Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1920)

Coming! The Million-a-year Scenarioist 57 ing pictures. I learned a great deal about screen technique during" those "Do you think the scenario germ has a better chance in these days than in the disinfectant?" "I should say so! The day of the original scenarioist is certainly coming-. Producers are learning that not all books and stage plays make good pictures. They really have known it right along, but because the exhibitor could be bunked into the belief that pictures adapted from famous stories would attract the public, we have made a lot of them that should never have been made." "How about the pay?" I asked suspiciously. "No writer need take less than one thousand dollars for a story now. If it's worth acceptance it's worth that. And that's the minimum. A writer can get far more after he's sold a few scripts." "You refer to stories in synopsis form, not continuities ?" "Yes. It is a mistake for outside writers to submit a continuity. They can't possibly write a script that a director could use, and then, too, every studio has a different style. I would advise a very complete synopsis, however, amounting to a story, with plenty of color and detail pertinent to the action. Of course, dialogue and other story material not pertaining to photographic action should be excluded. "Not only are salaries going up, but the percentage system is coming in. As with stage dramatists, I predict the motion-picture writer will receive a percentage of profits on the picture. That is surely coming. Staff continuity men receive on the average of from two hundred to five hundred dollars. Mind, that is average. There are some who receive far in excess of five hundred dollars, and some receive less than two hundred dollars. Jeannie MacPherson at the Lasky studio must receive a tremendous salary. At least, she's worth it. She is a big factor in the success of the De Mille pictures. The day of the writer is certainly coming. He will receive eventually as much or more than stars of equivalent ability." This statement reminded me of one which Charles Ray had made to me a few days before. He said : "The day of the star is over. This is the day of the writer." Mr. Sullivan delivered some interesting and sane advice for those ambitious to write scenarios, and that number includes just about the entire world. He said : "Either you're a writer or you're not. If you are, you'll write ; that's all there is to it. Nothing will keep you from it. You'll plug away until you land somewhere, either in pictures, magazines, or newspapers. "No work depends so entirely upon the individual as writing. Either you have the goods or you haven't. A player may get by with good direction or because of a good story. A writer stands on his own. "If I had a son I would set him at newspaper work as soon as he was out of school. No other training in the world so fits a man for all kinds of work. For the writer, it is especially valuable. NAZIMOVA SPEAKS! '~pHE SPHINX OF SHADOWS— so she has been called because of her mysterious silence — will open her lips and her heart to her thousands of followers in the September issue of PICTURE-PLAY MAGAZINE. Breaking her resolution never to receive interviewers, Madame Nazimova has given Herbert Howe the privilege of truthfully revealing her to the public. "Expose me," said she. "Describe me as you really find me — it has seldom been done." In her own frank revelation of herself, she will explain the reasons for her unusual silence. She will tell of many intimate things: Of receiving the first love letter written by a young male star whom you all know; The secret of her ability to create illusion — to dance; To appear tall, to be whatever age she chooses; Her opinions of Lenine, of Kerensky, of Russia; Of her ambitious plans both for stage and screen; Of her seclusive life away from the studio; Of the days when she was learning to speak English in a tiny room in Washington Square. In a word, you have the opportunity of meeting and knowing a genius — one of the most fascinating women of all time. Lifting up her hands, she said: "Look at that hand. It is not an artistic hand. It is not a pretty hand. It is the hand of a workman — and it has worked." Nazimova — the genius and workman— will talk to you intimately next month in PICTURE-PLAY. "Newspaper work gives you a background of incident, an insight into human nature and facile writingpower. You learn character as you will in no other work, because you see it revealed as you never could in any other business. "For practical reasons I would advise a scenario writer to write his play with a certain star in mind for a leading role. The star system is rapidly diminishing in importance, but while it is here it must be recognized. "Concentrate on character. There is the great opportunity for individuality. Nearly every plot has been done. The only opportunity for doing something different is in the twists you give the plot, the manner of delivering the story, and by characterization of the people. "Avoid mechanical movie thrills. Let the studio take care of that. They know their facilities better than you do. Besides, we are getting away from that sort of thing. "Nearly all successful newspapers and magazines have a wise newspaper policy of making a special appeal to women. The same policy should be observed by picture writers and picture makers, because women deliver thumbs up or thumbs down on the photo play. They take the men and the children. "I like to go to a picture theater for the purpose of listening to the comments. I learn a great deal about likes and dislikes of fans." While watching the steady stream of C. Gardner Sullivan plays during the past four years, I've been moved to wonder how this writer kept up his standard. There seems no limitation to his fund of ideas. He Continued on page 87