Why the writers credited on a movie are rarely the only ones who put the screenplay together….

This article comes fromDen of Geek UK.

Long may that continue.

Lots of brilliant people were involved in bringingThe Wizard Of Ozto the big screen.

Some terrific writers, too, who came up with a quotable and cherished script.

Also an IMDB Top 250 movie, albeit a more recent one, is Steven Spielbergs masterpieceSchindlers List.

What a film it is, too.

Spielberg at one stage also called Tom Stoppard for help with one particular moment.

In the case ofThe Wizard Of Oz, though, the story is far more convoluted.

Some will have added lines, some added structured, some may simply have called bullshit.

But the payroll was awash with writing talent.

I can but bear in mind Kevin Smiths anecdote about doing script rewriting work onCoyote Ugly.

Eight writers in all worked onCoyote Ugly, although only Gina Wendkos was credited on the final movie.

The full discussion ishere.

But I didnt get a credit, he told theBelfast Telegraph.

Its very difficult to do so within the Hollywood system.

This, then this all points towards the dark art of the screenplay credit.

Given the paucity of many writers earnings, the importance here cant be understated.

More detail, and a posh graph, can be foundhere.

Bottom line: this is where those arbitrations come in.

A quick overview of the available credits.

Although, helpfully, theres no exact science for determining what substantial is.

There are occasional exceptions, but the above tends to cover the basics.

Lets see how this worked in practice.

And he told us why.

Moran, in the end, was credited first on the film, as a compromise.

Not that he minded.

So I knew going in that it was uncredited.

Parameters do change over time.

As such, Reese is credited, with no squabbles, onLife,Deadpool,Zombieland,andG.I.

Joe: Retaliation, for instance.

Against that, though, script polishing goes on regularly.

its worth bearing in mind that films that list lots of writers are generally being a little more honest.

That people are actually getting credit for the work they did.

In lots of quarters now, writing and writers is being shortchanged and devalued.

The Hollywood screenwriting credit system, as it stands, isnt always helping with that….