Why is it always the DIRECTOR who get's mentioned?

[kotora]

In so many words, Directors often sell tickets more then writers. Certain writers have a track record and a proven fanbase, a la Charlie Kaufman, Aaron Sorkin, etc, but the Directors and the Actors are the more visible moneymakers, fair or not.

A film is in essence a collaboration of many, many people. So many in fact that credits often take 6-10 minutes to run! The vastly overlooked include not just writers, but the DP's, the Editors, the Art Department, the Effects Department, etc, etc.

they're all just support personnel though. Whatever it is they do could be seen as manual labor they do according to the director's vision.

[Del Murder]

Coming soon, from the Key Grip that brought you...The Godfather...

And the Gaffer from...Lord of the Rings...

With the catering company that provided lunch on the set of...Avatar...

[The Captain]

"And the Gaffer from...Lord of the Rings..."

Do you mean Samwise's Old Gaffer?



"they're all just support personnel though. Whatever it is they do could be seen as manual labor they do according to the director's vision."

True on some level, but not on all. The Editor and DP are just as essential to any film as the director. Even the best films would be ruined without either of them. They are the real heroes of most films as they are literally in charge of what you SEE on the screen, creating the director's vision.

Take care all.

[Ouch!]

If there's anything that I've learned from my creative writing classes at a university with a pretty strong film program (and the obnoxious amounts of time I spend around film majors) its the screenplays are typically written by committee. Others have already touched on the most important aspects of this: that while one or two individuals may be responsible for the original script, a multitude of changes ultimately turn it into something only vaguely reminiscent of what it started as.

The process of screenplay writing and writing credits is so convoluted that there is an enormous industry in intellectual property law in Hollywood based solely on distributing exactly how the writing credits for a particular screenplay are divided. It's an entire business deciding who gets credit for what parts of each script.

Consequently, it's easier and more accurate to credit a director who is typically responsible for cohesion on the entire project.

[Shiny]

There is also that one guy (a writer) that is generally mentioned. Charlie Kaufman, but he has also directed before so I dunno if that counts.

Producers aren't advertised, but they tend to have much more control over the project than most people are aware of -- even more than the director which is why some directors opt to also produce their own films. And many major films, the director has very little control over their own creative idea. This is especially troubling if the director also wrote the film. The studios will ask things to be changed and what not. For the most part I agree with what The Captain said. The screenplay is changed often during the film, and even after the film has been shot in the cutting room, things will get cut out. The reason is sometimes as simple as something written just ending up not working visually, or it may be as stupid as the studio saying, "ew, this is too long we need it to be around 120 minutes not 150. Cut it down." So entire pages of the story could be cut out or changed to point where the screenwriter basically was just a part of the rough cut of the idea.

[Peegee]

The OP was talking about why directors get billed over screenwriters.

THIS

Thanks Shinies