Screenwriting : Favourite Screenwriters by Rose Drabble

Oliver Stone - for his topics, his mostly realistic dialogue, and intense way of describing his stories, especially "Platoon" Atom Egoyan - for his handling of multiple, often overlapping, storylines (see "Exotica" and "Ararat") Martin McDonagh - for his brilliant comedy, shifting from dark to meta at the drop of a hat, and also his ability to switch from comedy to drama without it being forced or insincere.

I assumed you only meant film, but for television I would include Michael Hirst, Dan Harmon, and David Simon.

Are the Coen brothers too obvious a choice?

And I like the Coens because of their flare with dialogue and memorable characters. And I like the fact that I dislike some of their movies. It seems they write what they want to write instead of just what sells.

William Goldman a legend Stephen Knight a story genius

Billy Wilder, James L Brooks, Horton Foote, Blake Edwards, Colin Higgins, David O Russell - all wonderful at comedy and capturing the bittersweetness of humanity

Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, the Coens. Whoever writes Ahnuld and Stallone's one-liners is a genius.

Federico Fellini, Bernardo Bertolucci, Paul Schrader, Quentin Tarantino, Luc Besson, Shane Black...