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38-701: Jack Pulman (11 July 1925 – 20 May 1979) was a British television screenwriter , most famous for the 1976 BBC television series, I, Claudius , based on the novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves . Born and raised in London, Pulman was renowned as "adaptor-extraordinary," having written teleplays for such literary works as, The Portrait of a Lady , Jane Eyre , Crime and Punishment , David Copperfield , and War and Peace . Pulman married Barbara Young in 1956. Together they had two children, including actress and singer Liza Pulman . He died of

76-408: A boom barrier and explain the purpose of their visit to a security guard . The sound stage is the central component of a studio lot. Most studios have several; small studios may have as few as one, and large studios have as many as 20 to 30. Movie studios also provide office space for studio executives and production companies, and makeup rooms and rehearsal rooms for talent. If space allows,

114-674: A film studio , production company , TV network, or producer, they often have to continue networking, mainly with directors or executives, and push to have their projects "chosen" and turned into films or TV shows. If interest in a script begins to fade, a project can go dead. The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG) is the international federation of screenwriters' and playwrights' unions, who recognize union membership across international borders. They have 14 different affiliates across various nations who collectively work to verify original authorship, fight for fair compensation, and enforce copyright. Most professional screenwriters in

152-428: A heart attack in London on 20 May 1979. His last screenplay, Private Schulz , went into production after his death. His widow, Barbara Young, collected a posthumous writers award from The Royal Television Society for his work on the show in 1982. He also wrote the screenplays for the 1970 film The Executioner and the 1971 film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson 's Kidnapped . This article about

190-439: A British dramatist or playwright is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter , scribe , or scenarist ) is someone who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting . These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television commercials, video games, and the growing area of online web series. In

228-409: A first draft. Multi-step deals, where the writer is signed on for more than the first draft (typically including a rewrite) can earn a screenwriter more, with experienced WGA members earning up to $ 5,000,000 for their work. Non-union screenwriters can also work for a salary, but will typically earn less than a unionized screenwriter. Pay can vary dramatically for a non-unionized screenwriter. Some of

266-644: A growing proportion of Hollywood movie revenue, with approximately 70% of total movie revenue coming from international ticket sales; and the Chinese domestic box-office revenue is projected to outpace those of US in 2020. The growth of film studios and filmmaking outside of Hollywood and the US has produced popular international film studio locations such as Hollywood North ( Vancouver and Toronto in Canada ), Bollywood ( Mumbai , India ), and Nollywood ( Lagos , Nigeria ). As

304-433: A movie studio has usually been housed on a "studio lot." Physically, a studio lot is a secure compound enclosed by a tall perimeter wall. This is necessary to protect filmmaking operations from unwanted interference from paparazzi and crazed fans of leading movie stars . Movement in and out of the studio lot is normally limited to specific gates (often capped with grand decorative arches), where visitors must stop at

342-648: A position to further a project. Once the script is sold, the writer has only the rights that were agreed with the purchaser. A screenwriter becomes credible by having work that is recognized, which gives the writer the opportunity to earn a higher income. As more films are produced independently (outside the studio system), many up-and-coming screenwriters are turning to pitch fests, screenplay contests, and independent development services to gain access to established and credible independent producers. Many development executives are now working independently to incubate their own pet projects. Screenwriters are rarely involved in

380-439: A script to suit the desires of a director or studio . For instance, studio management may have a complaint that the motivations of the characters are unclear or that the dialogue is weak. Hollywood has shifted writers onto and off projects since its earliest days, and the assignment of credits is not always straightforward or complete, which poses a problem for film study. In his book Talking Pictures , Richard Corliss discussed

418-788: A studio may have an outside backlot . Finally, there is a studio "commissary", which is the traditional term in the movie industry for what other industries call a company cafeteria . In addition to these basic components, the largest film studios are full-service enterprises offering the entire range of production and post-production services necessary to create a motion picture, including costumes, props, cameras, sound recording, crafts, sets, lighting, special effects , cutting, editing, mixing, scoring, automated dialogue replacement (ADR), re-recording, and foley . Independent suppliers of all these services and more (e.g., photographic processing labs) are often found in clusters in close proximity to film studios. Nitrate film , manufactured until 1951,

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456-532: A technical product, a brief " scenario ", "treatment", or "synopsis" that is a written synopsis of what is to be filmed. Screenwriting is a contracted freelance profession, not a hired position. No education is required to be a professional screenwriter, but good storytelling abilities and imagination give aspiring screenwriters an advantage. Many screenwriters start their careers doing speculative work ("work on spec"), practicing their screenwriting with no guaranteed financial compensation. If one of these scripts

