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Film Slate | Who is the True Author of a Film?

The debate is mute, almost instantly.

The Screenwriter provides the written material, which is then created by the Director. At no point does the former posess, or is considered within the "Filming" aspect.Only when the Screenwriter has chosen to direct, or requested to consult by the Director.

Even so, the Director creates the film, and the Writer the material.

The arguement is of a power-struggle, that goes against the trust and relationship that is required when building a crew, which in this instance, is that of the Screenwriter and Director.

You will find that many Directors, when recieving merit for their films, will pay, and refer to the Screenwriter with the utmost respect, and sheer equality for the making of the story.

They're two seperate professions, even though there are thousands who do both, is still not substancial enough to raise this arguement from its death.

It's a matter of respect.

If i'm to move home, to be replaced by another owner. Whose home is it now? Mine, for i lived for twenty years, i painted the walls, i raised a family?

Or the new owners who will settle and thrive, will paint the walls, raise a family.

Where is the important, deciding factor?

The agreement, and the understanding between myself, and the new owner. The very same agreement between the Screenwriter, and Director.

It's often the case to ignore details to muster an arguement for the mere sake of debate...
 
Asking who is the "author" of a film is comparing apples and oranges.

I look at a completed film as a just-built building. The director is the builder and the screenwriter is the architect. The screenplay is a blueprint used as a guide by the director/builder, who employs workers such as electricians, plumbers, dry-wallers, etc.

The builder has the final say as to how the building will look when he's done. There are so many variables the architect couldn't foresee, and every vision needs to modified when its wheels hit the pavement of reality, even though the architect had the original vision.

Now, you can combine any number of participants who build the structure, including director and screenwriter, into one person. But most movies, like it or not, are collaborative efforts. So asking who the "author" is is the wrong question.

Just my 2 cents.

(damn, that was one helluva extended metaphor :P )

-Cheers!

-Charles
 
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I'm a proponent of the auteur-theory, and thus I believe that neither the screenwriter nor the director alone, assumed they're two different people, should be considered the "true author" of the film.
The screenwriter, naturally, can't be the "true author" of a film because a film is only a film after it's done, after pre-production, production and post-production, the script itself is NOT the film.
The director on the other hand is there to turn the script into a film, he can (to a certain degree) turn a bad script into a good film, but he can most certainly turn a good script into a bad film.
Both, directing and writing, are creative jobs. A director is not what the editor is for a book, that's a clear misunderstanding of what a director actually does, and that's why I find this "Schreiber Theory" pretty pointless.
 
I think of it more like poop. The screenplay is the food being eaten. The digestive tract is the director. And the poop is the end result.

Every poop is a direct result of the qualities of the food that are being ingested. You've got those spicy-buffalo-wings-and-cheap-beer poops, and then you've got those mixed-green-salad-with-bread-sticks poops. Completely different from each other. And don't get me started with those BBQ-chicken-and-corn-on-the-cob poops.

So, you see, the work of the screenwriter cannot be understated.

The thing is, though, nobody's poops are the same. 20 different people can eat the same Peking duck, with pork fried rice, and we will produce 20 completely unique poops. No two people's poop will ever be the same, no matter the source material.

So, you see, the work of the director cannot be understated.

This is not a dichotomy. It is a mutually-beneficial relationship.
 
Meaning what is "Mute" has forever been so, and there can be no instantanious development?

My badddd.

I'm hoping that is what you mean, Rik. If it's not, then i'm stumped. :)
 
If your theory is true, Charles. Then the premiere is either in the wiping, or the glory of the flush.

I would say the wiping. The "glory of the flush" is when our turd leaves us forever and goes forth into the marketing sewer of the world. It allows us one last chance to glance back, cheekily, and look at what we have wrought.
 
What the hell is going on in here!?!?! You guys settle down.:) So what happens when the screenwriter sells an option on a script. it gets way into pre-production but ultimately isn't made. Is that vomit cause the rights go back to the screen writer??:)
 
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