As I have stated in a series of articles not yet transcribed to this blog, a good adaptation is not necessarily a literal one but a vital and cinematically compelling and vibrant one. In these winners I feel there is communicated more story than is written on the screenplay’s page, hints at other avenues and imbues within its narrative a spirit of a story that was not originally written for the screen but was made so through much thought, love and skill.

2023 Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach Barbie

2022 David Cronenberg Crimes of the Future

2021 Claudia Llosa and Samanta Schweblin Fever Dream

2020 Richard Stanley, Scarlett Amaris, and H.P. Lovecraft Color Out of Space 

2019 Gary Dauberman and Stephen King It: Chapter 2

2018 Jan Švankmajer and Karel Čapek and Josef Čapek Insect

2017 Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman, and Stephen King It

2016  David Lowery & Toby Holbrooks, Malcolm Marmostein, Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field Pete’s Dragon

2015 Aferim! Radu Jude and Florin Lazarescu

2014 The Drop Dennis Lehane

2013 Broken Mark O’ Rowe and Daniel Clay

2012 North Sea Texas Bavo Dafurne and André Sollie

2011 Hugo John Logan and Brian Selznick

2010 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and Michael Petroni and C.S. Lewis

2009 Where the Wild Things Are Spike Jonze, David Eggers and Maurice Sendak

 

2008 Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) Johan Ajvide Lindqvist

2007 Day Watch (Dnevno bazar) Timur Bekmambetov, Alexander Talal, Vladimir Vasiliev and Sergei Luyanenko

2006 Running with Scissors Ryan Murphy and Augusten Burroughs

2005 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Anne Peacock and Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and C.S. Lewis

2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Steven Kloves and J.K. Rowling

2003 Peter Pan PJ Hogan and Michael Goldenberg

2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Steven Kloves and J.K. Rowling

2001 Artificial Intelligence: A.I. Ian Watson, Steven Spielberg and Brian Aldiss

2000 Titus Julie Taymor and William Shakespeare

1999 The Butcher Boy Neil Jordan and Patrick McCabe

1998 The Mighty Charles Leavitt and Rodman Philbrick

1997 Contact James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg, Anne Druyan and Carl Sagan

1996 Harriet the Spy Greg Taylor and Julie Talen, Douglas Petrie and Theresa Rebeck and Louise Fitzhugh