10 / Jane Goldman / $7 Million
Jane Goldman is the only female screenwriter on list. She started as a journalist, but began writing scripts and producing films in the early 2000’s. As a writer, she’s credited on an impressive list of films, such as “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” “Kick-Ass,” and multiple “X-Men” films, including “X-Men: First Class.”
9 / Shane Black / $16 Million
Shane Black conquered Hollywood at 26 years old with the “Lethal Weapon” screenplay, which brought him $250,000. Black also earned $1.75m for “The Last Boy Scout,” and broke records at the time with the $4m script of “The Long Kiss Goodnight.” Shane was also connected to “Iron Man 3,” co-written with British screenwriter Drew Pearce.
8 / Terry Rossio / $20 Million
Terry Rossio has written classics such as “Aladdin,” “Men in Black,” “Godzilla,” “Shrek,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “National Treasure,” and “Déjà Vu.”
7 / David Koepp / $35 Million
David Koepp has written cinema legends such as “Jurassic Park,” “Spider Man,” “War of the Worlds,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and “Panic Room.”
6 / Adam McKay / $40 Million
Adam McKay is responsible for writing some popular comedies. He works with Will Ferrell all the time and wrote many of the hit movies. McKay’s works also include “Step Brothers,” “Ant-Man,” and the “Big Short.”
5 / Aaron Sorkin / $90 Million
Aaron Sorkin earned his money in writing many successful films, plays and television series. His probably most famous and critically acclaimed TV series is “The West Wing,” which ran on NBC from 1999 to 2006. Other Sorkin’s works include “Moneyball,” “The Newsroom,” “Steve Jobs,” and “Sports Night.”
4 / Joss Whedon / $100 Million
Joss Whedon earned his money from writing multiple DC and Marvel films. Whedon became creator of TV fantasy “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Firefly,” and “Dollhouse,” Marvel’s various “Avengers,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” “Avengers 2” and several TV series.
3 / David E. Kelley / $250 Million
David E. Kelley is well-known for writing story ideas, sometimes writing entire solo episodes. He wrote hundreds of TV episodes over the years. His “The Crazy Ones” (2013) managed to back Robin Williams to a small screen series for the first time since “Mork and Mindy.” Kelley also helped to write the hit TV series “Big Little Lies.”
2 / Seth Macfarlane / $300 Million
Seth Macfarlane is one of the most famous writers on this list. He is not only a writer but also an actor and director. Macfarlane works primarily in the Comedy genre. In 2008, he was handed a $100m, 5-year deal by Fox for his hugely successful trio of comedy shows: “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” and “The Cleveland Show.” Not all of that’s for the writing, but Seth still stands as one very highly paid TV writer ever.
1 / Chuck Lorre / $600 Million
Chuck Lorre has produced, written, and/or directed such hit shows as “Grace Under Fire,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and a Half Men,” and “Mike and Molly.” Since his shows became so popular and aired for years, he earned so huge money and became one of the richest screenwriters in Hollywood.
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