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The Writers: A History of American Screenwriters and Their Guild

Page 44

by Miranda J. Banks


  Restless Gun, The, 140

  Return of the Secaucus Seven, The, 157

  Rhimes, Shonda, 15, 236, 258

  Rintels, David W., 158–159, 258

  Rio Grande, 52

  Riskin, Victoria, 211, 258, 297n2

  Rivera, Jose, 258

  Rivkin, Allen, 48, 258

  RKO, 28, 36, 64, 111, 289n78

  Roberts, Ben, 168, 258

  Roberts, Ian, 259

  Roberts, Marguerite, 93, 259

  Robinson, Edward G., 100

  Robson, May, 29

  Rockford Files, The, 214

  Rodman, Howard, 17, 180, 259

  Rodman, Howard A., 17, 189–190, 196, 230, 259, 299n43

  Rogers, Howard Emmett, 52, 55, 68, 93, 259, 276n90

  Rogers, Lela, 98

  Rolfe, Sam, 155, 171, 259

  Roman Holiday, 112

  Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, 208

  Room 222, 180

  Room with a View, A, 237

  Roos, Don, 229, 259

  Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 27, 46, 48–49, 78, 280n36

  Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood, 49

  Root, Wells, 259

  Roots, 13, 174–175

  Rose, Reginald, 128, 259

  Rosemary’s Baby, 164

  Roshomon, 2, 189

  Ross, Andrew, 8

  Ross, Arthur A., 97, 259

  Rosten, Leo, 59, 64, 259

  Rothschild, Erica, 229, 259

  Route 66, 139

  royalties, 91, 93, 122, 143, 146–147, 149; Internet, 223

  Rubin, Stanley, 122, 152, 173, 259

  Rules of the Game, The, 89

  Rushmore, 202

  RWG, see Radio Writers Guild

  Ryan, Amy, 225

  Ryan, Shawn, 219, 259

  Ryskind, Morrie, 54, 277n99

  Saboteur, 38

  Sabrina, 189

  Safe, 202

  SAG, see Screen Actors Guild

  SAG-AFTRA, see American Federation of Television and Radio Artists; Screen Actors Guild

  Sagor, Frederica, 35, 42, 259

  Salkowitz, Sy, 169

  Salt, Waldo, 70, 93, 259

  Sanford and Son, 4, 157, 181, 184

  Sargent, Alvin, 6, 159, 179, 259

  Sarris, Andrew, 161

  Saturday Night Live, 219

  Savage Grace, 17

  Savel, Dava, 24, 183, 259

  Saving Grace, 222

  Sayles, John, 157, 202, 259

  Scandal, 236

  Scarface, 37

  Scarlet Street, 36

  Schamus, James, 260, 268

  Schary, Dore, 42, 55, 89, 121, 260, 277n99

  Schatz, Thomas, 152, 266

  Scheft, Bill, 218, 221, 260

  Schenk family, 96

  Schiff, Robin, 208–209, 260

  Schiller, Robert, 127, 138, 178, 260

  Schneider, Abe, 144

  Schrader, Paul, 4, 172, 260

  Schubert, Bernard, 35–36, 260

  Schulberg, Budd, 75, 89, 107, 260

  Schultheiss, John, 38

  Schwartz, Nancy Lynn, 46, 56–57, 74, 95, 110, 266

  Schwartz, Sherwood, 157, 169, 260

  Scorsese, Martin, 164, 260

  Scott, Adrian, 69, 107, 111, 115, 260

  Scott, Joan, 107, 111, 115, 260

  Screen Actors Guild (SAG), 10, 11, 46, 48, 49–50, 57–58, 68, 70, 86; postwar era, 115, 142, 144, 145–146, 187, 196, 200, 209; and 2007–2008 strike, 215–216, 220, 225, 228

