Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Penny Marshall’s Big (1988), with Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, David Moscow, John Heard, and Robert Loggia. He received a second Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Ivan Reitman’s Dave (1993), with Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Laura Linney, Ving Rhames, Charles Grodin, and Ben Kingsley.
Other screenplay credits include Fred Schepisi’s Mr. Baseball (1992), with Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Dennis Haysbert, and Aya Takanashi;Daniel Petrie’s Lassie (1994), with Tom Guiry, Helen Slater, Jon Tenney, Frederic Forrest, Richard Farnsworth, and Michelle Williams; the animated film The Tale of Despereaux (2008), with Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Kline, Frank Langella, William H. Macy, Tracey Ullman, Christopher Lloyd, Stanley Tucci, Tony Hale, Charles Shaughnessy, James Nesbitt, Bronson Pinchot, Emma Watson, Ciarán Hinds, and Weaver; and and Rupert Wyatt’s Desert Warrior (2025), with Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Sharlto Copley, Ghassan Massoud, Sami Bouajila, Lamis Ammar, Géza Röhrig, Kingsley, and Numan Acar. He was also a co-producer on Jonathan Lynn’s Trial and Error (1997), with Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels, Charlize Theron, Jessica Steen, Austin Pendleton, Rip Torn, Jennifer Coolidge, and Max Casella.
He made his directorial debut on Pleasantville (1998), with Tobey Maguire, Daniels, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, J.T. Walsh, Reese Witherspoon, Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Marley Shelton, and Jane Kaczmarek. He received two more Academy Award nominations (Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture) for Seabiscuit (2003), with Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Gary Stevens, and Macy.
His other directorial efforts include The Hunger Games (2012), with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Tucci, and Donald Sutherland; The Free State of Jones (2016), with Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, and Keri Russell; and Ocean’s 8 (2018), with Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Big (1988) – directed by Penny Marshall – co-writer, co-producer
- Mr. Baseball (1992) – directed by Fred Schepisi – co-writer
- Dave (1993) – directed by Ivan Reitman – writer
- Lassie (1994) – directed by Daniel Petrie – co-writer
- Trial and Error (1997) – directed by Jonathan Lynn – co-producer
- Pleasantville (1998)* – producer, writer, director
- Seabiscuit (2003)* – producer, writer, director
- The Tale of Despereaux (2008) – directed by Sam Fell & Rob Stevenhagen – co-producer, writer
- The Hunger Games (2012) – co-writer, director
- The Free State of Jones (2016) – co-producer, writer, director
- Ocean’s 8 (2018) – director, co-writer, story
- Desert Warrior (2025) – directed by Rupert Wyatt – co-writer
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