Eric Roth

Eric R. Roth (born March 22, 1945) is an American screenwriter. He has been nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay: Forrest Gump, The Insider (1999), Munich (2005), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), A Star Is Born (2018), and Dune (2021), winning for Forrest Gump; he also earned a Best Picture nomination for producing Mank (2020). Roth also worked on the screenplays for the Oscar-nominated films Ali (2001), Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).

In 2026, Roth made his playwriting debut on London's West End with his stage adaptation of High Noon.

Early life and education Roth was born in New York City, New York, into a Jewish family, the son of Miriam "Mimi", a teacher, studio executive, and radio writer, and Leon Roth, a university teacher and film producer. He grew up in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in New York. He grew up boxing and would credit some of his later successes to habits learned from the sport. He later attended UCLA Film School as part of the class of 1973.

Career Roth won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump. He is known for writing his scripts in an obsolete MS-DOS application called Movie Master without Internet access and distributing the scripts only in hard copy formats. He followed his Academy Award win by co-writing screenplays for several Oscar-nominated films, including The Insider, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and A Star Is Born. While writing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he lost both of his parents, and as a result views the film as "my most personal movie."

Personal life Roth lives in Santa Monica, California. He has five children, including documentary filmmaker Vanessa Roth, and filmmakers Geoffrey Roth and Alec Roth; and six grandchildren.

Roth was one of the investors defrauded by Bernard Madoff in a Ponzi scheme via Stanley Chais. He stated that his losses were heavy and he has lost his retirement money, although the full extent is unknown. As a result of the fraud and the associated losses, Roth sued the estate of Chais, who died on September 26, 2010.

Filmography Film As writer Year Title Director Notes 1970 To Catch a Pebble James F. Collier 1974 The Nickel Ride Robert Mulligan 1975 The Drowning Pool Stuart Rosenberg Uncredited 1979 The Onion Field Harold Becker The Concorde... Airport '79 David Lowell Rich 1981 Wolfen Michael Wadleigh Uncredited 1985 Year of the Dragon Michael Cimino 1987 Suspect Peter Yates 1988 Memories of Me Henry Winklerwith Billy Crystal 1993 Mr. Jones Mike Figgiswith Michael Cristofer 1994 Forrest Gump Robert Zemeckis 1997 The Postman Kevin Costnerwith Brian Helgeland 1998 The Horse Whisperer Robert Redfordwith Richard LaGravenese 1999 The Insider Michael Mannwith Mann 2001 Aliwith Mann, Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson 2005 Munich Steven Spielbergwith Tony Kushner 2006 The Good Shepherd Robert De Niro 2007 Lucky You Curtis Hansonwith Hanson 2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button David Fincher 2011 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Stephen Daldry 2015 Ellis JRShort film 2018 A Star Is Born Bradley Cooperwith Cooper and Will Fetters 2020 Mank David Fincher Uncredited; also producer 2021 Dune Denis Villeneuve with Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts 2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese with Scorsese 2024 Dune: Part Two Denis Villeneuve Additional literary material Here Robert Zemeckis with Zemeckis

Television

Awards and nominations Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. Academy Awards 1994 Best Adapted Screenplay Forrest Gump 1999 The Insider 2005 Munich 2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2018 A Star Is Born 2020 Best Picture Mank 2021 Best Adapted Screenplay Dune British Academy Film Awards 1995 Best Adapted Screenplay Forrest Gump 2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2018 A Star Is Born 2021 Dune Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2009 Best Writer The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2012 Best Adapted Screenplay Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 2019 A Star Is Born 2022 Dune 2024 Killers of the Flower Moon Golden Globe Awards 1994 Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Forrest Gump 1999 The Insider 2005 Munich 2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Primetime Emmy Awards 2013 Outstanding Drama Series House of Cards 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Outstanding Limited Series The Alienist 2026 Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special The Oscars Producers Guild of America Awards 2014 Best Episodic Drama House of Cards 2015 2016 2017 Satellite Awards 2008 Best Screenplay - Adapted The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2019 A Star Is Born 2022 Dune 2024 Killers of the Flower Moon Writers Guild of America Awards 1994 Best Adapted Screenplay Forrest Gump 1999 Best Adapted Screenplay The Insider Paul Selvin Award 2008 Best Adapted Screenplay The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2011 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement 2018 Best Adapted Screenplay A Star Is Born 2021 Best Adapted Screenplay Dune 2023 Best Adapted Screenplay Killers of the Flower Moon