Paddy Chayefsky: Collector of Words

Largely through interviews with fans, most who work in the industry, this documentary is a profile of the works of Paddy Chayefsky, arguably one of the most important screenwriters and playwrights of his generation, he, at the time of the making of this film, the only person to be awarded three solo Oscars for Best Screenplay. This accomplishment is all the more remarkable considering his relatively small filmography. That small filmography is due in part to he considering what he did as work and not art, and being very deliberate in his dialogue which was not meant to be improvised, in even the smallest of ways, by actors. While most movies are shaped largely by the director, most of Chayefsky's films, especially those considered his best, are known because of his literate screenplays. That literacy is a hallmark of his writing, where, as opposed to what most screenwriters do, he has his characters explain things rather than show things through their actions. This skill is all the more impressive in that they are a heightened sense of the situation which need to be both interesting for the viewer and still not come across as being fake. Most of the discussion centers on what are arguably considered his two milestone works, for which he won two of those Oscars, namely for Marty (1955), and for what many consider his masterpiece, Network (1976).