Diane Thomas

Who was Diane Thomas?

Diane Thomas was a screenwriter. She was working as a waitress while writing scripts and then had the opportunity to pitch the script for Romancing the Stone to customer Michael Douglas who then bought, produced, and starred in the film with Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.

Diane Thomas died in a car accident in October 1985; only six weeks before the sequel to Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile was released. Ms. Thomas was busy writing for the movie Always for Steven Spielberg and was not available to write Jewel of the Nile. She was also working on a sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark before she died.

In the Special Edition of Romancing the Stone DVD, Michael Douglas stated in an interview that he had purchased a Porsche for Thomas as a present for her work with him on Romancing and help with scenes on Jewel of the Nile. Thomas was a passenger in the Porsche, while her companion driving it caused the accident, killing her instantly. The accident, according to Michael Douglas, occurred on the Pacific Coast Highway. The companion was identified as male and was driving while intoxicated.

Following her death, the UCLA Extension Writers' Program created the Diane Thomas Screenwriting Awards in her honor. Original judges included Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, James Brooks and Kathleen Kennedy.