Let's Hope the Writers Get a Good Contract
I remember the last WGA strike. It was sad. I had been in LA for a couple of years, just getting my feet wet in the movie business after working in TV for five years. The trickle down was incredible. Restaurants, limousine companies, real estate brokers, clothing retailers, travel agencies. The list went on and on. Not to mention all of the direct impact on actors, directors, crews, office staff and accounting, the studios and networks themselves, talent agencies and managers, publicists and business managers. It was a disaster and it was painful to witness.
However, as an actor who has worked in film and television since 1980, I have always been pretty clear about the fact that we are nowhere without the writers in our industry. And that goes beyond the scary concept of a world of unscripted reality TV. Television and film writers are responsible for some of the greatest literature in the history of our society. Go to one of my favorite websites, the Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb). You can pull up CITIZEN KANE, ALL ABOUT EVE and SUNSET BOULEVARD. You can read, online, hundreds of the greatest movie screenplays of all time. Members of the WGA wrote those scripts.
The studios and networks claim that their profits are eroding and blame the cost of stars' salaries and expensive marketing campaigns. One more thing the studios and networks ought to consider is how overstaffed they are themselves. You've never seen a business where more people are required to do the same job until you have worked at a TV network or film studio. Actors don't put a gun to the studio executive's head. They negotiate a price and the studio agrees, or disagrees, to pay it. Sometimes, as an actor, the price you pay is a pretty big number that you arrive at before you even open your mouth.
The not-so-secret truth is that everyone in show business, of those who live "above-the-line," are overpaid. The only ones above-the-line who usually are not are the writers. Let's hope there is no strike and let's hope the writers get a good contract. Read more thoughts about the strike on Huffington Post's writers' strike opinion page
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I too remember the last writer's strike of '88. I remember the actor's strike of '80 as well. During these strikes it becomes painfully obvious that LA is a one-pony town. I'm not in a position to know what it does to the limousine business. I do know that the dry cleaners, the shoe repairman, my dentist, the flower lady, and girl scout cookie peddlers are all worried, probably more than some of the writers.
Truth is, less than 10% of the writer's are at the top of the food chain. The rest are upper middle class who work hard and worry about their children's tuition. It is vital they exercise their right to fair bargaining and "update" the terms of their contract to meet the many new avenues of exploitation.
When the strike is over and everyone returns to their cubicles and large round tables, there are changes. I noticed it in '88. Some folks came back to work thinner and toned; some people came back portly; and then some returned, briefly, strung out on some new drug that can't be pronounced much less spelled.
These strikes always remind me of an old joke: Did you hear about the dumb blond wanting to get a part in a movie? She slept with the writer! Ha ha ha.
It's not a joke when the writer's walk out. It is serious business and coupled with what is happening on our national and international front - expect some unexpected displays of emotional instabilities.
Yes, this could be a bumpy ride.
1980?
The same time Reagan came in? Well, don't that beat all get out?
And the same year that John Lennon was killed. Coincidence?
And yet, now that I think about it - the actor's strike may have been later, maybe '82 or '84? I apologize for my inner calendar. It is no more reliable than my inner clock.
I completely appreciate that people are paid what the market will bear. Look at sports stars today versus the days of Babe Ruth. I also think it's great that you're aware of the contributions writers make to the industry. It's funny, on one of your earlier career shows(Knots Landing) they once aired an unscripted episode, where all the actors had to make up the lines as they went. I loved the acting on that series, but that episode was not their best. The problem is there is a surplus of writers, so their salaries will naturally be lower than they'd like. How do I know? Hee hee I'm a writer.
The stuff coming out of Hollywood may or may not be tripe, but a good script can often be over produced, over developed and the good stuff can be destroyed by that process.
Mr. Baldwin, Bravo! And Thank-you!
I'm a novelist, not a screenwriter, but I attended a screenwriting workshop recently and there are many wannabe screenwriters out there. Colleges are teaching classes in the subject with full classes. There will be no lack of scripts to buy, and this may be a golden opportunity for these wannabe to break into market. Studios have moved production to Canada, New Mexico, Texas, Florida and other areas where they need not fear shutdown by teamsters. This strike is about U N I O N B U S T I N G!
The problem in that is if you want to be a pro screenwriter, don't expect to be invited into the WGA after the strike's over, if you break the strike line. With three spec scripts in hand, I don't want to take the chance. Neither should any one.
I dread the day when some genius in the entertainment industry becomes infected with the greed that rules the rest of corporate America and attempts to outshore the writers - and all else Hollywood - to somewhere like Bollywood.
