Scroungers? Not

The decided angle of “Calling Cyrano to the Film Set” (July 3) seems to be that certain writers are merely perks for stars that studios are forced to tolerate, like a big trailer or a personal yoga teacher. It is true that, in many instances, the lead actor has a strong voice, along with the director, studio and producers, in determining who rewrites a script that is headed for production. Who has the strongest voice in that decision depends on the particular project and people involved.

If the headline of your story is that star actors, not directors, now determine who is called in to rewrite a script, then your article does a disservice to the reader by not mentioning a key point: These so-called personal screenwriters are also wanted by everyone else. The people mentioned in the story are at the top of every studio list when it comes to finding someone to rewrite a script, star or no star. I feel it is unfair to the talented writers you mention in the story to characterize them as merely some sort of necessary nuisance who can “gum up production.”

While not credited on many scripts, none of these people are “toiling in public obscurity.” Many are also directors and producers who have credited collaborations with the actors they work with. Not once in the story is it mentioned that Adam McKay directed “Anchorman” and is doing the same with “Talladega Nights.” John Hamburg wrote and directed “Along Came Polly”; Steve Oedekerk directed Jim Carrey in “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.” These are professionals, who make movies both with the actors they collaborate with and on their own. I think it is insulting to them to imply that they are reliant on personal relationships to “scrounge up new work.” In creative collaborations of all types, it is pretty standard to work with proven, talented artists with whom you have an established relationship. Not very controversial, and not really newsworthy, but the truth.

By the way, John Hamburg did not help me with this letter.

Ben Stiller

Los Angeles

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I am lucky to go to many stage performances throughout the year and am constantly amazed at seeing some of the same actors in different productions playing varied roles, creating real people from the lines written for them by talented playwrights. These actors work at finding and creating the character who is called for by the material. In the world of the theater, the words are sacred and the director and actor do not deviate from them unless allowed to by the writer, if he/she is alive.

From Mr. Horn’s article it would appear that movie stars seek to repeat the same role over and over again, asking their personal screenwriter to come onboard to help them, in some cases, repeat the same dialogue over and over again. Hence Will Ferrell will play Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler will play Adam Sandler and Julia Roberts will play Julia Roberts.

Robert Briscoe Evans

Valley Village

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As someone who’s been making a living as a script doctor on feature films, I found John Horn’s piece about actors’ penchants for “personal screenwriters” to be commendably objective. Nevertheless, not all “on the set” writing duties should be classified as an “A-list perk.” Many feature films are rushed into production with screenplays that are either underdeveloped or glaringly incomplete, making the presence of a scribe with a laptop indispensable.

Alan Spencer

Studio City