The Scripts Behind the Screen: 2025's Oscar-Nominated Screenplays
Discover 2025's Oscar-nominated screenplays - the brilliant original stories and masterful adaptations competing for Hollywood's top writing honors.
Hey Filmmaker,
It’s a quick one this week.
As Hollywood gears up for its most prestigious night, this year's screenplay nominations showcase extraordinary storytelling talent across original and adapted categories. From introspective character studies to sweeping epics, the nominated scripts demonstrate the power of words to transport audiences into unfamiliar worlds and illuminate the human condition.
The Original Screenplay category features narratives crafted from scratch - personal stories exploring identity, politics, examining power, and intimate dramas capturing universal experiences.
Meanwhile, the Adapted Screenplay nominees transform existing works - novels, plays, and true stories - into cinematic experiences that honor their sources while creating something new.
What unites these ten scripts is their ability to blend traditional storytelling techniques with innovative approaches to character, dialogue, and structure. Each screenplay, regardless of budget or genre, delivers emotional resonance that connects with viewers on a fundamental level.
As we examine these nominated works, we celebrate not just the final films but the countless drafts, revisions, and creative decisions made by screenwriters whose words serve as the blueprint for cinematic excellence.
Enjoy reading them!
-Rekola
Adapted Screenplay
Read the Adapted Screenplay scripts.
A Complete Unknown (Searchlight)
Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Peter Straughan
Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
Screenplay by Jacques Audiard
In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing (A24)
Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield
Original Screenplay
Read the Original Screenplay scripts.
Anora (Neon)
Written by Sean Baker
The Brutalist (A24)
Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain (Searchlight)
Written by Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 (Paramount)
Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum
Co-Written by Alex David
The Substance (Mubi)
Written by Coralie Fargeat
P.S. Catch up on the rest from TheModernFilmmaker.co:
👉 Buy: The Modern Filmmaker’s On Set Filmmaking Dictionary, today.
👉 Some Filmmakers to Know: Jim Jarmusch & Claude Chabrol…
👉 Some Filmmaking Terms: Above-the-Line & Back to First Marks…
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Excellent resource! Pardon the self referencing but you might be interested in my latest project: The Oscar Project - https://open.substack.com/pub/bgullo/p/the-oscar-project?r=1fgsc&utm_medium=ios