I totally agree that a script is a work of art. Yes, it is the blueprint for a film, but if it is written well enough, that film exists in the reader's mind long before the celluoid birth happens. I think it is important for writers to think of their work this way because if they don't, who will?

"Because if they [writers] don't, who will?" As much as screenwriting is a craft -- and it is -- we must, as writers, embrace the idea that what we are writing, that movie we see in our mind's eye, is art. Whether it's "Bridesmaids" or "The Artist," the simple fact there is creativity and inspiration involved in scripting a movie is enough to qualify it as art. There's an old saying in Hollywood: "The problem with movies as art is they're commerce." And too often we tip the see-saw toward the latter. But re Grillo-Marxuach's comments today and your follow-up, januaryfire, we need to find that balance between commerce and art. And we can't do that unless we claims the artistic nature of what we do with our screenplays.