  Screen Cartoonists Guild, 70, 80

  Screen Directors Guild, see Directors Guild of America

  Screen Gems, 80, 140

  Screen Guilds’ Magazine (journal), 31, 53

  Screen Office Employees Guild, 81

  Screen Playwrights (SP), 32, 54–61, 68, 93, 121

  Screen Producers Guild, 152, 169–170

  Screen Publicists Guild, 81, 277n123

  Screen Set Designers Guild, 81

  Screen Writer, The (TSW), 66, 72–73, 85–95, 96, 102, 103, 240

  screenwriters: definitions and characteristics, 1, 2–3, 6, 8–9, 11, 20, 233–235; job insecurity, 35, 38, 40, 49, 85, 88, 172; labor dispute dilemmas, 82–84, 226; output, 159; outsider status, 19–21, 34, 234–235; producers’ attitudes toward, 1, 6, 13, 14, 35, 40, 44, 47, 56, 57, 73–74, 96; public awareness of, 155–156, 164, 192, 211, 218–219, 238, 299n36; salaries and compensation, 12, 17, 44, 46, 56, 65, 83, 91, 122, 126, 138, 140–143, 147–149, 186–187, 197; screenwriter-plus role, 239; on sets, 89, 111; women and minorities, 19, 21–24, 25, 45, 235–237; working conditions, 8, 19, 35, 39–42, 43–44, 49, 59, 233; working during blacklist era, 109–14; World War II mobilization, 72, 74–79, 281n71. See also authorship issues; credits; television writers

  Screen Writers Guild (SWG): the AAA and, 91–93; blacklist era, 67, 71–73, 99–107, 115, 118; Credit Restoration Committee (CRC), 115; CSU strike and, 80–85; formation, 2, 20, 25, 28–34, 44–46, 273n5; functions and role, 31, 33, 44, 51, 60–63, 72, 95, 101–102, 115, 121; gender bias, 21–22; growth and amalgamation, 46–54; HUAC investigations and, 94, 95, 97–98, 99, 101–106, 109, 132; loyalty oath proposal, 104–105; negotiating first contract with studios, 60–65, 159, 277n123; opposition to NIRA, 48; political positions, 18, 97, 101–102, 104, 106; producers’ opposition to, 47–61; pseudonym policy, 111; SP challenge, 54–60; television and, 117–118, 122, 123–124, 126–127, 128–129, 132, 134, 150; World War II era, 75–76, 84–85, 281n71. See also Screen Writer, The; screenwriters; strikes; Writers Guild of America

  Scriptnotes (podcast), 239

  script writing, 3–8, 35–39, 167; multi-authored scripts, 4, 35, 40, 42; script doctors, 6, 17; spec scripts, 7, 63, 119, 156, 167

