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Screenwriters
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television commercials, video games, and the growing area of online web series. Terminology In the silent era, screenwriters were denoted by terms such as photoplaywright, photoplay writer, photoplay dramatist, and screen playwright.Maras, Steven. ''Screenwriting: History, Theory and Practice'', Wallflower Press, 2009, pp. 82–85. Screenwriting historian Steven Maras notes that these early writers were often understood as being the authors of the films as shown, and argues that they could not be precisely equated with present-day screenwriters because they were responsible for a technical product, a brief "scenario", "treatment", or "synopsis" that is a written synopsis of what is to be filmed. Profession Screenwriting is a contracted freelance ...
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Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and plays in America. He received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some seventy films. After graduating from high school in 1910, Hecht ran away to Chicago, where, in his own words, he "haunted streets, whorehouses, police stations, courtrooms, theater stages, jails, saloons, slums, madhouses, fires, murders, riots, banquet halls, and bookshops." In the 1910s and 1920s, Hecht became a noted journalist, foreign correspondent, and literary figure. In the late 1920s, his co-authored, reporter-themed play, ''The Front Page'', became a Broadway hit. The ''Dictionary of Literary Biography – American Screenwriters'' calls him "one of the most successful screenwriters in the history of motion pictures". Hech ...
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Screenwriting
Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the script, screenplay, dialogues and delivering it, in the required format, to development executives. Screenwriters therefore have great influence over the creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and, arguably, of the finished film. Screenwriters either pitch original ideas to producers, in the hope that they will be optioned or sold; or are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen work or literary work, such as a novel, poem, play, comic book, or short story. Types The act of screenwriting takes many forms across the entertainment industry. Often, multiple writers work on the same script at different stages of development with differ ...
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Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss (March 6, 1944 – April 23, 2015) was an American film critic and magazine editor for ''Time''. He focused on movies, with occasional articles on other subjects. He was the former editor-in-chief of ''Film Comment'' and authored several books including ''Talking Pictures'', which, along with other publications, drew early attention to the screenwriter, as opposed to the director. Personal life and background Corliss was born in 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Profile
filmreference.com; accessed September 6, 2014.
the son of Elizabeth Brown (née McCluskey) and Paul William Corliss. He attended St. Joseph's College, Philadelphia (now

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The Awful Truth
''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin divorce proceedings, only to interfere with one another's romances. This was McCarey's first film for Columbia Pictures, with the dialogue and comic elements largely improvised by the director and actors. Irene Dunne's costumes were designed by Robert Kalloch. Although Grant tried to leave the production due to McCarey's directorial style, ''The Awful Truth'' saw his emergence as an A-list star and proponent of on-the-set improvisation. The film was a huge box office success and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Dunne), and Best Supporting Actor (Ralph Bellamy), winning for Best Director (McCarey). ''The Awful Truth'' was selected in 1996 for preservation in the Library of Congress' National ...
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Writers' Guild Of Great Britain
The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The union was founded in 1959 as the Television and Screen Writers' Guild (commonly known as the Screen Writers' Guild), the successor to the Screenwriters' Association dating back to 1938. During the 1960s it expanded to cover radio and book writers and adopted its present title in 1966. It sponsored the campaigns of the Writers' Action Group to establish the Public Lending Right and the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society which – starting from a single room in the Writers' Guild premises – has collected and distributed over £100 million in payments to writers for photocopying and overseas retransmission of broadcasts. WGGB also hosts the annual Writers' Guild Awards. In 1997 WGGB merged with the Theatre Writers Union, and membershi ...
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WGA Screenwriting Credit System
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) credit system for motion pictures and television programs covers all works under the jurisdiction of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW). The WGA, originally the Screen Writers Guild, has since 1941 been the final arbiter of who receives credit for writing a theatrical, television or new media motion picture written under its jurisdiction. The system has rules on how writers should be billed during the credits. A variety of credit forms can be given to indicate technicalities such as whether a writer contributed to the original source material, the chronological order of contributors working on different drafts, or whether there were writing teams. Since its inception, writers must have contributed at least 33 percent of a final script to receive credit, and only a certain number of writers can receive credit. A determination process for screen credits first sees the production company s ...
