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A movie is a major production which requires lots of team work to put together a story. But nearly everyone contributes some way or another. In your opinion...who is really telling the story?

depends on the film...if it's based on a book then you would normally say the writer...however american psycho throws that completely out of the window because the book and film are completely different

personally i would still say the writers though

Actors. The writers can pen it one way, but it's up to the actors to convey it in either their own way, or the way it was intended. Naturally, that depends on the actor.

Writers and Actors. No question.

For certain films, Cinematography plays a key in the story telling.

That's a good point. Visual narrative hasn't been as important since days of Orson Welles, though. M. Night Shymalan's the exception, since he's, IMO, the embodiment of what amde Welles and Hitchcock famous.

All aspects are important. Without a good director, a good screenplay will become a bad movie. Without good actors, the story won't be realized and plausable (usually). Without good writers to create the basic foundation of the film with all the proper film elements and story elements, than the story will be shit.

It also depends greatly on the genre. For example, horror and Sci Fi films can get away with bad acting if the story and directing is good. Drama's can sometimes get away with having a generic premise if the acting is good. Comedy can get away with a bad director and acting if the writing is good and witty. Action films can get away with not having anything if there are big explosions and boobs.

It also depends on the film itself.

Heh, I like your explination of Action movies, so true....

I really think it depends. And like BF said, they can ll influence each other based on what they are doing. Good acting can be ruined by bad directing, ect. So everything has to be functioning together or else nothing works.

Originally posted by Cinemaddiction
Actors. The writers can pen it one way, but it's up to the actors to convey it in either their own way, or the way it was intended. Naturally, that depends on the actor.

Agreed.

But it's up to the director to lead the actors in the right direction... Ultimately the director is the one in charge, or at least he should be.

Perfect example: I just saw a kiwi film called River Queen the other night. The film was plagued by problems, not least of all the director being fired and re-hired later in post-production. And it is so obvious by what's on screen that the director has made a last ditch effort to piece together something from what he was given. But the end product is nothing really cohesive and really just falls apart and falls flat.

The director is the one with the vision. He's the one who has an idea of what he wants, what the film should be, how it should play out etc. And without such a director the film wont know where it's going and will crash and burn...

Yeah, story telling belongs to the director. They visualise the film as they see it happening. If you're looking at films like LOTR or The Matrix, its the directors who spend so much time trying to create the whole thing as they want it to be viewed. Actors only portray characters within the story, they dont tell the story itself.

i would also say that sometimes the audience has a role in the story of the film

sounds strange?

take donnie darko...the ending can be interpreted in many different ways and this really depends on the personality of the person watching the film...hence affecting the story at least to the individual

hmm...not what I was expecting. Is a tie between Director and Actors/Actress...pretty interesting. If you credit the director then you must credit the editor as well...after all why would a director (assuming he's telling the story) would need editors?

I meant to vote actors not director. Anyway, the editing process is the last chance to correct any mistakes in the film. If an actor's performance is disappointing, you have to cut around it, no matter what. You cannot make a silk purse from a sow's ear, but if there is in the rushes and you have a good story to tell, taking the time to find the moments that work and then piecing them together to create a movie is very rewarding.

Ultimatly, i feel that its a joint effort between the cast & crew.