Reader Question: Should I take my name off a script?

A question via email from an anonymous GITS reader. To sum up the basic situation, the reader wrote a script. The project’s director — a friend — did some rewriting on it which the reader thinks has turned a good story into a not-so-good one. However the reader figures that 70% of the script reflects the reader’s contribution. So the reader’s question:

That being said, I’m wondering if I should remove my name from it. Looking at the screenplay, I do not think it will make a good movie, and I don’t think I’ll be proud of the outcome.

I suppose my question is — as an unknown writer, is it better to have a screenwriting credit on a bad movie or no screenwriting credit at all?

Unfortunate situation, but not unusual. Movies are essentially a director’s medium in the sense that it’s the director who goes off and actually makes the film. So whether they rewrite the script or not, it’s their ‘vision’ which is reflected in what ends up on screen for better or worse (for an example of worse, look no further than Trojan War).

If you’re a WGA member, you have the option of using a pseudonym to avoid having your actual name attached to a stinker film while allowing you to retain rights to income from residuals. I did this once with a Burg & Myers project.

There are plenty of cases where writers and even directors have taken the pseudonym Alan Smithee. There’s even the movie An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn.

However per your email, the project in question doesn’t look to be a WGA movie. Nor is distribution a guaranteed thing. Further complicating matters is the director is a friend. All of which creates quite a minefield for you to circumnavigate.

My advice: Take the credit. A credit, even on a marginal movie, is important, especially if you have none at this point. It elevates you out of “non-professional” status. Plus everyone in Hollywood knows about how writers, directors, and actors typically have to start their careers on ‘lesser’ quality movies. My favorite example of this is writer-actor-director John Sayles, whose first writing credit was the movie Piranha (1978).

Another thing: If you confront your friend-director and tell him you want to remove your name from the project, you not only risk that friendship and professional relationship, you also preclude any opportunity to rework the script as it progresses toward production. If you continue with the project and pick your spots, perhaps you can raise your concerns along with the rationale to support your position, and edge the script back toward your original vision.

Final thing: Almost all movies are flawed. I remember hearing an interview with Woody Allen once where he said [paraphrased], “When I start out with the idea of the film in my head, it’s 100% where I want it to be. By the time I finish the script, it’s 70% there. Finish production and it’s down to 50%. And when the movie is totally complete, it’s about 30% of where I originally wanted it.” And that from a writer-director who controls every aspect of the filmmaking process. A screenwriter, who does not direct, has to understand that it’s exceedingly rare, indeed, when a script translates wholly on film into what they wrote.

Has any other GITS reader been faced with the issue of taking your name off a movie project? What did you do and why?

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