[!@#$%!]

well of course film is a collaborative medium, just like tv, but notice how on tv it's the producer/show runner that has the most power and gets the credit (e.g., alan ball or david simon or joss whedon) and that's usually a writer.

meanwhile however in film the director has ultimate responsibility, but seeing as how we have these fights between producers/studios and directors all the time (e.g, wim senders having to cut until the end of the world, blade runner having to add the voiceover a la sam spade, lynch having his shit maimed by the delaurentiis, etc) it's clear that the director in america, unlike in the auteur system, is not ultimately responsible for shit.

which is likely why my list of favorite directors is mostly populated by auteurs who have their own imprint rather than capable but invisible hired guns.