General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What Spielberg’s “Lincoln” conveniently leaves out [View all]Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Spielberg is a director primarily, and as such he did not write the screenplay for Lincoln. It was written by Tony Kushner, a Pullitzer Prize winning playwright, using Goodwin's 'A Team of Rivals' as starting place. Screenplay took 6 years.
Most filmmakers, and certainly both Cameron and Speilberg work on films of various sorts, so while 'Titanic' is historical in nature and largely based on the previous film about the sinking, 'Avatar' is a fiction and an idea of his own making. I find the notion that there should be no cinema based on historic events or figures to be not very well thought out.
And of course, 'filmmakers' who are directors don't ever have to come up with their own ideas, as that's the writer's job. Some also write. Some don't. Some do, but shouldn't and that last one is probably the largest group in our era.