PT Journal
AU Kos, M
TI Copyright, Credits, and Write-for-Hire Creativity. Authorship and Authority in Czech Silent Screenwriting
SO Iluminace
PY 2025
BP 31
EP 52
VL 37
IS 2
DI 10.58193/ilu.1811
WP https://iluminace.cz/artkey/ilu-202502-0005.php
DE Czech silent cinema; Father Kondelik and Bridegroom Vejvara; regional screenwriting; copyright; work-for-hire creative employment
SN 0862397X
AB This article examines the professional status and creative labor of screenwriters in Czech silent cinema, using the 1926 adaptation of Ignat Herrmann's novel, Father Kondelik and Bridegroom Vejvara, as a case study. Drawing on Jonathan Gray's and Matt Stahl's concepts, the research analyzes how work-for-hire practices and copyright defined creative control and artistic recognition, examining authorship and authority within regional "authorial clusters." The article reveals screenwriters' working conditions and their innovative contributions to cinematic storytelling and style under the constraints of corporate and contractual forces. In so doing, it uncovers overlooked work patterns and professional challenges faced by silent-era screenwriters, contributing new perspectives to regional screenwriting studies on authorship and creative labor in unique industrial contexts.
ER