New-York tribune., 1921-03-13
Study Craftsmanship: Says
Miss Macpherson to Writers
OF Motion Picture Stories

Rebe Daniels fact, the entirs n.
Mile constellation.
Miss Macpherson declined comr;.
ting herself on the question Of ali-st,,
versus onestar productions But al.
went so far as to say that she th;nL.
the story is the main thing, regardle,,
Of the sta-.
"Mr De Mile never sacrifices a ..or,
for the sake of star" she said. aH.
will not allow certain parts to h. cr.
out of a picture because the girl nlsv-
ing the lead is not at her best in :.
closeup. If part plays itself bio !.
should go over regardless Of ever
thing and everybody"
Speaking of the period that ha,
elapsed since she finished Male md
Female" Miss Macpherson said she
had learned a great deal in the las.
Affair of Anatole" had been a revela.
ton to her.
working on story like this Won
feel as if you are ruling a kingdom
composed of small duchies," she said
"The technique offered trcmendou.
difficulties and l saw how little really
knew about scenario writing when I
tried to handle it. l had no precedent
to go by. And the public IS gallopinr
ahead so fast in what it desires thai
we are kept on the run sustaining the
pace. It's not so difficult to be sue
cess in the first place, but it is ex-
tremely hard to keep up to the mark.
There are fewer scenario writer's in the
field now than there were q year ago
l think this is the only department
that has not suffered from the general
slump in pictures"
Erocb frop, Holl,rxrooJ NJ.
son is keenly interested in the British
writer's who are studying scenario
writing there. The directors are taxing
them in hand for the most part. she
says, and none of chem is better loved
than Sir Gilbert Parker. They are ali
working hard and seriously. At the
start some of the writer's, who had
already won their spurs in the literary
world, were inclined to think that
scenario was something to be dashed
off in the course of an afternoon They
were speedily disillusioned on this
score. Mrs. Elinor Glyn is working
night and day on her first picture.
Asked what the professional scenario
writers thought about the literary in
vasion at Hollywood, Miss Macpherson
said:
eve are more than glad to welcom.
them. 1t stands to reason that authors
who have given their life's blood to
story telling have ideas to ge. across
that have something in them 4 crafts
man like Parker may not know his me
dunn fully yet, but he has the gift Of
narration and is apt to have more in
tegrity in his story than the average
scenario writer. These authors may Be
short on picture technique, but they
have an immense advantage in every
other way, and it is up to the profes-
sional scenario writer to look to his
laurels, although l really believe there
is plenty of room for every one with
real talent.
''Scenario writing is no longer baby
business. 1t is art. Technique il hard
Most of US feel that it is a pretty big
game and a game worth studying.
Craftsmanship is immensely important
Any one with Imagination can build up
story. hut technique can only be ac-
quired by grind"
Miss Macpherson pointed out that
while it is true that authors aud dram
atists are entering freely into the see
mario field, it is also true that some Of
the professional scenario writers are
being invited to help playwrights in
their work. She had an offer Of this
kind which she could not undertake be-
Cause Of her contract with Mr.. De Mile