{{primary sources, date=September 2013
The Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards are bestowed annually by the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation, which is funded by a trust established by the Goldwyn family. Started in 1955, the awards are a competitive writing prize open to all University of California students. As of October, 2006, the first prize in the awards is $15,000.
While winners are unknown students when they receive the award, many go on to be prominent writers and filmmakers. Previous award winners include
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
Colin Higgins
Colin Higgins (28 July 1941 – 5 August 1988) was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film ''Harold and Maude'', and for directing the films '' Foul Play' ...
Carroll Ballard
Carroll Ballard (born October 14, 1937) is a retired American film director. He has directed six feature films, including ''The Black Stallion (film), The Black Stallion'' (1979), ''Never Cry Wolf (film), Never Cry Wolf'' (1983), and ''Fly Away ...
, and
Scott Rosenberg
Scott Rosenberg (born April 24, 1963) is an American screenwriter, film producer, and actor.
Life and career
Rosenberg was born in Needham, Massachusetts, to a Jewish family. After high school graduation in 1981, he attended Boston Universit ...
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The final round of the awards are judged by prominent writers, directors, and entertainers, who have included Moss Hart, Billy Wilder, George Stevens,
Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...
,
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...