# 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 (1994), 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).

## 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.
Roth went to college at the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated in 1966. 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 a DOS program 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 | Uncredited |
| 1979 | The Concorde ... Airport '79 | David Lowell Rich | |
| 1981 | Wolfen | Michael Wadleigh | Uncredited |
| 1985 | Year of the Dragon | Michael Cimino | Uncredited |
| 1987 | Suspect | Peter Yates | |
| 1988 | Memories of Me | Henry Winkler | with Billy Crystal |
| 1993 | Mr. Jones | Mike Figgis | with Michael Cristofer |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1997 | The Postman | Kevin Costner | with Brian Helgeland |
| 1998 | The Horse Whisperer | Robert Redford | with Richard LaGravenese |
| 1999 | The Insider | Michael Mann | with Mann |
| 2001 | Ali | Michael Mann | with Mann, Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson |
| 2005 | Munich | Steven Spielberg | with Tony Kushner |
| 2006 | The Good Shepherd | Robert De Niro | |
| 2007 | Lucky You | Curtis Hanson | with Hanson |
| 2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | David Fincher | |
| 2011 | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Stephen Daldry | |
| 2015 | Ellis | JR | Short film |
| 2018 | A Star Is Born | Bradley Cooper | with 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 |
| 2024 | Here | Robert Zemeckis | with Zemeckis |

### Television

| Year | Title | Writer | Executive Producer | Notes |
| 1972 | The Strangers in 7A | Yes | No | TV movie |
| 1992 | The Heights | Yes | No | Co-creator |
| 1994 | Jane's House | Yes | No | TV movie |
| 2011–2012 | Luck | Yes | Yes | |
| 2013–2017 | House of Cards | No | Yes | |
| 2016–2018 | Berlin Station | No | Yes | |
| 2018 | The Alienist | No | Yes | |
| 2020 | The Alienist: Angel of Darkness | No | Yes | |
| 2024 | Before | No | Yes | |

## Accolades
### Academy Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Adapted Screenplay | Won |
| 2000 | The Insider | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2006 | Munich | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2021 | Mank | Best Picture | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dune | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |

### British Academy Film Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2018 | A Star Is Born | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2021 | Dune | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |

### Critics' Choice Movie Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Writer | Nominated |
| 2012 | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dune | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |

### Golden Globe Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2000 | The Insider | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2006 | Munich | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Nominated |

### Primetime Emmy Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2013 | House of Cards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2014 | House of Cards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2015 | House of Cards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2016 | House of Cards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2017 | House of Cards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Alienist | Outstanding Limited Series | Nominated |

### Producers Guild of America Award

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2014 | House of Cards | Best Episodic Drama | Nominated |
| 2015 | House of Cards | Best Episodic Drama | Nominated |
| 2016 | House of Cards | Best Episodic Drama | Nominated |
| 2017 | House of Cards | Best Episodic Drama | Nominated |

### Satellite Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Screenplay - Adapted | Nominated |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Best Screenplay - Adapted | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dune | Best Screenplay - Adapted | Nominated |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Best Screenplay - Adapted | Nominated |

### Writers Guild of America Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Adapted Screenplay | Won |
| 2000 | The Insider | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2000 | The Insider | Paul Selvin Award | Won |
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2012 | | Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement | Won |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dune | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |