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Writing credits - source material clarification?
Hi.
Just wanted to clarify something. From the Writers guide ( https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/filmography-credits/writers/GPLAT3NTCGA67A6R# ):
- song/play/book/novel/article/etc - The writer is the author of the specified source material. If the title of the source material is different from the title of the production, that should also be specified. For example, Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) is based on the novel Alias Madame Doubtfire; therefore, the attribute for novelist Anne Fine's credit is novel "Alias Madame Doubtfire". Note that we have changed the convention for new credits to quote the title.
So following the example above, when the title of the film is "Mrs. Doubtfire" and the title of the book (source material) is "Alias Madame Doubtfire", the title of the source material should also be specified. Few questions:
1) Does this mean that it should be specified every time, regardless of whether it's actually listed in the credits? Often the title of the source material (book, novel, play, etc) is listed in the credits along with the author/writer, but not necessarily always. If only the author Anne Fine is credited, but NOT the name of the book (source material), should the name of the book still be listed?
2) Since we try to follow the actual on-screen credits (well, more or less, at least), how to add a credit that says (remember that this is just an example, I'm not adding any "Mrs. Doubtfire" related credits):
Based on the book "Alias Madame Doubtfire" by Anne Fine
Point being, that the system prefers that the name of the book (source material) is listed last in quotes. But in this case "by" is added after the name of the book (source material). So is it:
a) Based on the book "Alias Madame Doubtfire" by
b) Based on the book "Alias Madame Doubtfire"
c) Based on the book by "Alias Madame Doubtfire"
d) Something else
3) If BOTH the title of the film and the title of the book (source material) are the same, the name of the book (source material) is not listed - EVEN if it's listed in the actual credits. Is this correct assumption based on the guide?
EDIT 4) Additional question. If the name of book (source material) "Alias Madame Doubtfire" is listed in some other foreign language in some non-English production (like "Das stachelige Kindermädchen" in German), the name of the book should be added as it's listed in the credits - regardless of the language. Am I correct?
Thanks.
gromit82
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5 years ago
Eboy: I would recommend handling these credits in the simplest way possible for yourself as the contributor. Why? Because IMDb does not actually display the title of the source work even when it is different.
If you look at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107614/fullcredits you will see that even for Mrs. Doubtfire, the title they use as an example in the contributors guide, Anne Fine's credit is displayed only as:
No mention of "Alias Madame Doubtfire" -- even though that does appear in the underlying data.
I believe that there was a past discussion of this issue (why the title of the source material, if different, doesn't get displayed) on the GS version of this message board, but I can't find it now.
(edited)
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eboy
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5 years ago
I see your points, of course, but since the part of the source material is in the guide, I feel that it’s only fair to ask about it (and maybe clarify a few things). For me it’s always the ”easier” way.
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adrian
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5 years ago
For me (and considering that I frequently ask for corrections to WGA locked credits), it would depend on how it appears on screen. Assuming the novel name appears on screen, I think A is the closest though based should not be capitalized.
It should be:
Anne Fine (based on the book "Alias Madame Doubtfire" by) 1,1,1
I found it streaming and this is also the on-screen credits.
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Grayson
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5 years ago
Hey eBoy - I talked to our crew credits expert and I think I have the answers to everything you were wanting to know.
If any of you have any feedback based on the above on our help guide for writing credits contribution please reply here and I will pass them on to the help guides team. I'll leave this thread open for a few days to allow for comments before closing.
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eboy
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5 years ago
I currently have some television films ”in progress” (to be added to IMDb) that are based to some book/play/etc. These doesn’t include the name of the source material in the actual credits, so the author (of the source material) is basically credited simply as a ”writer” (no ”based on the../based upon the..”).
Based on this thread, I still have to list the name of the source material (book/play/etc), right? And the credit of the author as ”based on the book”? ( IF the title of the source material differs from the title of the FILM, that is. )
One problem could be when the author of the source material has actually dramatized/adapted his/her own book/play/etc to a film. It can be difficult to say in some cases if the credit is simply a ”writer”. It could be that the film is merely based on his/her book. Or maybe the author actually did the adaptation.
But yes, fortunately the person(s) who did the dramatization/adaptation is usually listed. And many times it’s a different person than the author of the source material.
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Peter_pbn
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5 years ago
Grayson,
The format you indicate in point 2 clearly differs from the submission guide, which is written to show that the default attribute for source material credits is simply book or novel etc. (followed by the title if applicable). If your policy has changed since the guide was written, you should update the guide.
And as discussed above, the guide's example, novel "Alias Madame Doubtfire", no longer works since you have accepted an edit of this specific credit.
In general, though, most titles do give screen credit to the source material that they are based on, so I'm not sure the guide even needs to specify a default formatting.
(edited)
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eboy
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5 years ago
Based on several threads (corrections) by Adrian and a few others, IMDb seems to prefer that the source material is listed as it’s listed in the credits (which makes the guide slightly outdated). For example:
Based upon "Alias Madame Doubtfire" by ...
If the name of the source material (book, novel, play, etc) is known/confirmed, BUT for some reason not specified in the actual credits, I guess it could then simply be listed as..
book / novel / play ”name_of_the_book”
(edited)
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eboy
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5 years ago
I came across with another film that is based on the novel. In this case, the author of the original novel has also made the screenplay for the television movie (basically adaptation together with the director). It wasn't very uncommon back in the days (at least in Europe) that the original author of the book/novel/play also collaborated with the screenplay of the movie.
The film is already added to IMDB (not by me), with two credits for the author: (novel) and (screenplay).
In the actual credits, there is only ONE credit for author: (screenplay), with no mention of the source material, nor the name of the book.
So, basically the current credits on IMDb are correct per se, except that the "(novel)" is not listed in the film credits. Should it be corrected to "(novel) (uncredited)"?
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