Here are a few excerpts from an article he wrote in 1945, titled, “Writers in Hollywood.”
“Hollywood
is easy to hate, easy to sneer at, easy to lampoon. Some of the best lampooning
has been done by people who have never been through a studio gate, some of the
best sneering by egocentric geniuses who departed huffily - not forgetting to
collect their last pay check – leaving behind them nothing but the exquisite
aroma of their personalities and a botched job for the tired hacks to clean up.”
“…writers
are employed to write screenplays on the theory that, being writers, they have
a particular gift and training for the job, and are then prevented from doing
it with any independence or finality whatsoever, on the theory that, being
merely writers, they know nothing about making pictures, and of course if they
don't know how to make pictures, they couldn't possibly know how to write them.
It takes a producer to tell them that.”
“I hold no
brief for Hollywood. I have worked there a little over two years, which is far
from enough to make me an authority, but more than enough to make me feel
pretty thoroughly bored. That should not be so. An industry with such vast
resources and such magic techniques should not become dull so soon … The making
of a picture ought surely to be a rather fascinating adventure. It is not; it
is an endless contention of tawdry egos, some of them powerful, almost all of
them vociferous, and almost none of them capable of anything much more creative
than credit-stealing and self-promotion.”
If you’re
interested in writing or movies, you’ll find this article fascinating. Although
written sixty-five years ago, it still rings true.
This link will take you to the full article in the Atlantic Monthly archives.
This link will take you to the full article in the Atlantic Monthly archives.
