The Bo Goldman papers span the years 1958-2014 (bulk 1972-2006) and encompass 51 linear feet. The collection largely contains film scripts and script material written by Goldman alongside research compiled by Goldman during the writing process.

The production files, produced series contains material on 17 films. There are handwritten scripts for CITY HALL (1996), FIRST KNIGHT (1995), GOYA'S GHOST (2006), LITTLE NIKITA (1988), MEET JOE BLACK (1998), ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975), THE PERFECT STORM (1999), RAGTIME (1981), SCENT OF A WOMAN (1992) and SWING SHIFT (1984). MELVIN AND HOWARD the 1980 film based on Howard Hughes and Melvin Dummar is represented by scripts, transcripts of interviews between Goldman and Dummar, and some correspondence. In addition to MELVIN AND HOWARD, Goldman worked on a Howard Hughes biopic as early as 1988 for Warren Beatty. The film was eventually made as RULES DON’T APPLY (2016). SHOOT THE MOON (1982) is represented by scripts, handwritten and typed notes by Bo Goldman to Alan Parker, and publicity.

The often voluminous research material is in the form of books, clippings, compiled topical information, lists, and research notes. The files also contain contracts, correspondence, notes, and publicity.

In addition to writing original screenplays, Goldman is a noted script doctor and a master at rewrites. The collection contains script material representing some such films, including A CHORUS LINE (1985), DICK TRACY (1990), THE FLAMINGO KID (1984), and THE ROSE (1979).

The production files, unproduced files document some two dozen properties that were abandoned at various stages of production. Included are THE ANITA FACTOR, for MGM/UA and Columbia, circa 1984 to 1985. BOTTLED LIGHTENING, beginning in 1975, with Herbert Ross slated to direct at that time. THE COLONEL AND ME, a Jerry Weintraub project based on Weintraub's relationship with Elvis Presley's manager Col. Tom Parker during the time Weintraub worked as a tour promoter. Barry Levinson was set to direct with Jack Nicholson for Warner Bros. in 2003 to 2004.

For a proposed remake of BOOTS MALONE, there are two scripts by Milton Holmes for the 1952 William Dieterle film of the same name. CRY HAVOC, based on the novel by Richard Martin Stern, was in development at MGM in 1964. EVERYTIME WE SAY GOODBYE, a script intended for Goldman to direct around 2006. FINAL PAYMENTS, adapted from the 1978 novel by Mary Gordon, in 1981. THE FOUR HUNDRED, adapted from the 1979 novel by Stephen Sheppard, in 1980.

A musical intended for the stage, "Hurrah Boys Hurrah," also titled "Missouri Waltz" and "Home By Summer," with book and lyrics by Goldman and music by Glenn Paxton, was developed between 1965 and 1970. Possibly considered for the screen as drafts were sent to Fred Coe and Universal.

Goldman worked on a rewrite of IMAGINING NATHAN in 1998 and 1999 for Universal. KID SHELEEN, was intended as a sequel to CAT BALLOU around 1974. "Little Favors," dates from 1978. A proposed remake of LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, was to star Al Pacino. There is also an undated draft titled RUTH ETTING written by David Rabe to be produced by Martin Bregman and directed by Harold Becker. ME FOR YOU, was in development at Paramount in 1985.

Goldman worked on an adaptation of Susan Minot's 1986 novel "Monkeys," for Universal beginning in 1987 and THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD, based on the 1980 novel by Avery Corman, from 1982 to 1983 for 20th Century Fox. Goldman worked on REBEL RAIDER, or REBEL RADIO from 2000 to 2002 for Paramount. The draft in the collection for C/W Productions dates from 2001.

