Screenwriting

Re “Giving Credit Where It’s Due,” May 11: There’s another element to the “Wag the Dog” type of screenwriting credit controversy: When the original story is based on a book or other source material, why protect the credit of a previous hired screenwriter whose material was deemed unusable?

I recently was hired by HBO to write a completely new adaptation of a book. Another screenwriter had previously been removed from the project. After changing the film from a drama to a comedy and writing an entirely different screenplay, I received notice from the Writers Guild that there would be shared credits on the film. It was like painting a portrait and being told to sign the names of anyone else who had ever painted the same subject.

MARTYN BURKE

Santa Monica