First, of course, he must please the majority, but he must by no means
overlook the tastes of the minority. Every man, as the wise proprietor
knows, enjoys most what he understands best. The plain people are not
necessarily the unintelligent ones, for the working man can both
understand and enjoy pictured versions of Dante's _Inferno_ and
Sophocles' _Oedipus Rex_, but he will feel more at home while watching
a picture of contemporary American life; and who shall say, provided
the photoplay be a good one, that he is not receiving as much profit
therefrom as from the film version of either of the classics!
The really successful photoplaywright is nothing if not versatile.
Unless he is content to have a very limited market, he more than any
other type of professional writer must be able to write for all
classes.
Furthermore, he must be able to write on a variety of themes. The
photoplaywright who can produce only Western dramas, or stories
dealing with slum life, will find his sales averaging very low as
compared with the author who can construct a society drama, a Western
story, a photoplay of business life, a story of the Kentucky
mountains, or still other types. To be able to write photoplays that
will appeal to every class of photoplay patron is the supreme test of
the photoplaywright.
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