1. How do any one of the films screened in weeks 6-12 of the course represent and/or foreground authorship?

Dating back to the 1920’s, the term ‘auteur’ was debated over, claiming to describe an “author of script and film-maker as one and the same” versus the view of scripts being appointed from authors or scriptwriters (1996, p12).
Over the [course of 50 or so odd] years,. Known for his distinctive brand of comedy, the work of Blake Edwards, demonstrates the authorial stamp that is often referred to in theories of the auteur, resulting in a style or approach to cinema that could be described as ‘Edward-ness’. [He makes prominent use of his self-conscious manipulation of particular elements of film style and systematically arranges
Within S.O.B it takes the form of David Blackman (Robert Vaughn) telling Felix (Richard Mulligan) that if he is not to recut Night Wind he’ll make sure that he fixes it ensuring Felix “you[‘ll] never do another picture in this town as long as you live”. Furthermore, the warning has already been foreshadowed in The Party (1968) whereby the Director (Herbert Ellis) insists that Hrundi (Peter Sellers) will “never make another movie again”. *
This utilization of play on words demonstrates Edwards’ profoundly intricate scriptwriting design that taps into the notion of reiterating a common theme and motif of the harsh realities in the Hollywood film industry.
Edwards’ other films that do not explicitly reference the film industry project an equally harsh world in which to survive.
This demonstrated, and recurring, representation of males being treated unjust by their bosses and ultimately being fired from their jobs is portrayed in Switch (1991) in regards to Walter (Jimmy Smits) and for Dennis (Howie Mandel) in A Fine Mess (1986). *
We can only give these assumptions of portrayal some validity by taking into consideration Edwards’ comments, in an interview by Patrick McGilligan, where he suggests that a lot of his films are about “reflecting life” (2006, p93). Considering the first half of S.O.B is revolved around Felix’s attempt at death, we meet parallels with Edwards’ personal life as