The Film Mercury (1928-1929)

Page Thirty-Eight THE FILM MERCURY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1928 Hollywood, Calif. & MATT TAYLOR W riter FOX STUDIOS Management LICHTIG & ENGLANDER t t The Scenario Situation By Don King There is more or less gloom in the writing ranks, due possibly to the rise of the talkies, and the lull in silent drama which in a measure has affected the title writer and scenarist, for nowadays it’s “dialogue” that’s wanted from studio reports. But a change is coming. The capable scenario writer of reputation, who may at the present time be inactive or less active than he should be, is due for a spurt and some prosperity from the trend of things. Silent drama with short talkie sequences will be the vogue in a very short time, and good writers will be at a premium. Short films with voice and sound may survive, especially the news reels. But the writer may not become disheartened, for his day is coming and prosperity with it. The ranks will be thinned out, and the new arrivals who are gaining money and overnight prestige, will go back to song writing again, while the legitimate and trained scenarist will come back to prominence and respect. Better pictures must be made, and to make better pictures requires better stories and better writers than heretofore. With serious foreign competition facing the American producer of pictures, and England with a fund of story material to choose from for its photoplays, Hollywood has to look to her laurels, for Europeans have ceased to be a joke and will become serious competitors. This augers well for the scenarist who will get recognition, and lasting recognition if he can deliver the goods. The unsettled condition of the picture business just now is due to reorganization and possibly a few mergers which are reported coming. When these conditions right them selves everything will change, and much of the gloom disappear. That day is not far off, in fact, it is closer than many imagine. So cheer up ! The writer is due for a big year and advancement in the film game. There is a great misapprehension among writers regarding Europe. If those writers are American born citizens, the American writer, due to the English film laws, cannot receive screen recognition or credit for his work. Sidney Olcott tells of an instance he learned of in London where an American writer was forced to let an English stenographer put her name upon his screen effort in order to comply with the quota laws. The writer must be English, and the story likewise. So that field is barren. At least for the American citizen writer. The Hollywood scenarist, going to England, and perhaps France or Germany, faces the same situation. There is no credit to be obtained by such a trip, and the trip may prove costly to the uninitiated. Europe is no gold mine for the American, unless that American is distributing golden dollars. Then it is a gamble. England is for England, and England despises Hollywood, but is willing to utilize the Hollywood scenarist’s brain if an English born citizen profits by it. The American can never benefit in England, nor in France or the continent. The moral is, stay in America or be content with the treatment you receive abroad. You have only yourself to blame for whatever happens. * * * Lon Chaney has left the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios for a brief fishing trip in the Sierras, near Bishop, Calif. ROBERT LORD WRITER Under Contract to WARNER BROTHERS