  Searchers, The, 116

  Seaton, George, 88, 99, 260

  Selznick, David O., 27, 35, 161

  Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security, 130

  Sergeant York, 92, 94

  series, see television series

  Serling, Rod, 125, 145, 152, 260

  Serpico, 70

  Service Employees International Union, 228

  77 Sunset Strip, 145, 146

  sex, lies and videotape, 202

  Shandling, Garry, 235, 260

  Shavelson, Melville, 83, 123, 155, 260

  She Done Him Wrong, 36

  Sheehan, Winfield, 31

  Sheldon, Sidney, 186, 260–261

  Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), 112

  She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, 36

  Shield, The, 219

  Ship, Reuben, 129, 261

  showrunners: defined, 197–198, 239; role in 2007–2008 strike, 218–219, 226

  Showtime cable network, 211

  Sid Caesar Show, The, 136

  Silcox, Louise, 45

  Silliphant, Stirling, 14, 139–140, 166, 171, 261

  Silverman, Fred, 174, 175, 177

  Silverman, Treva, 180, 261

  Simon, David, 237–238, 261

  Simon, Neil, 5, 136, 261

  Simpsons, The, 204

  Sinatra, Frank, 100

  Sinclair, Upton, 47–48

  Singing Nun, The, 10

  Singleton, John, 202, 261

  Sklar, Jason and Randy, 229, 261

  Sklar, Robert, 267

  Skouras, Spyros, 144

  Slackers, 203

  Slocum, Chuck, 191, 201, 212

  Smith, Kevin, 202, 261

  Smith, Patricia Falken, 171, 261

  “Smithee, Alan,” 161

  Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The, 167

  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 80

  Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers, 71

  Soderbergh, Steven, 202, 261

  Solomon, Ed, 219, 261

  Solondz, Todd, 202, 261

  Some Like It Hot, 39, 101

  Song of Nevada, 73

  Song of Russia, 78–79, 106

  Song of the South, 92, 97

  Sorkin, Aaron, 235, 261

  Sorrell,
Herbert, 80, 81, 85

  Souls for Sale, 54

  Sound of Music, The, 189

  Southern, Terry, 139, 261

  SP, see Screen Playwrights

  Spartacus, 112, 114

  Spellbound, 37, 161

  Spelling, Aaron, 166, 177, 261

  Spielberg, Steven, 192, 261

  Spigel, Lynn, 117

  Spigelgass, Leonard, 101, 104, 261, 287n38

  Stagecoach, 36

  Stage Door, 54

  Staiger, Janet, 89

  Stallings, Laurence, 36, 261

  Stander, Arthur, 134, 261

  Stand Up and Fight, 72

  Stapleton, Maureen, 173

  Star Is Born, A, 38

  Star Trek, 168, 189

  Star Wars, 157, 173

  Steinberg, Norman, 234, 262

  Steinkellner, Bill, 183, 262

  Steinkellner, Cheri, 3, 167, 182–183, 185, 190, 262

  St. Elsewhere, 178

  Stepfather II, 195

  Stephen J. Cannell Productions, 177

  Stern, Andy, 228

  Stern, Leonard, 127, 136, 169, 262

  Stevens, John Paul, 170

  Stewart, Donald Ogden, 29, 42, 57, 262

  Stewart, Mike, 5, 262

  Stoddard, Brandon, 174

  Stone, Noreen, 180, 262

  Stone, Oliver, 164, 262

  Story Analysts (union), 81

  story notes, 238

  Stout, Rex, 130, 279n25

  streaming media, 141, 198–199, 212, 225, 227, 228–229, 302n98

  Streetcar Named Desire, A, 107

  strikes, 11, 81–82, 85, 158, 159, 196–197, 241–242, 301nn74–75; 1941 Disney animators, 80; 1945 CSU, 11, 73, 80–85; 1952 ALA/SWG/RWG, 130–131; 1959 WGA, 142–143; 1960 WGA, 2, 8, 11, 123, 144–149, 169; 1973 WGA, 168–169; 1980–1981 SAG–AFTRA, 185–187, 186, 188; 1985 WGA, 158, 188–189, 190; 1987 CBS/Capital Cities/ABC, 189; 1988 WGA, 190–191; 2006 America’s Next Top Model, 213–214, 225; 2007–2008 WGA, 2, 9, 11, 20, 171, 199, 211–212, 218–228, 222, 229–230, 239, 268, 302n98

