---
name: "Melissa Mathison"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/melissa-mathison"
fi1m_id: "melissa-mathison"
imdb_id: "nm0558953"
tmdb_id: 9964
wikidata_id: "Q435696"
roles: ["Writer","Producer"]
born: "3 June 1950"
died: "4 November 2015"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-07T04:24:25.209092+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Melissa Mathison

## Identity

Melissa Mathison

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/melissa-mathison
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** melissa-mathison
- **IMDb ID:** nm0558953
- **TMDB ID:** 9964
- **Wikidata ID:** Q435696
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Mathison, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q435696, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558953/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9964

Writer and producer. Born 3 June 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 4 November 2015.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 3 June 1950, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 4 November 2015
- **Active:** 1979–2016
- **Also known as:** Melissa Marie Mathison
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 5 writing, 1 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Steven Spielberg](https://film.one/person/steven-spielberg.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as writer, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 90 (2), 1980s 77 (2), 1990s 73 (1), 2010s 64 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 75 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Adventure 3, Family 3, Fantasy 2, Science Fiction 2, Drama 1, History 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,065m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Mathison, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q435696, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558953/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9964

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial.md) (91), [*The BFG*](https://film.one/film/the-bfg.md) (64)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Black Stallion*](https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion.md) (87)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Twilight Zone: The Movie*](https://film.one/film/twilight-zone-the-movie.md) (63)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Melissa Mathison was an American screenwriter. She wrote the screenplay for *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982), directed by Steven Spielberg, for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. She also wrote the screenplays for *The Black Stallion* (1979), *Twilight Zone: The Movie* (1983), *The Indian in the Cupboard* (1995), *Kundun* (1997) and *The BFG* (2016).

Mathison began her career as an assistant to Francis Ford Coppola. She collaborated several times with Spielberg and was married to actor Harrison Ford from 1983 to 2004.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

### Wrote (5) — the average rests on these

- *The BFG* (2016), Fi1m 64, Associate Producer, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-bfg.md)
- *Kundun* (1997), Fi1m 73, Screenplay, Co-Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/kundun.md)
- *Twilight Zone: The Movie* (1983), Fi1m 63, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/twilight-zone-the-movie.md)
- *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982), Fi1m 91, as Elliot's School Nurse (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial.md)
- *The Black Stallion* (1979), Fi1m 87, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion.md)

### Produced (1)

- *Apocalypse Now* (1979), Fi1m 92, Executive Assistant — [page](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md)

## Complete filmography (9)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The BFG* (2016), Screenplay, Associate Producer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/the-bfg.md)
- *Kundun* (1997), Screenplay, Co-Producer — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/kundun.md)
- *The Indian in the Cupboard* (1995), Screenplay
- *Son of the Morning Star* (1991), series, Teleplay
- *Twilight Zone: The Movie* (1983), Screenplay — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/twilight-zone-the-movie.md)
- *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982), as Elliot's School Nurse (uncredited) · Associate Producer, Writer — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial.md)
- *The Escape Artist* (1982), Screenplay
- *The Black Stallion* (1979), Screenplay — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion.md)
- *Apocalypse Now* (1979), Executive Assistant — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1983: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Light of Truth Award 1998: Light of Truth Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/melissa-mathison