Melissa Marie Mathison (June 3, 1950 – November 4, 2015) was an American film and television screenwriter and an activist for the Tibetan independence movement. She was best known for writing the screenplays for the films The Black Stallion (1979) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the latter of which earned her the Saturn Award for Best Writing and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Mathison later wrote The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), based on Lynne Reid Banks's 1980 children's novel of the same name, and Kundun (1997), a biographical-drama film about the Dalai Lama. Her final film credit was The BFG (2016), which marked her third collaboration with film director Steven Spielberg. Description above from the Wikipedia article Melissa Mathison, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- June 3, 1950
- November 4, 2015 (aged 65)
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Writer, producer and actor
- 8 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
What are Melissa Mathison's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 2
A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 1
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Melissa Mathison's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on MGM+ (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Melissa Mathison's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
9 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The BFG(2016)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Kundun(1997)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Son of the Morning Star (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Twilight Zone: The Movie(1983)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Escape Artist(1982)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
The Black Stallion(1979)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Apocalypse Now(1979)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles from 1979 to 2016.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
1 major award from 5 major nominations, 1983–2016.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · BAFTA Kids Vote - Feature Film
- Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
- Golden Globe, nominated · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay
+1 other major body · 1 win
- Writers Guild Award, won · Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Melissa Mathison's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 69th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 8 titles divides audiences: 3 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 57/100 and the plot and story 48/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Melissa Mathison's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films and violence & gore and sex & nudity lighter.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Melissa Mathison work with?
People who share at least 2 of Melissa Mathison's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kathleen Kennedy shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Steven SpielbergShared titles: The BFG (2016), The Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' (1996), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 4 shared titles with Steven Spielberg
Actors
- Dee WallaceShared titles: The Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' (1996), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Dee Wallace
- Drew BarrymoreShared titles: The Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' (1996), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Drew Barrymore
- Henry ThomasShared titles: The Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' (1996), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Henry Thomas
- Robert MacNaughtonShared titles: The Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' (1996), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Robert MacNaughton
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- John WilliamsShared titles: The BFG (2016), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 2 shared titles with John Williams
- Michael KahnShared titles: The BFG (2016), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Kahn
- Allen DaviauShared titles: Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 2 shared titles with Allen Daviau
Producers
- Kathleen KennedyShared titles: The BFG (2016), The Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' (1996), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)See all 5 shared titles with Kathleen Kennedy
- Frank MarshallShared titles: The BFG (2016), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)See all 3 shared titles with Frank Marshall
- Francis Ford CoppolaShared titles: The Escape Artist (1982), The Black Stallion (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Francis Ford Coppola
- Fred RoosShared titles: The Escape Artist (1982), The Black Stallion (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Fred Roos
Mixed roles
- Caleb DeschanelShared titles: The Escape Artist (1982), The Black Stallion (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Caleb Deschanel