  Studio One, 128, 149

  Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, 235

  studio system practices, 14, 20, 24, 43–44, 57, 88, 110

  Sturges, Preston, 42, 262

  Suber, Howard, 107, 266

  Sud, Veena, 236, 262

  Sullivan’s Travels, 42, 75

  Sunset Blvd., 39, 42, 155, 234

  Supreme Court, US, 32, 48, 57, 105, 139, 170–171

  Survivor, 205

  Suspicion, 53

  Sutton, Phoef, 262

  Sweet Smell of Success, 108

  SWG, see Screen Writers Guild

  Swicord, Robin, 21, 262

  Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, 183

  Taft-Hartley Act (1947), 69, 95, 101, 103, 133

  Tandem/TAT Productions, 156–157, 177–178, 181, 184

  Taradash, Daniel, 82, 161, 186, 262

  Tarantino, Quentin, 202, 262

  Taraporevala, Sooni, 19, 262

  Tarloff, Frank, 186, 262

  Tartikoff, Brandon, 190

  Tate, Deborah Taylor, 217

  Taxi Driver, 4

  Taylor, Robert, 68

  Teamsters Union, 10, 131, 187, 213

  Telecommunications Act (1996), 198, 201, 298n19

  television, 117–153, 156–159, 166–179; as advertising medium, 124; blacklisted writers and, 111; boutique programming, 192, 201; cinematic film broadcasts, 122, 140–141; early years, 123–138; East Coast vs. West Coast production, 125, 135–137; impact on film industry, 110, 120, 124, 126–127, 128, 138–139, 152; multiplexing of channels, 201–202; network executives, 109, 122, 166, 216, 226, 238; pay TV, 142–143, 148, 168, 185; producers, 122, 139, 144–145, 153; violence, 169. See also authorship issues; cable television; showrunners; writer-producers

  television films (made-for-TV and movies of the week), 173–175

  Television Producers Guild, 152, 170

  television series, 119, 121–122, 135–137, 139, 152–153, 156–157, 166–167, 175–178, 192, 205; aesthetics, 177; African American casts, 184; anthology series, 125, 132, 136–137, 139, 173; financing, 177; miniseries, 173; pilots, 119, 177, 236; show bibles, 167, 176; women in production, 180. See also animation; reality television; reruns and syndication

  television writers: African American, 183–184, 236–237; backgrounds, 124–125, 172; freelancers, 166–168; guild and union issues, 117–119, 124–125, 128–135, 137, 142; head writers, 121–122, 167, 221; job insecurity, 138; in 1970s and 1980s, 171–184; place in media hierarchy, 137–138, 152–153, 240; reality programming and, 205–206; salaries and compensation, 123, 126, 132, 135, 138, 140, 141–143, 148–149, 168, 186–187, 197; women and minorities, 150–151, 179–184, 235–237; working conditions, 118, 119, 127–128; writers’ rooms, 122, 128, 166, 180, 182, 184

  Television Writers Association (TWA), 118–119, 121, 131–135, 239, 288n46

  Tell Me Where It Hurts, 47, 173, 180

  Tenant, The, 164

  Ten Commandments, The, 113

  Tender Comrade, 69

  Tenney, Jack, and Tenney Committee, 79–80

  Terrytoons, 80

  Thalberg, Irving, 3, 28, 31, 40, 42, 47, 49, 51, 55

  That Certain Summer, 174

  That Girl, 115

  Thau, Benny, 30

  theater chains, 105, 110, 120

  Thelma and Louise, 237

  They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!, 183

  Thief, 192

  Thin Man, The, 30, 88

  30 Rock, 235

  thirtysomething, 216

  Thomas, J. Parnell, 68, 70–71, 96, 104

  Thomas Committee, see House Un-American Activities Committee

  Thompson, Kristin, 89

  Those Who Kill, 166

  Three Comrades, 38

  3-D, 138

  Three Faces of Eve, The, 42

  Thuna, Leonora, 182, 262

  Thunderbolt, 87

  Tick, The, 298n26

  Time Warner Inc., 209

  Tinker, Grant, 177, 178

  To Catch a Thief, 160

  Tolkin, Mel, 5, 141, 262

  Tombragel, Maurice, 14, 16, 137, 262

  Tootsie, 17, 188

  Towne, Robert, 3, 17, 262

  Townsend, Robert, 184, 263

  Traffic, 219

  TransAmerica Corporation, 153

  Transformers: The Game, 206

  Trotti, Lamar, 86, 263

  Trouble in Paradise, 53

  Trouble with Harry, The, 160

  True Grit, 93

  Trumbo, Dalton, 24, 69–70, 92, 111, 113, 114, 149, 263; as editor of TSW, 73, 86; and HUAC investigations, 69–70, 97–98, 100, 103–104; pseudonyms, 112–114

  Truman, Harry S., 69, 97

  TSW, see Screen Writer, The

  Tugend, Harry, 49, 63–64, 263

  Tunberg, Karl, 126, 263

  Tunick, Irve, 134, 263

  Turner Broadcasting System, 209

  Turteltaub, Saul, 4–5, 171, 192, 263

  TWA, see Television Writers Association

  Twentieth Century–Fox, 28, 31, 111, 121, 140, 156, 181, 185. See also Fox Network