494-527: A total of eight generally recognized major studios. United Artists, although its controlling partners owned not one but two production studios during the Golden Age, had an often-tenuous hold on the title of major and operated mainly as a backer and distributor of independently produced films. Smaller studios operated simultaneously with the majors. These included operations such as Republic Pictures , active from 1935, which produced films that occasionally matched

532-640: A tram tour of the backlot where films such as Psycho and Back to the Future were once shot. In fall 2019, movie mogul Tyler Perry opened Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta . The studio lot is claimed to be larger than any movie-studio lot in Hollywood. In the 1980s and 1990s, as the cost of professional 16mm film equipment decreased, along with the emergence of non-film innovations such as S-VHS and Mini-DV cameras, many young filmmakers began to make films outside

570-461: Is put out about a project that a film studio , production company , or producer wants done, they are referred to as "open" assignments. Open assignments are more competitive. If screenwriters are competing for an open assignment, more established writers usually win the assignments. A screenwriter can also be approached and personally offered a writing assignment. Many screenwriters also work as full- or part-time script doctors , attempting to better

608-412: Is sold, it is called a spec script . Amateur screenwriters will often pursue this work as "writers in training," leading these spec scripts to often go uncredited or come from unknown screenwriters. Further separating professional and amateur screenwriters is that professionals are usually represented by a talent agency . These screenwriter-specific employment agencies work to handle the business side of

646-503: The 1918 flu epidemic by Los Angeles compared to other American cities reduced the number of cases there and resulted in a faster recovery, contributing to the increasing dominance of Hollywood over New York City. The Big 5 By the mid-1920s, the evolution of a handful of American production companies into wealthy motion picture industry conglomerates that owned their own studios, distribution divisions , and theaters , and contracted with performers and other filmmaking personnel led to

684-566: The Hollywood area was Nestor Studios , opened in 1911 by Al Christie for David Horsley . In the same year, another 15 independents settled in Hollywood. Other production companies eventually settled in the Los Angeles area in places such as Culver City , Burbank , and what would soon become known as Studio City in the San Fernando Valley . The stronger early public health response to

722-400: The silent era , screenwriters were denoted by terms such as photoplaywright , photoplay writer , photoplay dramatist , and screen playwright . Screenwriting historian Steven Maras notes that these early writers were often understood as being the authors of the films as shown, and argues that they could not be precisely equated with present-day screenwriters because they were responsible for

760-637: The Edison company in 1912. The pioneering Thanhouser movie studio was founded in New Rochelle, New York in 1909 by American theatrical impresario Edwin Thanhouser . The company produced and released 1,086 movies between 1910 and 1917, successfully distributing them around the world. In the early 1900s, companies started moving to Los Angeles, California . Although electric lights were by then widely available, none were yet powerful enough to adequately expose film;

798-602: The U.S. are unionized and are represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Although membership in the WGA is recommended, it is not required of a screenwriter to join. The WGA is the final arbiter on awarding writing credit for projects under its jurisdiction. The WGA also looks upon and verifies film copyright materials. Other notable screenwriters' unions include the Writers' Guild of Great Britain , representing screenwriters in

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836-519: The UK, and La Guilde Française des Scénaristes, representing screenwriters in France. Minimum salaries for union screenwriters in the US are set by the Writers Guild of America . The median compensation for a first draft from a first time screenwriter is $ 100,000, while the most experienced members have a median compensation of $ 450,000. The most experienced WGA members have reported up to $ 4,000,0000 compensation for

874-670: The best source of illumination for motion picture production was natural sunlight. Some movies were shot on the roofs of buildings in Downtown Los Angeles . Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company , based in New York City, controlled almost all the patents relevant to movie production at the time. Early movie producers relocated to Southern California to escape patent enforcement, thanks to more lenient local courts and physical distance from company detectives and mob allies. (Edison's patents expired in 1913.) The first movie studio in

912-472: The federal government won a case against Paramount in the Supreme Court , which ruled that the vertically integrated structure of the movie industry constituted an illegal monopoly . This decision, reached after twelve years of litigation, hastened the end of the studio system and Hollywood's "Golden Age". By the 1950s, the physical components of a typical movie studio had become standardized. Since then,

950-717: The film industry had once hoped—movie studios were increasingly being used to produce programming for the burgeoning medium. Some midsize film companies, such as Republic Pictures , eventually sold their studios to TV production concerns , which were eventually bought by larger studios, such as the American Broadcasting Company which was purchased by Disney in 1996. With the growing diversification of studios into such fields as video games , television stations , broadcast syndication , television , theme parks , home video and publishing , they have become multi-national corporations. International markets account for

