The history of the USC Scripter Awards is pretty simple. It was begun in 1988 by the University of Southern California to honor screenwriters for their contributions to the filming industry. This occasion is very formal and is held annually to pick which screenwriter is going to be honored with an award that a lot of people might not think too much about. After all it’s not the Oscars, or the Golden Globes, or even the People’s Choice awards. But in all honesty it’s just as important since without the writers, actors, directors, and anyone else involved in films wouldn’t have much to go on.
Ad-libbing only takes a person so far after all and even those that are best at it need a script at some point if only for something to base their character on. The level of importance that a screenwriter is given at times seems to be far less than it should be, but USC is just one of many that have seen this truth. Screenwriters are the ones that, under direction, take the story in exciting and sometimes horrific ways that people would have never expected. They’re not perfect by any means but the USC Scripter awards have managed to highlight their contributions in a way that finally gives credit where it’s due. The director and the actors and the crew do more than their fair share, but without the story to go off of they really have nothing unless they do it on their own.
The great thing about the Scripter award however is that it’s not just screenwriters that can receive this honor, but the authors of the original stories as well. Each year the Writers Guild of America manage to sift through the many different movies, and TV shows, that have been released during the previous year and find five eligible candidates for the award. The gala that is held for the awards is where the winner is announced in front of their peers, and where the honor that they deserve is bestowed upon them.
As a writer this award makes a lot of sense and is pleasing to know about since it finally gives credit to those that actually create some of the greatest stories to ever be adapted to film and TV. Without those our culture starts to stagnate and even decay a bit. Writing stories and sharing them with the public is something that can’t be ignored since it is through stories, legends, myths, and fables that our civilization has grown and flourished. To deny that any of it had anything to do with the imagination and wonder that people learn when they’re young is to deny that our current standing in the world has any worth. The worth of a writer is found in their words, and in what they present to the world. The ideas, thoughts, and beliefs that are put into words are what have helped to shape our various cultures.
Without writers, our history might have been far different.
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