We've already made tremendous strides - and I use the phrase loosely - in offshoring the industries that nurture future technical creativity.
Can the incubators of artistic creativity be far behind?
Alec is spot on, so are PC, Wolfe and a dozen others whose views make sense. As a child I read plays from every era in a City Point SB Library after school because the play's the thing. Read Orwell, Burgess, Huxley et al under covers by flashlight. The plays helped me recognize good writing; the other guys outlined the politics...;>
No reality show would ever catch my eye, those are for voyeurs (just got up to verify spelling in a ten pound 1959 Websters as I see no spell check herewith) without imagination. Due care matters. But then writing matters and rewarding what we value matters more, imo. Alec's view has my vote. Up with Writers, down with redundant greedy/lazy/dopes who milk the system in every sphere they enter, e.g., Bush/Cheney and the other boys in the back riding the citizens toward the end of our beloved country.
Am sorry I diverged, but we need more writers in every sphere; may they prevail beyond profit takers and their accountants. I vote with my money in buying and giving away books by the hundreds and viewing plays, movies and such. Keith O.and staff write well for MSNBC, now and then I catch Alec and company as I rarely have time.
I applaud the words and the music they make. Am off to read the link about the Writers, thanks for a chance to holler, yeah team! Huff.
But can you tell I just saw The Strike from Netflix? Go, Alec and writers, go!
Camera to Hitler, about to shave, but suddenly realizing that his invincibility lay in his moustache hairs, like a Fascist Sampson.....
I'm so sorry that the Shootout at the OK Corral ever happened. Screenwriters have copied that historical event in every movie ever made. Even if the movie was about nuns on a bus, you know that sooner or later, the nuns would shoot it out at point blank range...
Voice-overs dont work. Dont use voice-overs. Ever. What happens is that the voice describes something, and the movie then depicts the same point just made in the narration. The azzes are supposed to be in the seats.
The only time a voice-over has ever worked was in Blood Simple, and it was just an intro. "...in texas, you're on your own..."
very chilling. very foreshadowing. Very great.
maybe they can use the time off to think up something original. here one a show on how people die from lack of health care in the usa. and, Bc/Bs can be a sponsor or how our schools are unable to teach 50% of the students how to read above a fifth grade level. and we are worried about some overpaid writer of crap.? wake up if we go a year with reruns so what there is so many commercials that tv sucks any way. a good show The Downfall of Democracy,or how congress sold out the people...
How true no original thoughts... Have all the stories been told?
All the words have been used and all the notes have been played and still there is always a new way to tell a story. As for stories about important issues facing this country and the world today, you'd find better coverage in a story-tellers tale than in today's newspapers.
I don't know why anyone would write for Hollywood. If you write a stage play, your name stays on the script, nobody screws with it, and the actors say the lines you wrote (perhaps with modest ad lib). If you write a screenplay, all those excess producers make you rewrite it ten times just to prove they're doing something, five other people are hired on to change every third word you wrote, and you're forced to hang around the set like a waterboy, a complete waste of your time. Not only are you pushed off the top three credits on your own project half the time, but your vision for your script is so gnashed and bowdlerized that the final result is nothing like what you had in mind--despite which, the success of the project affects your ability to sell your work in the future. And THEN they don't even let you share in the profits. It's no wonder half the scripts are written by directors and producers. They're the only ones with enough juice to demand a decent degree of respect. Why does anyone else bother?
(1) Because we love movies
(2) Because we're naive or brave enough to believe that we can change how films are made so that writers receive their fair share of credit and pay
(3) And because we're hopeful that folks like Alec Baldwin (and you) will support our efforts to persuade others
D'oh.
If you really pay attention to the credits you'll see that writers double as producers depending on the week. Two writers aren't writing every script- they rotate. Likewise on The Office, someone like BJ Novak will be producing one week and writing the next week.
Also, as the daughter of a NABET (National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians) union rep I can say nothing but, "Look for the union label!"
I don't think it's outrageous to fight for a piece of something you created. There is no content without the writers. Plus I freakin' hate reality television.
Have you seen the opening credits for an episode of The Simpsons lately? Literally, and I mean literally, thiry producers of various flavors are credited. Thirty. Two writers write the episode and thirty people produce it. Yep. If that's not top heavy, nothing is.
You could get rid of 25 producers and give writers for every Fox TV show a nice bump and I bet the quality of the show wouldn't be affected at all. Except postively, because I have to think that a bunch of those people are just somebody's brother-in-law lining up to lick up the last bit of gravy before the show finally ends.
