Hollywood Screenwriters

Hollywood Screenwriters Sept 13, 2017 18:57:43 GMT spiderwort and petrolino like this

Quote

Post by kijii on Sept 13, 2017 18:57:43 GMT

Sept 13, 2017 12:38:07 GMT wmcclain said:

I'm always charmed by the case of Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter, originally Salvatore Albert Lombino), who wrote a variety of things, including the long running 87th Precinct police procedurals, used both for TV and film. He claimed to have invented the "squadroom as character" motif, but I think that's not quite right, see Detective Story (1951). In the 80s he joked that Hill Street Blues owned him royalties and his characters would marvel about how eerily the TV shows mirrored their own lives.

Anyway, he also did the screenplay for The Birds (1963), and Brooks' Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Kurosawa's High and Low (1963) were adapted from his novels.

That covers some ground.

Often original authors of--stories, plays, and novels--don't write their own screenplays.
They leave that up to screenwriters.

I just happen to have a list of about 150 writers who wrote both the source material AND the screenplay.
In other words, they wrote some of their screenplay "from scratch." (from beginning to end).

This is more common now than in the past... with some great newer writers.

I think Preston Sturges is a pioneer, in that respect: He wrote (the original story) for almost every film that he directed, plus a few more.

For the most prolific author who wrote (from story to screenplay), one need look no further than Woody Allen, with 50+ ---and counting.