The Writers Guild of America published last week the list of ‘101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (so far)’ based on a poll voted by its members, with Jordan Peele’s Get Out in the number one spot. Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón notably tied for the most ranked entries with American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. Cuarón was included in the list with his screenplays for Children of Men (2006), Roma (2018), and Y Tu Mamá También (2001) solidifying his position as one of the most accomplished screenwriters at work today according to the Writers Guild of America.
Ranking in 18th place, Cuarón shares the screenwriting credits for Children of Men with Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby. Based on the novel The Children of Men by British novelist P.D. James, the critically-acclaimed sci-fi thriller was nominated for the three Academy Awards, including for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing. The film was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards, taking home accolades for Best Cinematography and Best Production Design. In 2016, the BBC voted Children of Men number 13 on their list of the best 100 films of the 21st Century.
Ranking in 62nd place and written and directed by Cuarón, Roma made history as it dominated the 91st Academy Awards with ten nominations, becoming the first Mexican entry to win in the category for Best Foreign Language Film and the first foreign language film to also win for Best Director. Not to be overlooked, Roma also won for Best Cinematography, marking the first time a director has won the award for Best Cinematography for his own film. Roma is tied with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) for the most Academy Award nominations ever received by a non-English language film.
Ranking in 86th place, directed by Cuarón and co-written with his brother Carlos Cuarón, Y Tu Mamá También is recognized as one of the landmark Latin American films responsible for ushering in a new wave of international cinema and which helped put Latin America firmly on the cinematic map at the turn of the 21st century. The 2001 smash hit road movie broke Mexican box office records for a domestic film and became the second-highest grossing Spanish-language film in the United States at the time. The Cuarón brothers won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice International Film Festival for Y Tu Mamá También and were nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 75th Academy Awards.
Marking a notable moment for the recognition of Mexican directors’ significant contributions to international cinema, Cuarón is joined on the WGA list by fellow Mexican heavyweights Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu. Del Toro’s screenplay for the Academy Award-winning Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) has ranked in 36th place, while Iñárritu’s Birdman (2014) has ranked 51st. Iñárritu shared the screenwriting credit for Birdman with Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bó.
To check out the rest of the scripts that ranked in the top 101 of the 21st century, visit the WGA site.
