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PUT YOUR F*ING TOUCH ON THAT
My Fellow Writers,
I'm moving, so I was reading through some old trades that I missed while I was out of town writing earlier this year. One of the issues covered an article in which the DGA said giving the writers more creative input would "ruin the film business."
This is what is known as "getting me started."
A few years ago, I heard a story, perhaps apocryphal, that illustrates the battle between writers and directors.
From 1933 - 1939, Frank Capra directed a string of critically acclaimed hits, including LADY FOR A DAY (Oscar nominee), IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (Oscar winner), MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (Oscar winner), YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (Oscar winner), and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (Oscar nominee). In that time, he also directed BROADWAY BILL and LOST HORIZON, two widely appreciated films.
His luck with directed inspired Life magazine to put Capra on its cover in the late 1930s, along with the caption "The Capra Touch." Inside the magazine, there was a fluff piece on Capra, who apparently was none-too-hesitant to talk about his talents as a director - nay, an auteur, a filmmaker, a creative force.
Now Frank Capra has directed lots of great screenplays. And managed to make some great movies out of them. But take a look at that list again with this in mind - all but two of those movies were written or adapted by screenwriter Robert Riskin. (Riskin wrote IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, adapted MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN from someone else's story, adapted the play of YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, adapted LADY FOR A DAY from a story, and wrote BROADWAY BILL from someone else's story.)
One can almost imagine Riskin's surprise when Life magazine had crowned Frank Capra the creative force behind some of the best films of the late 1930s. And Frank Capra did little to discourage the myth.
So here's how the story goes: After seeing the article, Riskin took 120 blank pages of paper and binded them together like a script. He stormed over to Capra's office, tossed the blank pages onto Capra's desk and said: "Here, put your fucking touch on that." Then he walked out.
Even if the story's not true, I love it because it illustrates a simple truth about the collaborative process of filmmaking: no one works until the writer is finished. The writer is the only person who is creating an original vision. Everyone else's job interprets and attempts to bring to life the movie that the writer saw in his or her head first.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-director; I'm simply pro-writer. Directors are amazing - filming a screenplay is an impossible task. That they can piece together anything at all is often a sheer miracle. They have a legion of help, of course. An art department to design sets and dress locations; camera and lighting departments to make sure it looks good; costumes, make-up, props, actors, stunt coordinators, effects people, editors, and many more. All of these departments are represented on a set in various ways - cinematographers make sure that the shot looks good, hair and make-up artists make sure that the talent looks good, hell, on-set decorating and props people make sure that every laser rifle and piece of litter looks good.
Yes, every detail is meticulously watched and guarded by specialists. Except writers - the ones best qualified and prepared to interpret the story and emotion of the script -- are often shut out of the production process. The WGA made a minor attempt to remedy this creative disparity in the latest contract negotiations, but inevitably (and I personally believe, too easily) caved on the issue.
I believe - and have seen instances in which -- directors can oversee the whole process and yet also allow for input from writers. In television, the situation is reversed - writer/producers often have more creative input than they do in films, and television manages to produce many terrific dramatic hours week in and week out.
Every project demands a unique solution, and working relationships. I'd personally just like to see the writer's importance more consistently recognized and appreciated during the production process.
Team spirited,
Grady
P.S. Any other classic Hollywood stories out there -- either in the past or in your own lives? I'd love to hear about them. I'm at EmailGrady@aol.com
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