The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1914-02-20
PLAY WRITERS
ARE IN DEMAND
Vocation Brings Large Income
Says Mutual Scenario Editor

No department of the motion pic
turc industry l. more interesting to
the "fan" than the scenario depart =
mont and no authority is held in
higher regard than Frank Il. Woods,
.ditor of the Reliance scenarios for
Mutual Movies. Asked to talk ON
scenarios and scenario writer's, Mr..
Woods said,
1t should he understood that there
are but limited number of copy
righted stories suitable for motion
picture production, and, that once this
supply is exhausted by production in
pictures, the producing companies
will he Obliged To depend upon new
stories obtained through publishers
or from the authors direct.
THE limited number of available
plots and the large number of picture
productions should make it apparent
that the existing plots will be used up
eventually 1t follows that the de-
mand for new plots must increase their
value and add To the income of fiction
writer's.
we feel that 10y going into the
production of stories by writer's Of
reputation we are establishing thcir
standing i'm the motion picture field
and they. in a very short time, will
feel the benefit Of the demand which
We are creating. Picture stories hy
recognized writers surely are of more
value than stories by unknown writers
1T seems reasonable to suppose that
i'm the future the fiction writer will
have i'm mind the picture possibilities
in arranging his plots. and the inilu-
onco Of motion picture construction
will become powerful factor in litcra-
lure The number Of wcll-knOWn
writer's who are turning their attention
10 picture requirements is already
very extensive. We have received in
tcrested inquiries from many of the
hest known writer's i'm this country
and in Europe and have established
relations with many of them, among
whom are Richard Harding Davis,
George AIDE. George Pattulo, Paul
Armstrong, Thomas Dixon. Homer
CIoy, Marearet Deland. T.. Phillips OPP
penheim. Earl Derr Biggers Daniel
carson Goodman. Arnold Bennett. car
olyn Wells, Paul West. Roy McCard-
Page. Wallace Irwin. John Luther
Long. Gertrude Atherton Emerson
Hough, Mary Wilkins Freeman. Roy
horton. Edward W. Townsend Cleve-
land Moffett Cyrus Townsend Brady,
George w. Gable and T.. w. iiOrnung.
In soliciting material from fiction
writer's ii has been found more salts
factory To buy from them merely the
motion picture rights To their stories
than To nave them prepare working
scenarios or. more properly SPEAKING.
picture plays. The writer trained ia
writing fiction or even in writing stage
drama does not readily acquire the mos
ton picture tcChnic. one must lea n
To think in n motion picture way be-
fore he can properly prepare n work
ing director. The writer for the stage
is confined To a limited number of To-
cations. lie must locate ms situations
in a few scenes. The noval writer can
roam over the entire earth in narratins
his story. and much of this liberty If
space and time applies to the picture
story.
The evolution of the motion picture
story has been interesting. Originally
plots submitted To the producers were
called suggestions. The price was five
dollars. That was prior to 1908. Then
the price went up to ten dollars. fifteen
dollars. and even twenty-five. and the
took the form of well de-
velopcd compositions, which were fol-
lowed with more or less faithfulness
by the producing directors.
1T was ID. w. Griffith. working foi
the Biograph company, in 1908, who
first gave the motion picture story its
upward trend. He was the first man
W no favored more money for the au-
thor and the foremost man of his time
i'm giving the picture play definite
form and standard. Those who wrote
picture DlaNs i'm the early DAYS and I