Diana Lynn Ossana (born August 24, 1949) is an American writer who has collaborated on writing screenplays, teleplays, and novels with author

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

since they first worked together in 1992, on the semi-fictionalized biography '' Pretty Boy Floyd''. She won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, a

Writers' Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

, a BAFTA Award and a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for her screenplay of Ang Lee's ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written by O ...

'', along with McMurtry and adapted from the short story of the same name by Annie Proulx. She is a published author in her own right of several short stories and essays.

Biography

Ossana was born to an Italian immigrant father, Livio A.A. Ossana, and Marian (Anyan) of Irish/Welsh heritage and raised in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. She attended

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensi ...

, where she double majored in English and political science, and moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in 1977. Ossana first read the Annie Proulx short story ''

'' in the October 13, 1997 issue of The New Yorker magazine. She immediately urged her writing partner McMurtry to read it and asked him if he felt they could write a screenplay based upon the story. McMurtry agreed they could. They wrote Proulx asking her for an option to the short story in order to write a screenplay. Proulx replied that although she did not see the potential for a movie in the story, she would agree to their option. Ossana and McMurtry proceeded to write the script, which they completed in early 1998. Ossana's and McMurtry's screenplay for ''

'' won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) as well as the

for Best Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award. Ossana, a producer on the film, also won the

for Best Drama and a

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

award (shared with James Schamus) for Best Film. The film was released in the United States in December 2005. ''Brokeback'' received widespread critical acclaim and it won the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

(Best Film) award at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

, a Best Film award at the

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

, and the

for Best Picture - Drama. As a producer, Ossana joined cast and crew during the three months of shooting in Canada. She currently resides in Texas.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

*2005: Best Picture (nominated), ''

'' *2005:

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, ''

BAFTA Film Awards

*2005: Best Film, ''

'' *2005: Best Screenplay - Adapted, ''

Golden Globe Awards

*2005:

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

, ''

'' *2005: Best Drama, ''

PGA Awards

*2005: Best Film, ''

WGA Awards

*2005: Best Screenplay - Adapted, ''

References

External links

*
HTML version of production notes for ''Brokeback Mountain''
(with an interview with Ossana about the film and some biographical information)

(with some background information)
"My Time on Brokeback Mountain"
(Essay by Diana Osanna on advocate.com, January 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ossana, Diana Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Eastern New Mexico University alumni American writers of Italian descent Living people American women screenwriters People from St. Louis Writers Guild of America Award winners Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award Golden Globe Award-winning producers American women film producers Film producers from Missouri Screenwriters from Missouri 1949 births 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers