Diana Ossana
Encyclopedia
Diana Lynn Ossana is an American
writer who has collaborated on writing screenplays, teleplays, and novels with author Larry McMurtry
since they first worked together in 1992, on the semi-fictionalized biography Pretty Boy Floyd
. She is a published author in her own right of several short stories and essays.
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 Brokeback Mountain
won the Academy Award
for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) as well as the Golden Globe Award
for Best Screenplay and Writers Guild of America
Award. Ossana, a producer on the film, also won the Golden Globe Award
for Best Drama. The film was released in the United States in December 2005. Brokeback received widespread critical acclaim and it won the Golden Lion
(Best Film) award at the Venice Film Festival
and the Golden Globe Award
for Best Picture - Drama. As a producer, Ossana joined cast and crew during the three months of shooting in Canada.
Ossana was born to an Italian
immigrant father and raised in St. Louis, Missouri
. She attended Eastern New Mexico University
in Portales, New Mexico
and has lived in Arizona
since 1977.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer who has collaborated on writing screenplays, teleplays, and novels with author Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
since they first worked together in 1992, on the semi-fictionalized biography Pretty Boy Floyd
Pretty Boy Floyd
Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber. He operated in the West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained heavy press coverage in the 1930s. Like most other prominent outlaws of that era, he was killed by law enforcement officers...
. She is a published author in her own right of several short stories and essays.
Life and career
Ossana first read the Annie Proulx short story Brokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
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 Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
won the Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) as well as the Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Screenplay and Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
Award. Ossana, a producer on the film, also won the Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Drama. The film was released in the United States in December 2005. Brokeback received widespread critical acclaim and it won the Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il 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 distinguished prizes...
(Best Film) award at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
and the Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Picture - Drama. As a producer, Ossana joined cast and crew during the three months of shooting in Canada.
Ossana was born to an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
immigrant father and raised in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. She attended Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University , frequently called Eastern, is a state university in Portales, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, USA...
in Portales, New Mexico
Portales, New Mexico
Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 11,131 at the 2000 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region.Eastern New Mexico...
and has lived in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
since 1977.
Academy Awards
- 2005: Best Film (nominated), Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
- 2005: Best Screenplay - Adapted, Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
BAFTA Film Awards
- 2005: Best Film, Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
- 2005: Best Screenplay - Adapted, Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
Golden Globe Awards
- 2005: Best Screenplay - Adapted, Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
- 2005: Best Drama Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
External links
- HTML version of production notes for Brokeback Mountain (with an interview with Ossana about the film and some biographical information)
- Guide to the Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana papers at Rice University (with some background information)
- "My Time on Brokeback Mountain" (Essay by Diana Osanna on advocate.com, January 2006)