“‘Up in the Air’ writers answer rumors about rift”
What’s a movie award season without a little controversy:
In recent days the blogosphere has been alive with speculation about the relationship between the two award-winning screenwriters of “Up in the Air,” Jason Reitman (also the film’s director and co-producer) and Sheldon Turner. Through an arbitration the Writers Guild determined that both would be awarded credit for adapting the Walter Kirn novel even though they never collaborated and wrote completely separate drafts. Reitman says he never even read Turner’s script, and the pair didn’t even meet until after Reitman had finished the movie. Over the past couple of weeks some blogs have been filled with speculation about Reitman’s displeasure in having to share credit and that there has been uncomfortable, “awkward” moments between them as they have been accepting honors at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and others. The Times new movie blog, 24 Frames, first reported on this in detail Jan. 15 and others including Playlist, which compared both writers’ original drafts, fanned the flames Jan. 22, even going so far as to suggest that the previously scheduled Writers Guild contenders Q&A with the pair on Jan. 24 (“Up in the Air” is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay) could turn into a “no-holds-barred cage match for the right to give the first speech at the Oscars.”
Those among the 300 or so who attended Sunday’s WGA screening with the idea that things were going to be ugly, or at the very least tense, got a love match instead.
As the WGA’s moderator, or referree as I put it in my intro, I jumped right into the controversy by welcoming the audience to the “WGA Sunday Afternoon Smackdown.” Instead it turned out to be a fascinating look into the script development process and how two guys who never even met until last August could conceivably be sharing an Oscar for a script they wrote completely independently of each other.
“I think the source of the speculation comes from the fact that maybe there was the assumption that we did in fact write together. I met Jason for the first time after the movie was done,” said Turner. “Now that we’ve been sort of through this (awards) ‘circuit’ which Jason is a lot more familiar with than I am we’ve become friends. It’s a unique situation.”
Make that ‘supposed’ controversy. It’s really more about the oftentimes crazy way that movie studios use screenwriters to end up with a script they produce. It is not unusual to have 10 or more writers contributing to a movie. However the Guild has guidelines about how many writers may get a writing credit (they don’t like more than two writers or writing teams), guidelines about how to determine who gets — or doesn’t get — writing credit.
In the case of Up in the Air because Reitman is a writer-director, there is automatically a credit arbitration, and as it turns out, there was a second one (there were actually three writers who turned in drafts on the project: in order they were Turner, Ted Griffin, and Reitman) that determined a writing credit of “Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner” (Griffin did not receive any writing credit). How to decipher the writing credit?
(1) Because Reitman is listed first, there is a presumption that he wrote a ‘majority’ of the script that ended up on the screen (since he directed the movie, that would figure).
(2) The use of “and” instead of an ampersand (“&”) means that Reitman and Turner did not work as a writing team — which seems pretty damn clear seeing as they only met after the movie was finished.
You may ask how it is that Turner would receive writing credit when (A) Reitman claims to have never read Turner’s draft, (B) Reitman wrote his version of the script, presumably many, many drafts, over a period of six years, and © the movie was directed by Reitman, therefore, reflecting his specific vision of the story. There’s a clue in the LA Times story:
Turner explained his journey with “Up in the Air” began in 2001 when he read a review of the book, became obsessed with it and wrote a spec screenplay which eventually sold to DreamWorks. Reitman came upon the same book and began what turned into a six-year writing process that included detours to directing “Thank You for Smoking” and “Juno.” After those movies he eventually finished his draft, gave it to George Clooney and the rest is history. He says he never even read Turner’s draft but did read a third one written by Ted Griffin. He had always given credit to Griffin, writer of that version, for a key line Clooney uses to fire people in the film. Turns out Griffin had actually taken it from Turner’s script.
“I found out later that you wrote it and it’s one of the best lines in the script,” Reitman told Turner. “In fact Steve Carell just quoted it in Conan O’Brien’s last show when he was ‘firing’ him from NBC.”
From the anecdote above, we know that at least some of what Turner wrote ended up in the second writer’s script (Griffin), a draft Reitman acknowledges he did read. Because Turner was the first writer, anything that ended up in Griffin’s draft and/or Reitman’s shooting script that can be attributed to Turner’s draft is material for which Turner would receive credit. Per the Guild, that material is viewed as four components:
The percentage contribution made by writers to screenplay obviously cannot be determined by counting lines or even the number of pages to which a writer has contributed. Arbiters must take into consideration the following elements in determining whether a writer is entitled to screenplay credit:
* dramatic construction;
* original and different scenes;
* characterization or character relationships; and
* dialogue.
Moreover in the case of a screenplay which is an adaptation of preexisting source material, there is this factor:
d. Selection from Source Material
As a guideline for arbiters in cases involving a non-original screenplay based upon source material, it is a fundamental principle that selection of screenplay elements from the source material is a part of the creative process of writing the screenplay. Arbiters should give weight to any writer’s original and unique utilization, choice, or arrangement of source material when it is present in the final shooting script, but not the employment of basic story elements which any other writer may have also selected.
Which means that any and all choices Turner made of what material to include or exclude from the novel that are reflected in the final shooting script would be considered part of his contribution to the final draft.
And how much would Turner have to contribute to receive credit? Here’s the WGA rule on non-original screenplays:
a. Percentage Requirements
Any writer whose work represents a contribution of more than 33% of a screenplay shall be entitled to screenplay credit, except where the screenplay is an original screenplay. In the case of an original screenplay, any subsequent writer or writing team must contribute 50% to the final screenplay.
Which means that WGA arbiters may have felt that Reitman was responsible for 50%, maybe even 65% of the final draft, but because Turner contributed at least 33%, he received a writing credit. This reflects a prejudice in favor of first writers — a prejudice I wholeheartedly agree with — particularly notable for original screenplays where any subsequent writer needs to contribute 50%, not 33% to receive credit.
So there you go — a little dip into the sometimes turbulent waters of WGA credits. For more information on that, you can check out the Credits Survival Guide and Screen Credits Manual.
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