Think about it. Everybody who is a consistent movie-goer knows well-known actors and actresses names as well as famous directors but never writer’s names. Take a short quiz and see if you can recognize the following people:
Most likely, the first three were very familiar, and in the last picture, the two people were unrecognizable. The answers are as follows: Tom Hanks, Gwyneth Paltrow, Steven Spielberg, and finally Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio. It is very hard, near impossible, to find an American who would not recognize the names Tom Hanks, Gwyneth Paltrow, or Steven Spielberg unless living in the current residence of under a rock. The last pair, however, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, is not so recognizable among Americans. Nonetheless, Ted and Terry have made just as big of an impression on the movie business as they are the screenwriters for movies such as all three of the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Road to El Dorado, Shrek, Antz, The Legend of Zorro, and much more. In fact, they even received an Academy Award nomination for Adapted Screenplay for Shrek in 2001, but most people only pay attention to the categories of Best Actor/Actress and Best Picture.
In my example, I am not saying that Tom Hanks and Gwyneth Paltrow and Steven Spielberg are overrated because they did, in fact, create their own reputations by producing well-liked, prominent films. But, I am saying that some writers create just as eminent reputations as the celebrities and directors and continue to go unknown. True, they may not always be out in the lime light, walking the red carpet with screaming adoring fans, but even so they contribute to the movie with their ideas and words. So, in order to increase recognition of writers, small steps must be taken. I, personally, have started listening closely to the dialogue in movies, critiquing the flow of conversations as well as thinking about the originality of the main idea of the movie. Then I try and add on by trying to pay attention to writer’s names and credits and build on from there. It’s harder than it sounds since even the best of critics in newspapers and other media sources only show interest in the acting and directing, but I feel the writers need to be shown some sort of attention as they are the ones who get “the ball rolling.”
1 comment:
I would have to agree with you on this one. [Not like I tend to disagree anyways :)] If we really thought long and hard about it the writers are the ones that are producing these amazing quotes that we sometimes live by. All our favorite romantic moments filled with the sweetest words aren't from the minds of the actors, but the writers. I think these people are some of the most creative people to ever walk this Earth. They don't get much recognition, and it's really quite sad. I hate to say that maybe it might possibly be a good thing that they don't get the exact same attention as actors. We see how that goes to their heads, and sometimes produces overconfident crappy actors. We just need to find a balance so that we're not ignoring the writers, but not giving them so much credit that they start creating crap. It was some of the saddest times when all there was to watch on TV were reruns. I admit that it took me the longest time to realize this since I didn't really have time to watch TV anyways, but once I found out I was pissed. I, along with many other fans, wanted the business just to pay them their money so we could continue to be entertained. At least now they have some compensation. I'll be sure put more focus on the writers on my next favorite flick. :)
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