“Writing a screenplay needs to be more than words on a page - and by the way, I think the words on the page are something you have to try to execute on the highest level you can; I'm not dismissing that by any regard.”

American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner

John Ridley is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner. He is known for writing 12 Years a Slave, which won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and for creating and running the anthology series American Crime. Ridley has worked across film and television as both a writer and director. He directed the documentary Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982 to 1992 in 2017, and his work is closely associated with drama rooted in history, race, and American life.