Wisely, he chose not to say which group was which fish. Celebrated theatre veteran Bud Tingwell, clearly wanting to show he was on the writers' side, said he was proud that he was once sacked from a production as director because he forced the actors to stick to the script. It's an old bugbear of his, he said, but if actors only spent as much time working on a difficult line as they did trying to rewrite it, they would be much better actors. In the current climate, with the film industry contracting through domination by American productions, Gudgeon said scriptwriting was important in securing investment and selling tickets. Good scripts run our industry.
Writers have enormous influence on culture and the way people think about themselves.
The winners will be announced on July 15. The Age Company Ltd 2000. Any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.