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International Affiliation Of Writers Guilds
The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds is an international trade union federation representing guilds of professional screenwriters and playwrights. Some affiliates also belong to national trade union federations. Activities The IAWG strives to ensure that fair royalties and residuals are collected by enforcement of copyrights. If a member of one guild emigrates to another country or the movie or play is exported, member guilds automatically recognize their membership through reciprocal agreements. A core function is the registering of scripts to verify original authorship. Most affiliates also have annual award ceremonies to celebrate accomplishments in the craft. History The International Writers' Guild was founded in 1966 by unions from the United Kingdom, United States, and Yugoslavia. It gradually grew, but in 1986 it was replaced by the "International Affiliation of Writers' Guilds", with its founding members all being in English-speaking countries. It has sin ...
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Screenplay Example
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a ''teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. stage play, ''stage play''). Screenplays can be Originality, original works or Film adaptation, adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A screenplay is a form of narration in which the movements, actions, expressions and dialogue of the characters are described in a certain format. Visual or Cinematography, cinematographic cues may be given, as well as scene descriptions and scene changes. History In the early silent era, before the turn of the 20th century, "scripts" for films in the United States were usually a synopsis of a film of around one paragraph and sometimes as short as one sentence.Andrew Kenneth Gay"History of scripting and the screenplay"at Screenplayology: An Online Center for Screenplay Studies. Retrieved 15 December 2021. Shortly thereafter, as films grew in length and complexity, film scenarios (also called "tr ...
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Roy McCardell
Roy Larcom McCardell (June 30, 1870 – after 1940) was an American journalist, scenarist, humorist and writer. Early life Roy McCardell was born in 1870 in Hagerstown, Maryland. His father was the editor of the '' Hagerstown Mail''. When his father became the editor of the ''Evening Times'' in Cumberland, Maryland, the family moved there, where Roy attended school until he was twelve. He then started writing for his father's newspaper before becoming a regular contributor to '' Puck'', the leading American satirical magazine. Career McCardell moved to Birmingham, Alabama at age 17 to work as a reporter for the '' Age-Herald''. Many of his contributions were reprinted in magazines, including '' Frank Leslie's Weekly''. New York City newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane became aware of his writing, and offered him a position on the New York newspaper '' The Evening Sun''. Along with his newspaper reporting, McCardell also provided serialized novels to the newspaper. He then moved on ...
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Option (filmmaking)
In the film industry, an option agreement is a contract that "rents" the rights to a source material to a potential film producer. It grants the film producer the exclusive option to purchase rights to the source material if they live up to the terms of the contract and make a film (or series) from it. This is known as optioning the source material. Some examples of producers are film studios, production companies or an individual. Source materials are often a book, theatrical play, or screenplay; however, they may also be articles, video games, songs, or any other work of intellectual property. The term is often used as a verb. For example, " Paramount optioned a short story by Ted Chiang." Overview When a work is optioned, the producer has not actually purchased the right to use the source material; they have simply purchased the option to purchase the rights to the work at some point in the future, if they are successful in setting up a deal to actually film a movie (or se ...
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Sidney Buchman
Sidney Robert Buchman (March 27, 1902 – August 23, 1975) was an American screenwriter and film producer who worked on about 40 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He received four Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for the fantasy romantic comedy film '' Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' (1941), sharing the award with Seton I. Miller. Background Born to a Jewish family in Duluth, Minnesota and educated at Columbia University, where he was a member of the Philolexian Society, he served as President of the Screen Writers Guild of America from 1941–1942. Career Buchman was one of the most successful Hollywood screenwriters of the 1930s and 1940s. His scripts from this period include '' The Right to Romance'' (1933), '' She Married Her Boss'' (1935), '' The King Steps Out'' (1936), '' Theodora Goes Wild'' (1936) and ''Holiday'' (1938). He would go on to receive Academy Award nominations for his writing on '' Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939), '' The ...
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Film Scenario
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a ''teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A screenplay is a form of narration in which the movements, actions, expressions and dialogue of the characters are described in a certain format. Visual or cinematographic cues may be given, as well as scene descriptions and scene changes. History In the early silent era, before the turn of the 20th century, "scripts" for films in the United States were usually a synopsis of a film of around one paragraph and sometimes as short as one sentence.Andrew Kenneth Gay"History of scripting and the screenplay"at Screenplayology: An Online Center for Screenplay Studies. Retrieved 15 December 2021. Shortly thereafter, as films grew in length and complexity, film scenarios (also called "treatments" or "synopses"Steven Maras. ''Screenwritin ...
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