  21 Jump Street, 214

  Twilight Zone, The, 145, 152

  2gether, 212

  2001: A Space Odyssey, 157

  UCLA, 124

  Ulius, Betty, 21–22, 263

  “Unfriendly Nineteen,” 69, 96–97

  unions and unionization, 8, 10–11, 27–34, 43–60, 79–81, 83, 197, 198, 207

  United Artists, 142, 153

  United Hollywood (website), 223–224, 225

  Universal Pictures, 28, 31, 64, 140–141, 185, 202, 214

  Urwand, Ben, 279n19

  Vajda, Ernest, 29, 263

  Valenti, Jack, 200

  Van Sant, Gus, 202–203, 263

  Variety (journal), 49, 56, 60

  Verrone, Patric, 208, 212–214, 215–216, 227, 263

  vertical deregulation, 105

  vertical
integration and reintegration, 185, 196, 199

  Veyne, Paul, 267–268

  VHS (VCRs and videocassettes), 168, 185, 187–189, 207

  Viacom, 200, 209

  Victor, David, 169, 263

  video games, 198–199, 204, 206–207, 217; writers for, 206–207, 217–218

  Vidor, King, 84

  Vogel, Joseph R., 144

  Wage Stabilization Board, 126

  Wagner Act (1935), 50–51, 56–58, 69, 91

  Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York, 71

  Waldorf Declaration, 71–72, 73, 99, 100

  Walking and Talking, 202

  Wallis, Hal B., 58

  Wall Street, 164

  Walt Disney Company, 80, 203, 209, 221, 298n25

  Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, 14, 16

  Walter Lanz Productions, 80

  Walton, Brian, 190–191, 204, 207, 209–210

  Waltons, The, 181

  War Labor Disputes Act (1943), 82

  Warner, Jack, 31, 39–40, 41, 68, 96, 100, 144

  Warner Bros., 64, 96, 145, 153, 221; consolidation, 185, 200

  Washington Post (newspaper), 70–71

  Wasserman, Lew, 140, 146, 162–163

  Watch on the Rhine, 38

  Waterworld, 225

  Webb, Jack, 140, 169, 263

  Webb, James, 147, 183, 263

  web series, 229

  websites and blogs, 199, 207, 223–225

  Webster, Tony, 136, 263

  Web Therapy, 229

  Wedding Banquet, The, 202, 268

  Weiner, Matthew, 194, 238, 263

  Weiss, David, 212

  Welcome to the Dollhouse, 202

  Wells, John, 197, 210, 263

  West, Nathanael, 38, 263

  West Wing, The, 7

  Wexman, Virginia Wright, 160

  WGA, see Writers Guild of America

  WGAE, see Writers Guild of America

  WGAw, see Writers Guild of America

  WGAw Newsletter, 155, 182, 188

  What’s Happening!!, 184

  Wheaton, Christopher, 44, 266

  White, Byron, 170

  White, Phyllis, 10, 264

  White, Robert, 131, 134, 264

  White, Sydnye, 205, 264

  White Heat, 96, 129

  Why We Fight, 78

  Widdifield, Ann, 210

  widescreen, 139

  Wilber, Carey, 168, 183, 264

  Wilder, Billy, 39, 42, 121, 155, 164, 234, 264

  Wilk, Max, 14

  Wilkerson, William R., 53, 92, 102–103, 129

  Williams, Mark, 266

  Willimon, Beau, 264

  Wilmore, Larry, 219, 264

  Wilson, Carey, 42, 264

  Wilson, Michael, 24, 112, 114, 115, 264

  Winchester ’73, 108

  Winged Victory, 38

  Winship, Michael, 220, 221–222, 225, 228, 233, 264

  Wire, The, 237

  Wizard of Oz, The, 60

  Wodehouse, P. G., 38, 55, 264

  Wolfson, Roger, 222–223, 264

 

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