Eastwood continues with his scripting of Flags of Our Fathers, the true story of six men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. Haggis is also co-writing a script with Steven Spielberg for DreamWorks, as well as planning his third project with Eastwood at Warner Bros. Haggis is best known in the TV world for creating the show EZ Street. He has received many awards, including two Emmys and the Humanitas Prize.

David Koepp

Expo 4 Tentpole Writer of the Decade

Hailing from Wisconsin, David Koepp has earned writing credits on more than 15 films, including such mega-hits as Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, and most recently War of the Worlds. After graduating from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, Koepp made his first big splash with Jurassic Park for Steven Spielberg in 1993. He went on to rack up seven produced credits in a three-year span, including the journalism drama The Paper and the action-packed Mission: Impossible in 1996. After his successful comic book adaptation of Spider-Manin 2002, Koepp partnered with Spielberg again in 2005 for the alien-invasion epic War of the Worlds. Koepp also created the TV series Hack for CBS.

Ehren Kruger

Expo 4 Genre Writer of the Year

Ehren Kruger beat out thousands of aspiring writers in 1996 when his script Arlington Road won the Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. A rarity even for contest winners, Road reached the big screen in 1999 with an all-star cast headed by Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins. Kruger further established himself in Hollywood with writing credits on Scream 3, Reindeer Games, and Impostor. But his largest success came in 2002 with the popular horror film The Ring, which he adapted from the original Japanese film. 2005 saw the release of three of Kruger’s films: The Ring Two, The Skeleton Key, and Brothers Grimm. What a year!

Don Roos

Expo 4 Comedy Writer of the Year

A graduate of Notre Dame University, Don Roos broke into TV in 1979 as a staff writer on Hart to Hart. He then wrote on shows Paper Dolls and The Colbys, before jumping to features in 1992 with the thriller Single White Female. He’s gone on to write Boys on the Side, The Opposite of Sex, and Bounce (directing the latter two). He most recently wrote and directed the dramedy Happy Endings which opened the Sundance Film Festival this year. Roos won two Independent Spirit Awards in 1999, including Best Screenplay for The Opposite of Sex.

Joss Whedon

Expo 4 Science Fiction Writer of the Year

Third-generation television writer Joss Whedon began his career on Roseanne, where he served as both writer and story editor. Landing his first big-screen credit with Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1992, Whedon received a 1996 Oscar nomination for writing Pixar's animated blockbuster Toy Story. Returning to his TV roots, Whedon resurrected Buffy for the WB in 1997. Buffy would go on to run seven seasons on two networks, earning Whedon an Emmy nomination for writing the episode "Hush," and birthing the successful spinoff series Angel. 2005 marked Whedon's feature directorial debut, Serenity, based on his short-lived sci-fi space Western Firefly. Upcoming projects include the highly anticipated comic book adaptation Wonder Woman, and his supernatural thriller Goners.