The schreiber theory
Subtitle: a radical rewrite of American film history
By: David Kipen.
Series: Melville manifestos
Publisher: Melville House Pub.
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Hoboken, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 172
ISBN-13: 9780976658337
Subjects: Motion picture authorship -- United States; Screenwriters -- United States -- Credits; Motion pictures -- United States -- History
Description: "In an edgy and funny manifesto, critic David Kipen says, au contraire to the old film school theory that gives all the credit to the director, the auteur theory." "Instead, inspired by "the mother tongue of America's first screenwriters," he uses the Yiddish word for writer to coin The Schreiber Theory, which decrees that knowing who wrote a film is often a far better and more consistent guide to knowing whether a movie is any good."

"Kipen's new heresy topples the old orthodoxy by studying the careers of screenwriters past and present in a witty, two-pronged attack: in part one, he dismantles the auteur theory and presents a convincing argument that screenwriters are the guiding creative geniuses behind the best films. In part two, he offers a compendium of mini-biographies of great screenwriters past and present. Who wrote Casablanca? Who wrote Twelve Monkeys? Who wrote Dead Girls Don't Tango? What else did they write?" "It all makes The Schreiber Theory an engaging read and a one-of-a-kind reference for movie lovers and film students alike."--Jacket.