Why Aren't There Famous Screenwriters?

You're on these boards - do *you* pay attention to who writes films?

It starts with us.

Here's an old quiz I came up with about 10 years ago after I got tired of screenwriters asking why screenwriters aren't famous...
http://www.scriptsecrets.net/articles/scrpquiz.htm

- Bill
Free Script Tips Every Day:
http://www.ScriptSecrets.Net

I often wonder that to. And it is only the film world that doesn't recognize its writers. With TV, theater, and literature the writer(s) usually receive a lot of recognition. So I don't know why with movies they don't. It is a shame because film writers should be recognized. Without a good script you have nothing.

It seems to be the way of the world that script and speech writers are not to be lauded like the people who speak their words.
Presidents, chat show hosts and the like gets all the applause- good actors however will allways mention a good writer - especially if they´re a succes.

i took your quiz, bill. no cheating.

i got #2, one of the #3, #5, #6 and #8

what's sad to me is that all of the answers i got involved directors or actors with exception of #3. even writers don't know screenwriters who aren't also directors or actors.

#9 really pissed me off. 3 films i really like and i couldn't name the writer. i couldn't name all three writers of "Casablanca"

I would say there have been.

Robert Bolt was well-known as a screenwriter as well as as a playwright. Tom Stoppard was well-known as a playwright, but screenwriting made new audiences aware of him. Oliver Stone was known as a screenwriter before he became known as a director. Nora Ephron is still widely known.

There's been a long slow shift over time from when movies would be advertised as having a Billy Wilder script. The actors becoming more and more prominent is part of that, and the same goes for directors. Look at music for an analogy — in the 70s, the guitarist got the lion's share of praise in a band; in the 80s, keyboard players suddenly started getting more play; after that, producers/engineers/mixers got attention; back to the jazz era, horn players were front and centre; before that, the focus was on the songwriters. Today, you can ask people what their favourite song is and stump most of them by asking who wrote it — and I'd say most of those who know would be naming singer-songwriters.

Cultural shifts happen and in dynamics like film and music, the writer is invisible. When songs were recorded by multiple artists and people would buy sheet music, songwriters were known. These days, the average listener credits the pop sensation of the week with writing their own songs because they simply don't think about the songwriter. Plays still have a focus on the writer as different directors and actors stage them. In mainstream film, the audience sees actors and they see a prominent director's credit. More art house efforts will have audiences talking about the writing overtly rather than discussing the story as if it were real, however in the mainstream, it's not likely.

I'd say it ties into CGI and such, with suspension of disbelief less a contract between filmmakers and audience, and with that contract less in play, the writer falls out of sight for many. It's also that the screenwriter became a job rather than a position, owing in large part to the specificity and technical demands of writing for the industry. Still, if someone people know from other media writes a script and it's produced, their audience will follow. I'd say screenwriters could become better-known by working in other media.

§« All roads lead to truth if you're willing to travel honestly. »§

I assume because most great writers are also directors. These days it probably comes down to script writing being almost an after thought to making a film. Why go the distance and write a great script if it's just going to get canned or butchered by the suits? Maybe that's why they also often choose to direct, at least that gives them some bargaining power to get the product they want on screen.