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Kitchener-Waterloo Record (15/Apr/1991) - Studios ignoring older scribes, screenwriter says

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Studios ignoring older scribes, screenwriter says

Charles Bennett, the writer of some of director Alfred Hitchcock's most popular films, says Hollywood is not doing young writers a favor by rushing them along while ignoring the work of older people.

"Many young writers get good ideas, but they haven't got the technical experience to put it down on paper," the 91-year-old Bennett said.

"You can't sit down and say, "I'm going to write a screenplay' without knowing how to do it. It is a highly professional job. And a young writer has to learn that job."

Bennett, whose collaboration with Hitchcock began with the 1929 film Blackmail, continues to work. He and producer Stuart Birnbaum recently finished the first draft of an updated version of Blackmail, which is in development at 20th Century Fox.

Bennett's other films include The 39 Steps, Secret Agent, Foreign Correspondent and The Man Who Knew Too Much.