MANCHESTER BY THE SEA's Kenneth Lonergan Wins Oscar for Best Original Screenplay

Kenneth Lonergan has won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for MANCHESTER BY THE SEA. His first play, The Rennings Children, was chosen for the Stephen Sondheim-founded Young Playwrights Inc. Young Playwright's Festival in 1982 while he was still an undergraduate. Lonergan's first theatrical success came with the play This is Our Youth (1996); it was followed by The Waverly Gallery (1999), based on his grandmother's Greenwich Village gallery, and later Lobby Hero (2002). His play The Starry Messenger premiered Off-Broadway in 2009 and starred Matthew Broderick.

Lonergan's film career began with his screenplay for the comedy Analyze This (1999). He went on to direct his own screenplay for You Can Count On Me (2000); the film, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, went on to be nominated for and receive numerous writing awards. In 2005, filming took place for his second film as writer/director, Margaret, starring Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, and J. Smith-Cameron.

Lonergan wrote and directed Manchester by the Sea, which was released in 2016 to critical acclaim. He also had a small part in the film, as a pedestrian.

Photo: ABC/Eddy Chen