2/25/08

Authorship presumably has a lot of issues in all forms of media, not just what we notice in mainstream (Hollywood, at least) films. There seems to be a trend forming - executive producers being credited as the largest name advertised with the film. Michael Bay's Transformers or Quentin Tarantino Presents Hostel... Although they may have some say in creative input, most of these cases seem as they are entire replaceable.

Hostel (as bad of a movie as it is) is a prime example of this. A film written and directed (and almost entirely edited) by Eli Roth had almost no creative input from Tarantino. His name was thought to help promote the film - using a well-known/talented filmmaker to draw attention to a film by a lesser-known filmmaker.

Authorship is a tricky subject - especially in a piece of art that was highly collaborated. Works such as Ryan Trecartin's I-B Area / Family Finds Entertainment, or Althea Thauberger's Songstress / Memories Last Forever are highly dependent on all of the players being a critical creative voice. It's a very subjective matter.

I don't really think you can credit any film with a single name, unless they were solely responsible for the creation and production of it. Especially in big-production films: There are teams of writers, a director, cinematographer, director of photography, countless actors which give life to the roles they are performing. There is no way to credit a single person for a film. Film is unique like this. Rembrandt could paint on his own. Beethoven could write on his own. But, taking it further, it is not an art piece until it is viewed. Then it is up to the gallery administration or a symphony orchestra to adapt how it is presented to the audience.