The Importance of Writers

There's encouraging news today that the strike by entertainment industry writers appears to be ending. That's good news. (Disclosure: as a news writer/editor/producer, I belonged to, and was represented by, the Writers' Guild for many years; I'm still a "lifetime" - but inactive - member.)

Over at Pajamas Media, Roger L. Simon has some interesting thoughts and observations, including one which immediately caught my eye: he argues that the industry is finally waking up to the notion that the writer is more important than the director:

The days of Fellini, et al, are long gone and likely to be further submerged by the new online media where the creator of the story will be king. Who these creators will actually be is anybody’s guess, but the Writers Guild has apparently extended its jurisdiction to include professional writers it never before represented (playwrights and novelists) in this brave new online world.

Yes. When the French came up with the notion that the "auteur" of a film was the sole artistic force of any importance in moviemaking, it's worth noting that the word, although always applied to the director, actually means author. Writers have never had much respect on Hollywood sound stages. If that's changing, then - as a writer - I am delighted.