New-York tribune., 1916-06-25
STAGE WHISPERS

film men are ready TO pay big money
for good scenarios does not mean that
they will get good scenarios. 1t is more
than possible that they will conscien
tiously pay big sums to good writer's
and get only junk in return. The fact
that man is a high-priced novelist
does not necessarily mean that he will
be a good scenario writer. A sterling
example is Rupert Hughes, who re
ceived q lot of money for writing
"Gloria's Romance" From what we
have seen Of that picture, any con-
ductor on the Twenty-ninth Street
crosstown line could turn out a better
one between Madison Avenue and
Broadway The films need more than
uovclists They need dramausts.
And not only that. Having acquired
dramatists. the film men must have
sense enough to leave them alone. They
must take away from their directors
the power to mutilatc az will. a great
American dramatist one of the great
est American dramatists-told us few
weeks ago about his attempt to write
for the films. lie took scenario 90 a
certain star-an actress whose stand
ing is such that she is privileged to
select her own vehicles. She read the
scenario and liked it. She offered the
author $500 for il.
"Make it three hundred" was his
reply. MAKE it one hundred, or fftv
or twenty-five, or ten. I don't care. In
fact, I'M make you present Of 10. But
on one condition. II must be produce
exactly as ! have written 20. refuse
TO allow it to percolate through any
Director
And the scenario was refused
Jesse /. Lasky, I'm an article In The
Tribune few weeks ago. talked the
whole thing over and laid the blame Or
the scenario writer's. lie now comes to
the fore with plan TO relieve the
situation first definite plan, so ia.
as We know. Briefly, Mr. Lasky OK
poets 10 obtain scenario writers by de-
veloping them. To this end ne has
brought Hector Turnbull back from the
Pacific Coast as instructor-in-chief
There is no one better fitted for th-
Job than Hector. lie has been in Los
Angeles something more than a year
and In that time he has run the motion
picture gamut He has written seen
arios varying all the way from excel.
/ lent TO awful.
But give ear 10 Mr.. Lssky:
First. we guarantee that an mate
rial submitted will get quick con-
sideration, and If it is not acceptable
we VIII return 10 20 the author with "a
carefully written, constructive crit
icism, u which We will endeavor TO
point out the reasons why the story,
ln our humble opinion. was not worth
+ purchasing If. on the other hand.
the story contains am idea. or even "a
situation. worth developing. we agree
TO collaborate with the author and 90
help him develop his story 10 a point
where 10 Is i'm such form that we can
f pay the author a good price for mate
rial that under ordinary conditions
/ would have been returned as being
not good enough for production.
Mr. Turnhull has been persuaded
T 20 give up writing himself and TO
/ lend all his time TO the oncourag-
ing and assisting Of other writers
We intend 10 appeal TO men at the
T top Of their profession. who iu the
past would not take thc trouble to
study this new art with care. We
want to cooperate with the men who
write good stories or who have not
sc, established their names IN LIS