Writers determine the era, the selection of locale, the specifications of detail, the action of what happens and who does it, and how it all turns out . . . And writers originate, from their inexhaustible palettes, the themes, the human longings and emotions, the pity and hope and fear that capture audiences in a web of dreams that make them laugh and cry. Even when there are several writers involved, the uniqueness of what we do, its foundational quality, does not cease to exist. It might have several paternal or maternal ancestors, but the baby was born in the imagination of writers, and it is their informing vision that permeates every frame of film, every pixel of a TV program. Even many that are credited to more than one writer and many that are adaptations bear the essential permeating imprint of the screenplay or teleplay writer.
Writers often pride themselves on the suppleness of their art and craft and write in several styles.
Compare John Sayles's Lone Star with Men With Guns . Different styles, different thematic approaches, but distinctively John Sayles. Through the rich variety and audacious innovation of their work runs a personal passion, a stylistic integrity, and thematic unity that is undeniably the voice of its writer. The collaborative nature of our art neither alters the fact that it originates with the writer nor diminishes our collaborators. It demands ample room to laud the creative contributions of actors, producers, directors, cinematographers, sound designers, production designers, computer-effects specialists, and all the vital others who interpret, shape, mold, and polish, and without whom no movie or television program would exist.