The right to write.

I have just sold my first script. It is a short film made by a dept of the BBC  that will go into production end of June (fingers crossed).
Of course my involvement in the project is over. I was brought on board as the writer and have fulfilled my duties...or so I thought.
The director was very happy with the final draft. She passed it amongst friends, and the criticism started to flow in. I say flow but it was more of a trickle, as no one had big problems with the story, only minor ones.
My first reaction to these comments was one of a defensive position. I felt these were opinions of people that had yet to write a cohesive script of their own.
However on reflection, I saw these as the views of a "test audience" and recognised the value of such.
The director has now shown the script to a few people in the profession, and I await that feedback.
All this feedback will no doubt result in a re-write.
I realise this is all part of the process, however, for a writer it is slightly frustrating. It feels like story by committee. As a writer, you create a story: beginning, middle, end. You create pace. You navigate through a journey with your characters. So, it is alarming when someone else grabs the steering wheel.
I remember the actor Pierce Brosnan, in an interview, told this story.
He had just finished a film, where he played a North American Indian. The film's closing reel depicted the indian's death.
The film was screened before a test audience and the feedback was thus: The audience liked the film, but did not like the ending.
Why? They were asked.
The reply : Because he can't die... he's James Bond.

I feel for the writer on that one.