We at Moving Pictures Magazine are delighted to facilitate debate on issues related to film's impact on and place in our social culture. We encourage you to share your views on subjects that appear on our pages. Please email your letters to editorial@mpgcorp.net. |
To Moving Pictures Magazine: Interesting debate you shared with us readers in your last issue, between your publisher and editor. As a reader, I never thought much about how the material was chosen for the pages - except with respect to National Enquirer, where I always just accepted as a given that there was effort made to find the juiciest sensation and milk it as much as they could. I find it exciting to know that so much care is taken in the choice of material you print, that your articles are truly meant to stimulate thought. As adults, we do not need to be protected from unpleasant truth, but neither should we lower the standards of discourse to vulgarity. It is a tough line to navigate, which I understand even better after reading the exchange between your publisher and editor. Thank you for a fine magazine. Sincerely,
Liz Sheldon
Via email
In a thoughtful publication like yours, it seems like a neglected but important area you could pick up is coverage of documentary films.
An otherwise satisfied reader,
Janice Elwood
Via email You must have read our mind, or we read yours... We've added a new department this issue, to look at documentary films. -Ed.
To the Editor: I just read your magazine that was sent to me as a Writers Guild Foundation fundraiser. You would be more likely to get contributions and subscribers from members of the WGA if you gave them credit for writing the lines you attribute to actors. (See Dec 06/Jan 07, page 17; article titled, "Popcorn: Morality, Shmorality") The irony is distressing. The creators of the lines were actually: An Ideal Husband (Oscar Wilde, Oliver Parker)
Casino (Nicholas Pileggi)
The President's Analyst (Theodore J. Flicker)
Horror Express (Arnaud d'Usseau and Julian Zimet)
Dogma (Kevin Smith) Michele Em
Member, WGA,w
Via email That's a great idea Michele! We'll try and fit in both the writer of the line and the person who brought it to life! That mean you're signing up? -Ed. Not until I see evidence of improvement ;-) Michele Look forward to receiving your subscription card, Michele! -Ed.
Mr. Kotek you are in so much trouble...!!! I'm looking at page 17 of your Dec/Jan issue, "POPCORN--wrote it/read it/saw it", where you quote four amusing sequences from four movies - lines about writing, in fact - carefully crediting, um, the actors? So I guess they wrote their own lines? Or did the lines magically appear all of their own accord? If it is the latter, by the way, let me know, because it would make my life a whole lot easier.
Regards,
Pam Pettler
Via email
Yes, indeed. We got similar sentiment from another writer as well! I told the other writer that we would credit both the writer and the actor who brought the film into life/memory in our next issue but it's proving harder than I thought: What happens where more than one writer is credited - how do you know who wrote that particular line? -Ed. Hmmmph! The director gets credit for all the shots, although some of them might be the second unit director's shots, or the D.P.'s shots, or another director's suggestions, or sometimes even another director's work... Anyway, in the same way, all the credited writers are credited for all the script. As you know, it's often a group effort anyway - sometimes one writer might come up with the scene or the setup, while another writer
might come up with the final quotable line. Anyway, the etiquette is always, credit all the credited writers whenever you're quoting a line!!!!
Your mag is looking great, by the way. Very interesting and thought-provoking...
Pam
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