Creative Control: Who Gets the Final Word?

Everyone celebrates creators. Yet films and series are shaped by a complex chain of creative, industrial and financial decisions — involving studios, platforms, producers, financiers and, increasingly, data. Some systems recognize directors and screenwriters as authors of the work; in others, final cut remains a contractual privilege. But creative authority extends far beyond final cut: it is exercised through development, casting, financing, production, marketing and distribution. At each stage, who has the last word — and where does that leave the screenwriter, filmmaker or showrunner? This session examines the place of the author across the full decision-making chain, and how creative authority can be organized without sacrificing singular vision.