The winners of the 38th USC Libraries Scripter Awards were announced on March 9, 2024, honoring the talents behind both original literary works and their adapted screenplays. Paul Thomas Anderson and Thomas Pynchon took home the award for their collaboration on the film One Battle After Another, while Mike Makowsky and Candice Millard received accolades for the Netflix limited series Death By Lightning.
Anderson’s film, which draws inspiration from Pynchon’s 1990 novel, has garnered significant acclaim. It previously won awards at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards and received 13 Oscar nominations, showcasing its widespread recognition in the industry. The film triumphed over other nominees, including adaptations of Frankenstein, Hamnet, Peter Hujar’s Day, and Train Dreams.
In the episodic series category, Makowsky and Millard were recognized for Death by Lightning, based on Millard’s nonfiction work, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President. The four-part series focuses on the events surrounding the assassination of President James Garfield, portrayed by Michael Shannon, by Charles Guiteau, played by Matthew Macfadyen. This series faced competition from other notable works, including Dark Winds, Dept. Q, Slow Horses, and Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.
The ceremony took place at the university’s Town and Gown ballroom and was hosted by Melissa Just, the dean of USC Libraries. In addition to the screenplay awards, crime writer Michael Connelly received the USC Libraries Scripter Literary Achievement Award for his contributions to the literary community. The honor was presented to him by Titus Welliver, known for his role as Connelly’s iconic character, police detective Harry Bosch, in the Prime Video series.
This year’s Scripter Awards highlighted the importance of both original storytelling and the collaborative efforts in adaptation, celebrating the creative talents that shape the narratives in film and television.
