>Writer's credits is a complicated issue arising from earlier days
>when producers would assign writers credits for reasons of their own
>regardless of who actually participated.  Further, it becomes ludicrous
>when large numbers of writers make contributions.  The Writers' Guild
>contract specifies the maximum number of writers who can be given
>screen credit.  Included in the contract is a procedure for arbitration
>in the event of disputes over who should receive credit.
>
>Then there's the matter of writers being unwilling to have their names
>associated with particular films.  One can't force a writer to accept
>credit for work that has been mucked about by other hands.
 
Yes, it becomes ludicrous nowadays when large numbers of writers do make
contributions to a script and the WGA will not allow them to be credited.
 
Or, perhaps it's ludicrous that, say, 35 writers are ever assigned to one
script in the first place (as is the recent case with THE FLINTSTONES).
 
Perhaps it's especially ludicrous when 35 writers are assigned to a script
and all the critics agree that the film lacks a story.
 
Perhaps Hollywood as a whole can be a bit ludicrious, or at least a lot of
fun sometimes.
 
Perhaps it would be sensible if everyone in Hollywood took the name "Alan
Smithee".
 
                                        Steven
 
_________________________________________
Steven M. Blacher / Wellfleet Productions
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