Attn JMS or anyone who knows

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: Attn JMS or anyone who knows
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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s  1: Mar  9, 1997: "James A. Wannamaker" <wannamak at freenet.calgary.ab.ca>
*  2: Mar 10, 1997: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

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From: "James A. Wannamaker" <wannamak at freenet.calgary.ab.ca>
Lines: 28

Joe,

I just read the CIS digest, in which were included your reasons for
leaving SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America, I presume). For anyone
who didn't get a chance to see this posting, Joe laments about the fact
that SF contributers who work in the area of film or television are
excluded from being nominated for, is it the Nebula? (sorry, I don't have
the original posting to hand).  As a mediaphile who regularly overdoses on
television, I've noticed the wide variety of sources for TV scripts.
     What I wanna know is this: Suppose a screenwriter takes a story, NOT
her own story, and adapts it for TV (for example, the way Liza Cody's or
Colin Dexter's books were adapted for "Mystery"). Suppose that the result
turns out to be a genuinely superior effort, recognized by all as being
deserving of an award. Who then gets the credit for having come up with
the story? The original writer? The person who adapted it for TV? Do they
share the award? In some respects this seems to be downplaying the role of
the writer, whose "real" idea it was ... but on the other hand I can
imagine that a scriptwriter, who is more familiar with the medium, could
take an insipid story and turn it into a first rate episode simply by
being able to identify parts of the story which would work very well in
the medium of television.  In which case, it is really the screenwriter
who deserves the award...
     I wonder if it is these sorts of issues which keep SFWA from
including screenplays in their SF awards?





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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 13

In that kind of situation, my *guess* (and that's all it would be) is that
the book would be eligible in its own Novel category, and the script would
be eligible in that category, noting the "based on" in the credits.  But
again, that's just a guess, as I haven't read *nearly* enough Alice in
Wonderland to truly appreciate or wrap my brains around how SFWA would
deal with this question.


 jms




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