Screenwriter v. Director


The director is the creative "boss" in film, a reality that many beginning screenwriters fight. Don't fight it, it's the reality -- if you don't like it, become a director! Become a filmmaker. You can write your own scripts but you still have to direct them to retain any semblance of creative control (and even then, you work for the producer!).

Here is recent insight on the differences by an Oscar-winning screenwriter who became a director. Here is Stephen Gaghan, screenwriter of Traffic, on how his notion of screenwriting changed after he directed a movie (Abandon), from The New York Times, Sunday, September 8, 2002:

"...it wasn't until I became a director that I realized nobody had been listening [to me as a screenwriter]. Oh, they look as though they're listening to you, the writer, as you make the sounds we associate with speech; but really they're waiting, thinking private thoughts about fingernail colors and evening traffic on the Ventura Freeway, waiting to see if the director is listening to you. And then they listen to the director. Of course, the only way I could learn this was by becoming a director ... I don't completely agree with this system but there is a good reason nobody listens to the screenwriter: he isn't accountable. The screenwriter is like an economist or political commentator who says, "If you don't cut interest rates right now, there will be a 3 percent decline in housing starts next April." But nobody checks back next April. Nobody remembers or cares. Because you don't have to act on the decision, you aren't responsible for the fallout. You are an advisor, not a builder. And if "real housing starts" decline by 20 percent and the construction industry lays off thousands -- well, you still have your comfy chair and nice view out the window. For the director, it is the exact opposite. The time for theorizing is over. It is yes or no, and pretty soon you have an aesthetic. Period."

It's not the screenwriter who is responsible for spending tens of millions of dollars on a product that will turn a profit for investors. It's the producer, who hires the director as creative boss to make the movie. The screenwriter is low (very low, actually) on the chain of command. It's the reality, folks.

All the same, screenwriters love to remind directors how important writers are (Reminds me of a story.)


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