All this talk about a strike, but you wont tell us what WGA min is right now, and how much increase they are looking for. Come on...tell us so we can feel sorry.
It's not about minimums; they usually creep up every contract period. It's about sharing in the money made by the studios who continue to use our stuff without cutting us in for a slice. Do you know how much a writer gets for the sale of a $20 DVD? Three cents. The person who actually WROTE the content gets three pennies. With so called "new media" like downloads, IPods, etc, it's even worse. That's what the strike is about.
As for minimums, I'll tell you. For a film budgeted below 1.2 million, it's whatever the writer can negotiate. For a film between 1.2 and 5 million, it's 56K. For anything over 5 million, it's 106K. Sure, 106 thousand sounds like a lot of dough, but when you consider the amount of work that's put into writing a feature length screenplay that's actually good enough to sell, it's not much as it sounds. Especially when you consider that most scripts aren't bought outright, but optioned for a pittance and only purchased if and when all the stars (literally and figuratively) are aligned. Most option deals will fall through without a sale. And it's CERTAINLY not much if that film does get produced and goes on to make 100 million on worldwide dvd sales.
The demands of the WGA are simple: if you continue to make money in perpetuity off our work, we're entitled to a fair share. What's so hard to understand about that?
As a casualty of the prolonged writer's strike you mentioned (ETS - sedan transportation), my comments:
What makes one film so memorable while another is destine for the trash heap? Almost without fail it's the script!
I admire George Clooney, or Kate Blanchett, as much as the next guy. They're charismatic, witty, intelligent, finely featured..., but when it comes to their accepting roles, it inevitably boils down to the one true thing - writing. (Blanchett's recent "Elizabeth" sequel excluded)
Gifted writers are gold, not necessarily a studio road to riches, nor opening week's record gross, but for critical acclaim. A truer measure of cinematic achievement.
Sony, New Line, Miramax, The Weinstein Company.
Today's leading lights in the film industry. Incubators of fine, challenging, writing .
"let's hope the writers get a good contract"
Why?
That presupposes that they do 'good' work.
The stufff coming out of Hollywood is tripe, garbage, moronic and imbecilic.
We dumped cable TV since there is nothing worth watching. Idiotic sitcoms sith smart-mouth brats are not good writing. Now are the non-stop bomb 'em, nuke 'em, chase 'em and kill 'em things good drama.
We haven't been in a movie theater in over 20 years. We will rent DVDs but I am hard pressed to remember the last time I choose to watch anything except stuff done by the BBC and British producers (or things in the US that were considered 'not a hit.)
If the writers were paid based upon the quality of the writing, they would be making about $1 an hour on a good day.
It is not as easy like that.
Regardless of the quality of the script, the outcome of that is often times big money for the companies. And, the portion of those going to the writers is not in fair amount, considering that the script usually represents the origin of the final product.
Still, the profit depends on many things, not just on the writers. So, it is difficult to make a decision on the right amount.
Lastly, if you haven't been to a theater for the last 20 years, that is your loss. There have been many great movies made during that period based on good quality writing. Also, if you are trying to compare the US series to BBC series, then, again, you have to take into account the difference between countries. BBC makes series that would be enjoyable mostly by the Brits, whereas US makes series that will be enjoyable by the world. That is the difference.
Agreed. There are many talented people making many contributions to the art of film.
However... If the market in LA is anything like that of the musicians union in NYC, (I admit that I don't know) the union tends toward hindering a career more so than aiding, or it does nothing at all. I would imagine this is probably the case.
The industry goes -- and has always gone -- where the money is. Advertisers want young viewers, so television execs are going to skew its programming to that demographic. In pictures, the easiest way to get a huge opening weekend is with blow-em-up action and broad comedy. If there were money in cerebral sitcoms and art house films, you can bet Hollywood would happily churn them out.
This doesn’t mean fine work isn’t done in Hollywood -- just in the last few weeks I’ve seen the exceptional Michael Clayton, Eastern Promises, and Lars and the Real Girl. Although well reviewed and deserving of notice, none is going to do blockbuster business. That’s life. And why cineplexes aren’t crowded with highbrow fare.
It's not that writers and producers are talentless. Rather, they're subject to the marketplace and media conglomerates that expect profits. They’re giving the most profitable audience what it wants. Is this right? From an artistic perspective, no. From a business perspective, yes.
(We mostly get the cream of the British film and TV crop, so your impression of its overall quality might be somewhat skewed.)
In any case, it’s only fair that writers be properly compensated for new revenue streams—it’s a little like telling a songwriter that she’ll be paid standard royalties for CD purchases and radio play, a reduced royalty for songs downloaded online and nothing at all for airplay on satellite radio.
