The screenwriter of Conclave has won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, adding to his Golden Globe and BAFTA.
Peter Straughan, who was born in Gateshead, was awarded at the 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles overnight.
Conclave actor Ralph Fiennes congratulated Straughan on the red carpet, saying he was a “great writer and “great man”.
Back on Tyneside, Straughan’s former colleagues said it was a “fantastic” win which proved “this region is full of talented people”.
The film is an adaptation of the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, about the complex and secretive process to elect a new Pope.
In his acceptance speech he thanked “everyone involved” in making Conclave and mentioned his daughter, saying: “Connie, I love you. This is for you.”
Straughan picked up a Golden Globe earlier this year for Conclave, and the Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA for Tinker Taylor Solider Spy in 2012.
Straughan began his writing career at the Live Theatre in Newcastle.
Former artistic director Max Roberts told BBC Radio Newcastle he was a “genuinely lovely man”.
“It’s so good to know that one of the good guys has got the top award.”
Claire Malcolm, the chief executive of New Writing North, which helps develop writers in the region, said it was “brilliant news”.
Straughan was helped by the organisation when he lived on Tyneside.
“The idea that you can go from growing up in Gateshead, learning to write in Newcastle and ending up winning an Oscar and a BAFTA and a Golden Globe is just fantastic,” Ms Malcolm said.
“It proves that it’s possible and it proves that this region is full of talented people.”
Ms Malcolm said it was important to nurture the new generation of writers by providing opportunities.
“Peter didn’t win an Oscar overnight, there’s years of work gone into learning his craft,” she said.
Credit: BBC
