A possessory credit in filmmaking is the use of a film credit which gives primary artistic recognition to a single person, usually (but not always) the film's director. Examples include "A Stanley Kubrick film" (The Shining), "A film by Quentin Tarantino" (Pulp Fiction), and "Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho" (Psycho). Possessory credit is also sometimes used in television programs; for example, Tyler Perry's House of Payne (Tyler Perry's TBS sitcom House of Payne). Occasionally another word besides "film" is used, such as "A Spike Lee Joint" or "A Martin Scorsese Picture". Possessory credit may also be given to the producer; an example of this is "Steven Spielberg presents Back to the Future".
Although the earliest use of possessory credit dates from 1915's The Birth of a Nation, the use of possessory credits expanded particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has repeatedly tried to limit possessory credits to writers but has always been successfully opposed by the Directors Guild of America (DGA), leaving directors free to try to negotiate such credits if they wish.[1]
Sometimes the possessory credit goes to the author of the work on which the film was based (such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and some Stephen King films). In the case of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, Burton was not the film's director but instead the writer, producer, and a major creative voice. This may also be an example of a possessory credit being chosen for marketing reasons, as Burton was a more recognized name than the film's director, Henry Selick.
The DGA encourages filmmakers to use restraint in taking credit until they have attained widespread name recognition or received at least two established awards of merit for their films, thereby securing their legacies as filmmakers.
^Directors Guild of America Magazine, Possessory Credit Timeline, 28(6), February 2004
A possessorycredit in filmmaking is the use of a film credit which gives primary artistic recognition to a single person, usually (but not always) the...
film (usually credited as "in association with" or "A [production company name] production."). POSSESSORYCREDIT/S The primary artistic credit for the film...
America (WGA) over possessorycredits, first used in the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. The WGA tried to limit possessorycredits to writers, but has...
front of anything, which is why I don't take a possessorycredit." He often takes cinematography credits on his feature films under the alias Peter Andrews...
showcase the adapted filmwork automatically qualifies the film for a possessorycredit (e.g. "Stephen King's Silver Bullet" as opposed to just "Silver Bullet")...
interference from production company Morgan Creek and that he asked for his possessorycredit to be removed. On Rotten Tomatoes, Freejack has an approval rating...
primary creator of the audiovisual work; the indiscriminate use of the possessorycredit is unacceptable; and the moral rights of the screenwriter, especially...
(pledge). Common law has two main equivalents to the term: mortgages and non-possessory lien. This real right in security operates by way of hypothecation. It...
usage of the term in the US, in other countries it refers to a purely possessory form of security interest; indeed, when possession of the property is...
given personal right of seizure giving right to a security interest of a possessory nature. There are other forms of security over goods such as a pledge...
method in which each chose may be enforced. This is dependent on the possessory nature of the reference object. Alternative, historical uses includes...
form of possessory security, and possession of the assets must be transferred to (and maintained by) the secured party. In the case of a possessory lien...
civil law jurisdictions, albeit with a wider sense, as it also covers non-possessory lien. A mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is the lender's security...
actus reus of theft is absent. The finder of lost property acquires a possessory right by taking physical control of the property, but does not necessarily...
United Kingdom commercial law is the law which regulates the sale and purchase of goods and services, when doing business in the United Kingdom. Lex Mercatoria...
each. The possessory title of these shares is reserved to the state, as majority shareholder, and to San Marino undertakings engaged in credit, financial...
towing company may offer this documentation in a packet known as the possessory lien papers, which can be used to obtain a new title. Given the expense...
in principle where what is in question is forfeiture of proprietary or possessory rights, as opposed to merely contractual rights, regardless of the type...
Publicity Pamphlet (General Election of 2 November 1954), p. 7 Article, Possessory Title Registration: An Improvement of the Torrens System, 11 Wm. Mitchell...
prescription; the right to the fruits of the property; and the right to use possessory remedies. Things that are the subject of litigation in rem (res litigiosa)...
car had a lien on the car to secure payment for the work. The lien is a possessory lien meaning the repair person has the lien as long as he maintains possession...
where a person hands over some property in return for a loan, and a possessory lien, where a lender retains property already in their possession for...
and masters remunerations and disbursements. A shipowner's lien is a possessory lien which is the major difference between it and other maritime liens...
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