The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-06
ARE TIE MOVIES" GOING TO
INFLUENCE NOVEL WRITINGP

r. work. may have noticed some
vague difference between his new
move. idle wives" and his prey Gus fc-
ton q difference in cnec,s that is hard
20 .l5.yz,. Bot when MIR Oppenheim
points out I've what tn variation lies
and explains why he changed his method
Il all becomes clear And. oddly enough
yet inter al not so odd, perhaps--thc
reason goes straight TO the all pervadins
movie"
Nj Oppenh,.u thinks that the movies"
are so,ng TO have big Influence upon
move. wrtlus. that already they have had
At any rate they have had in his case,
as any one familiar with his earlier psy-
Geological. analytical method can tell upoq
rsad,ug "ldlr Wives which reveals It's
20, through swiftly shifting action.
"ll my own case says Nj. Open
helm 81 know that the movies have in
fueue,d my technique. Aly first stories
had very U'tc plot, rs that term Is UNI
utr.toul They We're based on some dra-
matt. struggle ia tho lives Of the char
lctefs, hut carried no action leading 10
climax; Tn, struggle was merely car
ned past some turning point.
"Th.u something | wrote was taken and
converted INTO motion picture scenario
for the Edison company. And then ] got
interested in the process and tried my
hand a it | found / had 10 develop a
sense OF plot, which | almost lacked
Tor a motion picture SCENARIO must be
sooi for pot or nothing. ] found ! had
70 show development Of character and
10 through physical act on. And then
when | went back to move. writing and
my old style | discovered myself IN Il
MOT making habit ! wanted To get my
characters over through action instead or
through discussion. And then ! saw that
much more could be given through that
method.
Gin The Arst place there was the mat
,.r ,f technique By building book on
tHc bass u' scenario. several succeed
INK small scenes discussion Is reduced
90 A minimum aud the big idea Is shown
through the action and can reach much
wider iudien. Then too by these quick
changes OF scene telling contrasts can be
PRESENTED ami m total effect makes Tor
irrs mess. sharpness, yividness and speed.
SapEpsp,.rs.s idea was not dissimilar;
he unroled scene after scene IN whlch
TIE characters had TO show themselves
instead OF being made the objects OF
prolonged discussion,
And o. course such method helps
the writer II helps him as working FRO u
mpd,ls helps the painter. ! used TO thlhk
ia pity writer's couldn't work from mod
els a. painters do, and then saw
that TN. writer actually could go TO lie
and srr hls raw plots bodied forth INTO
expression instead of having mentally 10
20 through all the actions of his char
acters and could have constant Illus
tratlon Of what people do and look natu-
raj For these movie actors must io'N
natural n no hing else. the camera regis
ters more pitilessly than stage accesso-
RES
But the greatest effect OF the motion
picture drama on the novel Is not on its
technique. II is influencing return TO
the primitive our fiction has been tend
ing toward poltcnoss. toward the rejec-
ton OF many themes. Magazines dldnt
want stories OF tragedy nor OF crime ex-
cept IN relation 20 mystery; they wanted
little about sex relations except in a po-
lite. artificial strain, and nothing on Ia
hor, politics or religion. The rrst I'M
preston received when | began writing
scenarios was one OF escape from re-
F,r'ctors
"Of course an artist cherishes sense
OF freedom. He wants 10 express NE
as he knows it-and he knows that the
conventional part OF hms Y II the small
-, part We are all composed or Two
selves, biz. primitive background ana
little CIVILIZED crust. The classics seem
san, 10 us and the Bible because they
include so much that Is vulgar. because
tl,r ,Nprss our whole natures And the
movies are widening the realm In which
the writer may hope To work. Tragedy
coroHv, farce all dealing more freely
with lie.
''Tner, IL n beauty IN vulgarity. a nee
fo- il The more N routine we have In
NE me more need there Is for some
orgy fIr some violent exhaust. for some
violent oppression TO purge US OF the hid
den vU!garity I'm our own second selves
mental catharsIs,' as Aristotle called It,
:, is -pujfcant that the motion picture
theatre has made itself substitute FOR
Vi sk.y and that in some places they have
~H..i saloons to close
'Sp mink that the movies are tend
I'M Fl. have democratic eff ct on th'
Ton" Tho popular Ovel VIII have
aInu' ,rro of the t1ctics OF the scenarl
II n intends to stay In the race; and the
v.nr "hp considers his writing as an
wt n'l Hnl great deal in the methods
o' '.o scenario to help him and TO gain
h." np.a freedom I'm expression
So that accounts for the difference" ir
VI onpcuhcims Idle wives" II was
, written n nldy on scenario principles
NJ nnr,rhclm admits that IL was an eN'
p'-m..' and that he may some time
H''r return 10 his earlier methods OF
.s.pn and analysis. But at present
2. docs not think so.