In film studies, auteur theory amounts to the assertion that the director of a film, despite the myriad of talents required to create it, is in some way the main author of the film (Leblanc 19). For film buffs devoted to the work of Hitchcock, Kurosawa or the Cohen brothers, this statement seems both natural and obvious, given what they perceive to be formalist, stylistic and thematic elements common to films attributed to a given director. For film theorists, auteur theory also provides a convenient conceptual framework for analyzing these elements between films (as opposed to within the same film). For the average moviegoer, a film's attribution to a director can be a useful variable in the complex calculation of which film to spend their next $15 on. But how accurately does auteur theory describe either the actual process of making a film, or the end result? Does the director's contribution to a film permeate and determine it so completely that she must be considered its author? William Goldman, veteran Hollywood screenwriter, answers this last question with a resounding “no”. Goldman believes that, at least for films produced in Hollywood, the dominance of auteur theory in commercial and academic discussions of films marginalizes the work and talent of the countless other contributors to a film, and even degrades the director . Goldman views auteur theory attribution bias as a pernicious convenience that arises naturally and understandably from the realities of film production and distribution, but one that inaccurately depicts both films and the process film production. Goldman, notoriously outspoken about the mechanics behind filmmaking. , director and screenwriter...... middle of paper ......14.Barthes, Roland. “The Death of the Author.” Music-Text Image. Ed. and trans. Stephen Heath. New York: Hill & Wang, 1977. Print. Bazin, André. “The evolution of the language of cinema.” What is cinema? Flight. 1. Ed. and trans. Hugh Gray. Berkeley: University of California P, 2005. Print. Gerstner, David and Janet Staiger, eds. Fatherhood and cinema. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print. Goldman, William. Adventures in Screen Commerce. Hachette Digital, Inc., 2012. Print. Goldman, William. What lie have I told? : More adventures in the screen business. Random House LLC, 2013. Print. LeBlanc, Julie M.-A. “Cinema Theory and Criticism.” Ethnologies (2007): n. page. www.highbeam.com. Internet. April 23, 2014. Lieberman, Evan and Kerry Hegarty. "Authors of the image: filmmakers Gabriel Figueroa and Gregg Toland." Journal of Cinema and Video (2010): n. page. www.highbeam.com. Internet. April 23. 2014.