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Diana Ossana | |
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| Born | Diana Lynn Ossana (1949-08-24)August 24, 1949 (age 76) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter,producer,novelist |
Diana Lynn Ossana (born August 24, 1949) is an American writer. A published author in her own right of several short stories and essays, she is also known for her collaborations with authorLarry McMurtry, includingLonesome Dove series. She won anAcademy Award, aWriters' Guild of America Award, aBAFTA Award, and aGolden Globe Award for her screenplay ofAng Lee'sBrokeback Mountain.
Ossana was born to anItalian immigrant father, Livio A.A. Ossana, and Marian (Anyan), of Irish/Welsh heritage, and raised inSt. Louis, Missouri. She attendedEastern New Mexico University, where she double majored in English and political science. She moved toArizona in 1977.
Ossana first read theAnnie Proulx short story "Brokeback Mountain" in the October 13, 1997 issue ofThe New Yorker magazine. She immediately urged her writing partner Larry McMurtry to read it, and asked him if he felt they could write a screenplay based on the story. McMurtry agreed they could. They wrote Proulx asking her for an option to the short story in order to write a screenplay. Proulx replied that although she did not see the potential for a movie in the story, she would agree to their option. Ossana and McMurtry proceeded to write the script, which they completed in early 1998. Their screenplay forBrokeback Mountain won theAcademy Award forBest Adapted Screenplay, as well as theGolden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, theBAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and theWriters Guild of America Award. Ossana, a producer of the film, also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Drama and aBest Film award (shared with James Schamus) for Best Film. The film was released in the United States in December 2005.Brokeback received widespread critical acclaim, and won theGolden Lion (Best Film) award at theVenice Film Festival, a Best Film award at the BAFTA Awards, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture - Drama. As a producer, Ossana joined cast and crew during the three months of shooting in Canada.
She currently resides in Arizona.
