With a writing career spanning over half a century, Eric Roth has collaborated with some of Hollywood’s finest directors and actors. His versatility as a writer has seen him deliver award-nominated screenplays across several genres. As such, Roth is unarguably one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood.
While the list focuses on his solo-written screenplays and those co-written with the film’s directors, Roth has also co-written other successful screenplays. Notable mentions are The Horse Whisperer (1998), Ali (2001), Munich (2005), A Star Is Born (2018), and Dune (2021). With over 20 credited works as a film writer, these are Eric Roth’s top 6 screenplays.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Eric Roth’s Forrest Gump (1994) screenplay was far from being his first written and produced screenplay. However, it became his career breakthrough screenplay. Forrest Gump became the second-highest-grossing film of 1994 and received numerous nominations and wins, including Best Picture at the 67th Academy Awards. Roth had based this screenplay on Winston Groom‘s 1986 novel of the same name.
However, he made substantial differences to the novel’s story, giving the film a unique spin to it. The Tom Hanks-led cast of Forrest Gump was produced on a $55 million budget but grossed $678.2 million at the Box Office. The Library of Congress selected Forrest Gump for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. Eric Roth received his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, coincidentally his only Oscar win.
The Insider (1999)
Eric Roth ended the 90s with his co-written drama screenplay for The Insider (1999). Academy Award-nominated director Michael Mann directed the screenplay, starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and Christopher Plummer. The Insider was far from being a box-office success, but it was critically acclaimed. Much of the screenplay was based on the Vanity Fair article “The Man Who Knew Too Much” written by Marie Brenner. The film’s screenplay was written by Roth and director Mann. Eric Roth received his second Academy Awards nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. However, he lost to John Irving‘s The Cider House Rules (1999) screenplay. The Insider‘s screenplay was also nominated at the Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Writers Guild of America Awards.
The Good Shepherd (2006)
The Good Shepherd (2006) has a screenplay that was a fictionalized chronicle of the birth of the CIA. Eric Roth’s screenplay attracted a star-studded cast, with Robert De Niro acting and also directing his sophomore feature film. The Good Shepherd‘s iconic top cast included Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, and Joe Pesci. Although released in 2006, Eric Roth had written the screenplay for director Francis Ford Coppola as far back as 1994. Following Coppola’s departure and a change in the studio’s management, Eric Roth was later given the freedom to choose a director to work with to bring his screenplay to life. Roth and Robert De Niro eventually came to an agreement that saw the actor direct and star in the film.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
After The Good Shepherd (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) was Eric Roth’s next solo-written screenplay. Roth adapted his screenplay from F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s 1922 written story of the same name. With the story rights purchased in the mid-80s, several drafts, directors, and actors signed on at different times to work on the project. However, when director Gary Ross was hired to work on the film in 2003, he favored Eric Roth’s new draft. Although director David Fincher eventually replaced Gary Ross, Roth’s screenplay was kept and used.
The Brad Pitt-led cast of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button received mostly positive reviews and earned $335.8 million at the Box Office. The movie had the highest number of nominations at the 81st Academy Awards, including Best Picture. For his screenplay, Eric Roth also received an Oscar nomination. Similarly, he was nominated at the Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, and the Writers Guild of America Awards.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
Eric Roth followed the success of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with the 2011 screenplay for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. After about five years of working to adapt Jonathan Safran Foer‘s 2005 novel, director Stephen Daldry and producer Scott Rudin hired Eric Roth to work on the script. Roth’s screenplay attracted top actors like Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Viola Davis, John Goodman, and Jeffrey Wright. Eric Roth’s screenplay got him a nomination at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Eric Roth’s most recent screenplay is the 2023 epic Western crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon. Roth adapted his screenplay from David Grann‘s 2017 non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro as its cast leads. The film also stars Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser. While the Box Office earnings are still rolling in, Killers of the Flower Moon has received positive reviews from critics. Eric Roth‘s anticipated screenplay is the 2024 drama Here, reuniting Roth, Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks, and Robin Wright since Forrest Gump (1994).
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