988-571: The first movie studio in the United States when he constructed the Black Maria , a tarpaper-covered structure near his laboratories in West Orange , New Jersey , and asked circus, vaudeville, and dramatic actors to perform for the camera. He distributed these movies at vaudeville theaters, penny arcades, wax museums, and fairgrounds. The first film serial , What Happened to Mary , was released by

1026-404: The highest amounts paid to writers for spec screenplays: $ 5 million: $ 2 million: $ 1 million: Film studio There are also independently owned studio facilities, who have never produced a motion picture of their own because they are not entertainment companies or motion picture companies; they are companies who sell only studio space. In 1893, Thomas Edison built

1064-475: The historian's dilemma: "A writer may be given screen credit for work he didn't do (as with Sidney Buchman on Holiday ), or be denied credit for work he did do (as with Sidney Buchman on The Awful Truth )." After a screenwriter finishes a project, they pair with an industry-based representative, such as a producer, director, literary agent , entertainment lawyer, or entertainment executive. The partnerships often pitch their project to investors or others in

1102-480: The last half of [the twentieth] century, what the Great American Novel was for the first half. Closet writers who used to dream of the glory of getting into print now dream of seeing their story on the big or small screen." Every screenplay and teleplay begins with a thought or idea, and screenwriters use their ideas to write scripts, with the intention of selling them and having them produced. In some cases

1140-422: The production of a film. Sometimes they come on as advisors, or if they are established, as a producer. Some screenwriters also direct. Although many scripts are sold each year, many do not make it into production because the number of scripts that are purchased every year exceeds the number of professional directors that are working in the film and TV industry . When a screenwriter finishes a project and sells it to

1178-504: The scale and ambition of the larger studio, and Monogram Pictures , which specialized in series and genre releases. Together with smaller outfits such as PRC TKO and Grand National, the minor studios filled the demand for B movies and are sometimes collectively referred to as Poverty Row . The Big Five's ownership of movie theaters was eventually opposed by eight independent producers, including Samuel Goldwyn , David O. Selznick , Walt Disney , Hal Roach , and Walter Wanger . In 1948,

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1216-453: The screenwriting job, typically taking on legal, financial, and other important representative roles for the screenwriter. These professional screenwriters rarely work for free. There are a legion of would-be screenwriters who attempt to enter the film industry , but it often takes years of trial and error, failure, and gritty persistence to achieve success. In Writing Screenplays that Sell , Michael Hague writes, "Screenplays have become, for

1254-505: The script is based on an existing property, such as a book or person's life story, which is adapted by the screenwriter. In most cases, a film project is initiated by a screenwriter. The initiator of the project gets the exclusive writing assignment. They are referred to as "exclusive" assignments or "pitched" assignments. Screenwriters who often pitch new projects, whether original or an adaptation, often do not have to worry about competing for assignments and are often more successful. When word

1292-713: The sometimes confusing equation of studio with production company in industry slang. Five large companies: RKO Radio Pictures , 20th Century Fox , Paramount Pictures , Warner Bros. , and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer came to be known as the Big Five, the majors, or the Studios in trade publications such as Variety , and their management structures and practices collectively came to be known as the studio system . The Little 3 Although they owned few or no theaters to guarantee sales of their films, Universal Pictures , Columbia Pictures , and United Artists also fell under these rubrics, making

1330-569: The studio system. Filmmakers and producers such as Mike Judge , Adam Sandler , Jim Jarmusch , Robert Rodriguez , Steven Soderbergh , Quentin Tarantino , Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater made films that pushed boundaries in ways the studios were then reluctant to do. In response to these films, many distributed by mini-studios like Miramax , the majors created their own in-house mini-studios meant to focus on edgier, independent content. Focus Features

1368-595: The studios increased in size they began to rely on production companies like J. J. Abrams ' Bad Robot to handle many of the creative and physical production details of their feature films. Instead, the studios transformed into financing and distribution entities for their films (generally made by their affiliated production companies). With the decreasing cost of CGI and visual effects , many studios sold large chunks of their once-massive studio spaces or backlots to private real-estate developers. Century City in Los Angeles

1406-435: Was highly flammable, and sets and backlots were and still are very flammable, which is why film studios built in the early-to-mid 20th century have water towers to facilitate firefighting . Water towers "somewhat inexplicably" evolved into "a most potent symbol ... of movie studios in general." Halfway through the 1950s, with television proving to be a lucrative enterprise not destined to disappear any time soon—as many in

1444-399: Was once part of the 20th Century Fox backlot, which was among the largest and most famous of the studio lots. In most cases, portions of the backlots were retained and are available for rental by various film and television productions. Some studios offer tours of their backlots , while Universal Pictures allows visitors to its adjacent Universal Studios Hollywood theme park to take

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