Who Wrote That Movie?

Book excerpt: Before the director or actors can work their magic onscreen a writer, often working alone, faces the blank page and must be the first to create the magic. Yet the writer is usually ignored by critics eager to give credit to the director or sometimes an actor. Not only that, the original vision of the screenwriter rarely makes it to the screen intact-Imagine if your favorite movie could have even been better had that image-conscious actress not demanded changes to the script? The screenplays and movies discussed include: A Beautiful Mind Adaptation Almost Famous Ararat Black Hawk Down Blade 2 Cast Away Catch Me if You Can City by the Sea The Cell Dancer in the Dark Far From Heaven Frailty The Gift Gladiator John Q. Insomnia In the Bedroom Memento MIB2 Minority Report Monster's Ball Ocean's Eleven Panic Room Pay it Forward Pearl Harbor Proof of Life Road to Perdition Signs Spy Game We Were Soldiers Windtalkers Traffic Unbreakable