The Errant Æsthete

A read out of Salon close to this scribe’s heart. With American screenwriters (for television as well as film) threatening to strike for the first time in twenty years, Laura Miller looks at the hoariest profession in Hollywood, penned by a screenwriter himself, Marc Normal (winner of an Academy Award for “Shakespeare in Love”) in his new book, “What Happens Next: A History of American Screenwriting.”

Treated more like factory workers than artists, Hollywood screenwriters have never been understood, appreciated, or thought relevant. Jack Warner, of Warner Brothers Studios, called his staff writers “schmucks with Underwoods” and used to sneak over to their building to check that the typewriters were going. The infamously nasty Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures did the same thing, and when he heard the clacking of keys as he passed the window, would scream, “Liars!” A colorful and exciting read for what looks to be an utterly fascinating book.

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