-- Christian Gulliksen
I love it when people say with one breath that everything Hollywood does is crap, and with the next breath they say they haven't been to a theater in 20 years. Everything might be crap, but how in the world would you know?!?
For someone whose taste is BBC, it's amazing how misguided you are.
Writers don't make bad movies. Producers and directors do. Producers destroy beautifully written stories with needless changes, aside from the fact that THEY choose which movies to make and finance. Don't like what's playing at the theater or on TV? Blame the suits, not the scribes. There are hundreds of amazing scripts unproduced.
Meanwhile, Directors routinely ruin even the best of scripts with their pretensions and lack of talent. Why is it that directors are considered the authors of films when a film is great, but writers are blamed when it's bad? Film is a collaborative medium, and it's fairly difficult to make a good film. But it all starts with a script. Without writers, there is no Hollywood, there is no TV, there is no entertainment.
Have you ever read some of these screenplays? Probably not. So please don't blame writers. They deserve much more respect and money than they currently earn.
I'll bet the primary reason most of the stuff coming out of Hollywood is tripe (especially TV) is due to the requirements of the 'focus group' executives (non-writers), who take good scripts and shred them with their 'notes', which ensure a watering down of a good script into baby food for the masses they hope to lure.
Thank you for the insight to what it was like back then. I really do hope the writers get their fair share. We BTLer's will just have to duck and cover ....
Alec,
Great article. You are absolutely correct in your assessment of the TV executive structure. It's ludicrous. How many execs does it take to screw in a lightbulb? You'd have to ask the VP of late night lightbulb screwing, and then he'd probably get back to you in three weeks with a learned response from his days as an executive assistant, "Well, we'd really just encourage you to re-examine that question first, and then try to raise the stakes. Why not switch out lightbulbs for hotties? That will make it sexier. Oh, and can we have the hotties being 'banged' instead of screwed? It's just a younger skewing term. Thanks though for your efforts. We all really like what you're doing."
All those overstaffed suits Baldwin talks about have another insidious purpose when it comes to writers: They all give feedback they expect the writer to somehow incorporate into their work. Some of it's stated in the contract, a lot of it isn't. But the implied ransom of not at least attempting to satisfy all these "suggestions," is that your work doesn't go any further, your film, your pilot won't get made. Non-writers sarcastically mock "boo-hoo." But how many other professions are so open to everyone thinking they are qualified to collaborate in it? The strike's all about territory and respect. Let's get some more.
I absolutely agree with you. Why do all these people, who don't have a clue as to how to create a storyline or character, somehow have the right to read over your shoulder and correct...oops..I'm sorry..to "tweak" what you have created? It happens in no other creative work. Can you see someone going into an art gallery with paints and brushes in hand and start splashing dabs of color here and there on finished paintings? What would happen to those people? They'd get carted off to the pokey.
Hollywood doesn't appreciate writers, stories or women over 29. They want "concept films"...to see stuff blow up, go squish and watch psychedelic slo-mo death sequences.
We all remember that scene in "The Player," where they're gathered around the conference table, talking about how they don't need writers. Yuh. Sure, guys.
Kids today have seen very few good films. Almost everything they watch is a full-length toy commercial, those toys being made by child slaves in other lands to placate child brats in this one.
Come on, Hollywood! Admit that writers are important to your business, and give them some breathing room.
Actors, no matter how attractive, can't stare from the screen with no words pouring out of their pretty mouths. Writers write those words. Get it? Got it? Good!
Hollywoodaholic said "The strike's all about territory and respect. Let's get some more."
It sounded good to me when Aretha sang it, and it still does.
R - E - S - P - E - C - T!
Kinda catchy, huh?
"Why do all these people, who don't have a clue as to how to create a storyline or character, somehow have the right to read over your shoulder and correct...oops..I'm sorry..to "tweak" what you have created?"
Well it is simple... It is their money and butts that are on the line. If you do not like it, go to the bank or your rich uncle and finance your project yourself. That way you can preserve your precious vision. It is all about risk and reward.
"Can you see someone going into an art gallery with paints and brushes in hand and start splashing dabs of color here and there on finished paintings?"
Film is very collaborative process that involves many many variables. No one part is more important the other - if one is off, it can wreck the entire project. A painter is a single person with a single vision.
If you don’t like what I am saying, go start your own production company to maintain your artistic integrity. That is what this country was founded upon. However, don’t preach that you are the single most important part of the process - that is conceded at best.
Amen!
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