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fictionfreesfools OP t1_j2ayc4h wrote

Reply to comment by monsieurxander in In opening credits, what does it mean when a writer is listed twice? by fictionfreesfools

Big thanks for citing your insight.

It's odd to think that there are two writing teams with the principal writer being on both teams. Do they both write their own version of the episode and then the 2 version of synthesized to create the refined finished episode script?

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monsieurxander t1_j2b96d7 wrote

I think it's more likely that it was written by one team, and then rewritten by the other.

WGA rules state that if the final draft keeps more than 33% of the original, the original writer (or writing team) gets a teleplay credit.

If it's less than that, and it kept a "basic narrative, idea, theme or outline," they get a story credit.

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orobouros t1_j2exdwe wrote

This is one of those odd regulatory things where it doesn't make sense unless you know some of the history. At some point, there was some dispute about how much contribution entitles one to be in the credits. So to avoid that problem in the future, they do it this way. This also makes a bit of sense when for screen entertainment, the plot, development, and such are done by one team, and the actual writing (dialog, actions, etc) are done by another team. The people who are highly creative aren't always the ones that understand how to make a movie, and vice versa.

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