Comments on: Is Jason Reitman Not Giving ‘Up in the Air’ Co-Writer Enough Credit?

By: cablebfg

cablebfg — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:02:22 +0000

Man, there are some scathing comments on here. I had no idea Reitman had this much animosity against him. I have loved his last three films and find he is a nice guy.

Then again, most of my and everyone else's interaction are with what he puts out there. A sorry excuse for knowing the character of someone.

By: Karl

Karl — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:17:04 +0000

"Turner's previous credits don't inspire a great deal of confidence in him"

You understand that the produced work of a screenwriter is usually just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he or she's written, right? You know the kind of garbage that Hollywood develops and greenlights--you report on it every day--so it's a bit unfair to just kneejerk write people off like this. Not everybody gets the kind of opportunities to be an "auteur" by their daddy that Reitman did. They have to pay their dues building a career in the sweatshop of Hollywood.

Just sayin'...

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:03:02 +0000

"Turner's previous credits don't inspire a great deal of confidence in him"

Uhh, neither do Jason Reitman's. Have you seen the man's movies?

By: gabetoro

gabetoro — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:16:58 +0000

Funny story: I wrote "A Serious Man."

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:13:52 +0000

to Anon 7:54 I don't know if they ever met..but based on the LA Times article (link included in the story featured here) there are MANY elements from Sheldon's script that are in the finished film. Elements he created that were not in the book. So obviously JR **did read the draft.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:54:36 +0000

I'd be pretty pissed too, if the guild I was a member of ruled that I had to share credit with a writer I'd never met, who wrote a draft I'd never read.

By: Trilianos

Trilianos — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:09:54 +0000

Honestly, I can't understand what the fuss is all about; the credits say "screenplay by J.R. and S.T", NOT "written and directed by J.R.". They're both acknowledged, whatever the relationship between them is. If anyone's spotting arrogance in acceptance speaches or in the faces of nominees, how about QT? Granted, he's QT, but was he more gracious than J.R? I don't think so.
"Thank you For Smoking" was wonderfully written and that was JR's alone, so I personally don't have an inch of doubt that at least 50% of UITA is his. If you want an extra clue to his defense, the whole "backpack" skit- it's in his draft of 08/19/08 and that draft is credited only to J.R. I think it's yet another case of bashing a man on rise...

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:01:04 +0000

turner doesnt have his daddy to bail him out. granted reitman has done respectable work on his own. i have zero sympathy for him. yeah turner wrote some shitty stuff but he also had to break in somehow. reitman did not. so spare me.

By: Jason Michelitch

Jason Michelitch — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:06:00 +0000

Given the history of even the best directors in Hollywood, I tend to assume that at any given moment, the director of any given film is undervaluing the actual contribution of the writer, at least in public and usually in their own ego-soaked minds. It's right more often than it's wrong.

By: Trent

Trent — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:32:10 +0000

I'm real happy to see Sheldon Turner getting credit and accolades for his work. He's a true work horse screenwriter, and as far as personality goes, definitely one of the most interesting ones around. It's only a matter of time before he's at the forefront of writers to look for.

I see you don't know much about Mr. Turner beyond some recent articles and his IMDB credits, so I gotta recommend a DVD with a GREAT 90 minute interview with him: http://www.amazon.com/Dialogue-Interview-Screenwriter-Sheldon-Turner/dp/B000GALHPG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1263874876&sr=8-2 – you can cop it on Netflix too.

UITA has Sheldon Turner written all over it. He's a huge Cameron Crowe fan, and it reminded me of Jerry Maguire in more than a few ways. I don't think Reitman's a bad guy at all, but all this talk of the way he acts is knocking him down on the douche radar.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:03:03 +0000

love your take on this story finally!
But I don't think it's a swift boating of the Reitman or the film's chances..I think it's all finally catching up with him. He's been a totally insane person on 'the circuit' these last few months. True, I found the film to be very 'meh' but I can't remember a time when a writer/director has so publicly been so rude to the person he's had to share credit with...once the WGA rules..people kind of just go with it..I guess the fact he's from a wealthy family maybe makes me think he has manners and would be more polite in public.
What Jason is totally missing is how EVERYBODY is laughing at him about this..I've been there when people pass the blackberry with his latest self-serving tweet.."Just caught the last 10 minutes of Juno..boy did a do a great job with that on that."

and it's all totally irony free.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:25:44 +0000

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/fashion/03ford.html?_r=2&8dpc=&pagewanted=all Read towards the end about an encounter between Reitman and Tom Ford. It's pretty amusing and might give a little more insight into the guy.