1998
Ring Lardner, Jr. - M*A*S*H, Woman of the Year
1999
Jay Presson Allen - Cabaret, Marnie
2000
Paul Schrader - Raging Bull, Taxi Driver
2001
Walter Bernstein - The Front, Fail Safe
2002
James Schamus - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm
2003
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Howards End, The Remains of the Day
2004
Charlie Kaufman - Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005
Steve Martin - The Jerk, Roxanne
2006
Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor - Sideways, About Schmidt
2007
Robert Benton - Bonnie and Clyde, Kramer vs. Kramer
2008
Judd Apatow - The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up
2009
Harold Ramis - Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters
2010
Barry Levinson - Diner, Avalon
2011
Paul Haggis - Million Dollar Baby, Crash
2012
Nancy Meyers - Private Benjamin, Something's Gotta Give
2013
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle
2014
Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network, The West Wing
2015
Robert Towne - Chinatown, Shampoo
2016
Oliver Stone - Platoon, Scarface
2017
Tom McCarthy - Spotlight, Up, Win Win
2018
Noah Baumbach - The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha, Kicking and Screaming, Greenberg
2019
Leslie Dixon - Mrs. Doubtfire, Hairspray, Limitless
2020
Eric Roth
A Star is Born, Dune, Forrest Gump, The Good Shepard
2022
Barry Jenkins
Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, Medicine for Melancholy