Wu Nien-jen (; born August 5, 1952 in Rueifang, Taipei County, Taiwan) is a famous scriptwriter, director, and author from Taiwan. He is one of the most prolific and highly regarded scriptwriters in the country and a leading member of the New Taiwanese Cinema, although he also acted in a number of films. He starred in Edward Yang's 2000 film Yi Yi.

Biography

Wu was born in a coal miner's family. He started writing short stories for newspapers in 1975, when he was still an accounting major in college. After penning his first screenplay in 1978, Wu entered Central Motion Picture Corporation as a creative supervisor and worked with several leading Taiwanese New Wave directors such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang. Wu has since wrote more than 70 screenplays that were made into films, and has become one of the leading artists of the Taiwanese Cinema of the 1980s. Wu has also set the record for winning the most Golden Horse Awards to date (Taiwan's Film Awards), including a collaboration with the internationally acclaimed Hong Kong director Anne Hui on her film Song of Exile aka Ketu qiuhen (1990). His novels and screenplays have also made him one of Taiwan's best-selling authors.