on The Hangover Director Is Pissed! at 19:32 06/30/2009

Todd Phillips, though a talented director, is the living example of why the WGA arbitration system exists. He seems to have no sense of history. Before writers had a union, a producer, studio exec, director or anyone else in a position of power could put their dog's name on the screen as the credited writer if they so wished. This was actually done in one case. Outrages like that are why writers fought for and won the right to decide writing credits. To get writing credit, changes of a substantial structural nature must be made. Finding several better comedy shticks may not be enough. But, sometimes, mistakes are made by WGA arbiters. Like democracy, it's an imperfect system but, for the moment, the best system we have. Todd Phillips should study the labor history of Hollywood to see how talent has been abused in the past, and why we have now have unions -- and arbitration systems -- to protect us. The true whiner here is Mr. Phillips, not the WGA.