For an intended remake of Jules Dassin's RIFIFI (1955), for director Harold Becker, to star Al Pacino, Goldman worked between 2000 and 2006. SHOUTER, with a script by James Andrew Miller from 1992, was apparently intended for Goldman to direct. TIME STEPS, was a project Goldman begun in 1989, based on the life of Penny Marshall's mother. For THE TRUTH, based on "The Day America Told the Truth" by James Patterson, there are meeting notes and correspondence between Goldman, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Imagine Films in 1991 and 1992. UNDERGROUND, also known as WE THREE, was in development between 1993 and 2005, with director Todd Field attached at one time. A re-imagining of Ingmar Bergman's WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957), never made it into production. It was to star Gregory Peck, and was in development from 1993 to 1995.

The subject files include playscripts, sheet music, and playbills for "First Impressions," written for the stage and dating from the late 1950s; television scripts from 1962 to 1965, including a script by Robert Goldman from 1962 for the Emmy awards; some clippings; and correspondence from 1981, and from 2009 to 2014.

There are a handful of awards in the form of certificates or plaques from the Writers Guild and several other organizations.

Bo Goldman was born Robert Goldman in New York City in 1932. His father, Julian, had been the entrepreneur and founder of a successful department store chain as well as an avid producer of Broadway shows in the 1920s, though he lost practically everything in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Bo Goldman was educated at the Dalton School and the Philip Exeter Academy before attending Princeton University. There he joined the Princeton Triangle Club, a student theater company specializing in musical comedy, and he was elected the club’s president in his senior year in 1953. During that year, he produced and wrote both the script and lyrics for the Triangle Club production “Ham ‘n’ Legs” which was subsequently performed on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW. After graduation, Goldman enlisted in the United States Army and served for three years.

Following his stint in the army, Goldman returned to New York City to write for the theater. He wrote the lyrics for “First Impressions,” a musical adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” but the show closed after twelve days in May 1959. He served as an associate producer on the television series PLAYHOUSE 90 from 1958 to 1959 and worked closely with Fred Coe, who allowed him to attend script conferences and provide input. He later wrote scripts for Coe’s THEATRE ’62 (1961 and 1962) series as well as an episode each for NBC CHILDREN’S THEATRE (1963) and THE DEFENDERS (1964). His work in television was sporadic, and for much of the decade he struggled to find employment. He and his family moved several times, eventually settling in Southern California in the early 1970s.

At this time, Goldman began promoting his original screenplay for SHOOT THE MOON. Though the film would not be produced for over a decade, it gained attention from several producers and filmmakers, including Miloš Forman. Forman hired Goldman to write the screenplay for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975), based on Ken Kesey’s novel of the same name and an earlier draft adapted by actor Lawrence Hauben. The film was enormously successful, and Goldman and Hauben were bestowed the Academy Award for Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material. He then co-wrote the screenplay for THE ROSE, followed soon after by his original screenplay for MELVIN AND HOWARD. The latter script, inspired by the story of Melvin Dummar and Howard Hughes, earned him his second Academy Award, this time for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. SHOOT THE MOON was finally produced in 1982 to considerable acclaim. For the remainder of the 1980s, he did uncredited script work on such films as SWING SHIFT (1984), THE FLAMINGO KID (1984), and A CHORUS LINE (1985), and co-wrote the screenplay for LITTLE NIKITA (1988).

Goldman began the 1990s making uncredited revisions to the script for DICK TRACY (1990). He drew on his own experience at the Philip Exeter Academy to write SCENT OF A WOMAN (1992), and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. He co-wrote the screenplay to CITY HALL (1996) with Ken Lipper, Paul Schrader, and Nicholas Pileggi, and soon after reunited with director Martin Brest for MEET JOE BLACK, which Goldman co-wrote. He also continued to work as a script doctor, contributing to such films as FIRST NIGHT (1995), THE PERFECT STORM (1996), and GOYA’S GHOSTS (2006). He was given a Story By credit for RULES DON’T APPLY (2016), another project about Howard Hughes which Goldman had worked on as early as 1988. For the past several years, Goldman has been working on his memoirs.