Screenwriting : Were Screenwriters Dissed at the Oscars? by Danny Manus

Danny Manus

Were Screenwriters Dissed at the Oscars?

People seem to be up in arms about how forgotten the writers were this year at the Oscars. Here's my article on IF they were neglected and WHY. http://www.nobullscript.net/screenwritingtips/were-screenwriters-dissed-...

Kamala Lane

I immensely enjoyed the Before Midnight script. To have all that dialogue between two people mainly throughout the entire movie and keep it engaging and sharp is very impressive. I'd like to read/see Her.

Danny Manus

you can email me at Daniel@nobullscript.net and I'll send you the Her script.

Lisa Clemens

I thought DeNiro's comments (written by a screenwriter, I bet!) were tongue in cheek and yet, I relate to much of it! As I explained in a thread in Stage 32' lounge: "Isolated? With a deadline looming and director/producers waiting? I can't sit in the living room with my family and join in their fun, the temptation and procrastination factor are too tempting so into my bedroom I go with my laptop! Neurotic? When I go on set, listen to so many people tell me how much they LOVE my script and how talented I am, then come home, ego inflated and feeling on top of the world to get to work on the next one and have my partner and mentor who has been in the industry more than 20 years look at my latest outline and say, "What are you thinking? No! this is no good!" (there's that self loathing and soul crushing inadequacy!) That's when I realize that words like "I love your work, " are as common in the industry as "Hi, how are you?" So I get back to the drawing board, humbled but wiser, work twice as hard, stay up twice as long (and NEED that caffeine to become human in the morning when I have to wake up the kids and get them off to school, meet with teachers, live my normal life for a while. ) And then my wonderful partner who's name I was cursing less than a day ago tells me that while I was having fun on the set, he was working on another set and has an A list actor interested in his script idea and soon he has a producer ready to see the script as soon as we can deliver it...PANIC!! And knowing I will be writing the dialog for a man who's dialog has been quoted time and time again, whom I am a HUGE fan of....more panic but yes...that IS a good day! !

Lisa Clemens

I think screenwriters are at least treated better than stunt professionals! The poor guys and gals with the most demanding and dangerous on-screen work can't even get an Oscar category, even for Stunt Coordinator or choreography!

William Martell

They didn't get any pizza.

CJ Walley

Lisa I totally agree about stunt performers. There was a stunt awards hosted by Dwayne Johnson a few years back, brilliant awards show but I don't know if it continued. Amazing people, especially the females who can't wear much safety padding at all.

Lisa Clemens

Yes the Taurus Awards continue but they don't televise them anymore. ABC lost interest :(

Danny Manus

Lisa, I agree.

JC Young

I found it funny that they set up a backdrop of typewriters on a rack of shelves during the 2 writer awards. It took them more time to set that up than they spent on writers in the business for an entire YEAR. It was good see John win. He's one of the very screenwriters people may recognize by sight due to numerous appearances over the years and the fact he's the only African-American to win a writing Oscar, I believe.

Kamala Lane

Geoffrey Fletcher won for Precious previously. I wonder who will be first in the original screenplay category.

JC Young

Kamala, thanks for the correction.

Kamala Lane

I'm curious to see what Ridley does with the Hendrix biopic.

Sandra Campbell

I saw a clip of All By My Side, Andre sounds and looks like Hendrix. The cinematography looked authentic for the time period.

Sandra Campbell

Hello Danny. I really enjoyed your blog posts on The Business of Show Institute. Thanks for the link to the article.

Danny Manus

Thanks Sandra! That's very kind. You can follow my new articles on Script Mag and Hollywood Journal (plus on my site). Thanks!

David Thrasher

A very interesting and provocative article. But I don't think it tells the whole story. The writing is not as good, true. But one thing that needs to be considered is that most of the good writers have moved on to other things since the climate in the feature motion picture industry is not exactly welcoming to the better writers. Some have moved on to the stage and others to cable networks. That why we've been seeing a golden age of sorts there with the likes of "The Sopranos", "Breaking Bad", "Six Feet Under", "Boardwalk Empire" and the like. The reason why this is true is because it doesn't take as many viewers for one of these shows to be considered a success and thus there is less pressure and less micromanagement, which in turn allows for the taking of more creative chances. The theatrical motion picture business is not exactly nurturing to writing talent these days in regards to original material. Instead the emphasis is on the sure thing and whatever the executives think will make a killing. Making a living is no longer enough. This mentality not only affects writers but others as well. Why else would the director, Kenneth Branagh, who made his reputation with dramas by Shakespeare be directing "Thor", a superhero adventure derived from a comic book or Gwyneth Paltrow, an actress who did respected work in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Shakespeare in Love" be playing the role of a secretary in "Iron Man", yet another comic book based superhero film. So I agree with you. The writing is not as good as it once was. The release slate is also not as rich in variety as it once was. What we are getting is the best of those who haven't moved on.

Orianna Morales

That is an interesting point. I disagree though.

David Thrasher

Could you expand on that? I'd be curious about your take on this.

Orianna Morales

Well for one thing, I'd be curious to ask about the business being nurturing. To presume the people in tv are there because of circumstance is a bit much. Some writers just want to be practical. Some actually prefer writing for tv over features. This isn't an easy business by any stretch of the imagination. However, it's not that different from marketing a product or a service to investors elsewhere.

Danny Manus

I kinda agree with David on this. Even though the film business is still booming, it's booming in a different way than it was before the writers strike. The best evidence of the shift from features to other mediums is that after getting nominated for oscars this year, 5 of the screenwriters set up their next project - IN TV! It's where the creative freedom is, it's where the money is, it's where the instant gratification is. There is arguably better material on TV for a number of reasons. Studios have a different mandate than they did 5 years ago and most writers don't fit that mandate anymore. As I said in the article, most of the films made are adaptations now, and many great original screenwriters don't like to do that.

Orianna Morales

Good point. I guess since I work with people who buy rights off the bat, they're not too concerned as they believe in the adaptation.

Sandra Campbell

Speaking of getting dissed at the Oscars, what's up with this whole John Ridley/Steve McQueen rift? From what I've read, there was some disagreement between Ridley and McQueen about WGA credit. I think a lot of the coverage of this so-called "rift" is just the media stirring the pot. Any thoughts?

Danny Manus

No, it was a real rift. One wrote the script, one rewrote the script, one wanted sole credit, the other wanted shared credit. Happens everyday.

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