I wanted to share a quote from writer Todd Alcott on the Writers Guild Strike today.
From Todd Alcott : When DVD came along, producers said "It's an experimental format, we have no idea if we'll make money off it." For 20 years, DVD sales kept studios afloat and gave them a second chance to recoup losses. By the time 2008 rolled around, DVD sales were down and writers never earned a dime in residuals. At that point, blu-ray was the new format, and the producers said "it's an experimental format, we have no idea if we'll make money off it." Blu-ray carried the market for the next fifteen years. Now the WGA contract is up again, and the producers are saying, no really, "streaming is an experimental format, we have no idea if we'll make money off it." Oddly enough, actors and directors and producers and showrunners all get residuals, just not writers. Why? Because writers are easiest to kick around. Screenwriters get abused every day in Hollywood, by pretty much everyone. The studio intern that brings in the bottled water to the pitch meeting has more power than the writer in the room.There's a reason for it: writing is hard. Everyone knows writing is hard. It's why no one wants to do it, and everyone thinks they're better than writers. Their reasoning is, if writers were smarter, they'd figure out how to do any other job, because writing is hard. It's much, much easier to find things wrong with a script than to write a script. It's much, much easier to find a writer to adapt existing IP than it is to write a script. It's much, much easier because writers in Hollywood will do all the creative work for you, for free.
That's how it is in Hollywood, and has been as long as I've been in the business. The studio buys a piece of IP, or already owns it from generations gone by, and someone at the top of the food chain says "Let's do X, and have it in theaters by Y, and on our streaming platforms by Z." The executives and producers then call up all the writers they know and have them compete for who gets the job to adapt the IP. In order to get the job adapting the IP, the writer has to write the entire story. Nothing less will do. The studio executive, the Guy Who Can Say Yes, needs to hear the entire story, from the writer, before they will hire the writer. The writer will gladly do all the creative work for free, because they know that, if they do not, there are 5000 other members of the WGA waiting behind them to do the job.
All of that is against WGA rules, and always has been. Does anyone care? They do not. The producers will make demands and the writers will bow to them, because that's the way it's been for a generation now.
The last time there was a strike, the result was that the writers got nothing and the studios started making "reality television," which, guess what, was all written by WGA members, who were not paid WGA wages, because "reality television doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the WGA."
Or, for example, take animation. I've worked on a number of animated projects, quite a few actually. For a long time it was my main source of income. And eventually I was thrown out of the WGA because I "hadn't worked in too long," although I was gainfully employed at the time, just not on features under the jurisdiction of the WGA.
My point being, this strike is a long time coming. I'm sure it will fail, they always have, but the alternative is to acquiesce and invite ever more abuse.
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https://twitter.com/okbjgm/status/1653461934229049344?s=46&t=QE6_iR24yNU...
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WGA Writers Complain They're Treated Like Dogs...
I think many of them are.
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Thanks for sharing this and your thoughts Tripp Mills. This is all so crazy and is breaking my heart. It shouldn't be like this.
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From Stage 32 on the strike: https://www.stage32.com/strike
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I highly doubt the strike will fail, Tripp Mills. Like someone said on Twitter: "The last Writers Guild strike (2007-2008) was before Twitter. Before Instagram. And obvs before TikTok. We have these weapons now. Let's use social media to amplify the message: we are fighting for the working class in this industry. We are fighting for the future."
I didn't experience the 2007-2008 WGA strike, but I've heard someone say the 2023 strike is unlike any other strike. It's bigger, it's more powerful, and a lot of people are standing together (like this article for example: https://deadline.com/2023/05/writers-strike-international-unions-react-t...). And negotiations for the DGA and the SAG-AFTRA are coming up, so that puts more pressure on the studios and companies to reach an agreement with the WGA.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and personal experiences Tripp.
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Hey everyone- just note I did not say this. It came from an interview with Todd Alcott. He gets the credit!
Yeah, of course, Tripp Mills. I put "I highly doubt the strike will fail, Tripp Mills." When I comment on a post, I like to tag/address the person who made it.
Did you see this: https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/wga-strike-lindsay-dougherty-teamsters...
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Is it a good thing, or a bad thing in the world of independent filmmaking?
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Thank you for this, Tripp.
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Robert, You're giving up?
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Robert. Most people writing spec screenplays aren't WGA Members so unless you are a member none of this crap applies.
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Doug Nelson. I am guessing it's a good thing for independent filmmakers.
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The main issue is streaming and writing for subscription based formats like Netflix. You can sell your IP to Netflix but you don’t get residuals because they own it. I think for me the independent world holds the best space as a screenwriter and producer right now.
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Not just streamers but likely agencies in secret deals screw over creators. I saw a tweet from the Creator of "Army Wives" that the tv show is still negative red (corporate bookkeeping) and it aired for 7 seasons.
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Tripp Mills "it's an experimental format, we have no idea if we'll make money off it."
I sense a pattern here, but I don’t know what it means…dur!
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Never forget. Without the screenwriter, the screen is blank.
Why did I take up this vocation? Should have chosen something else, like maybe... I don't know... brain surgeon? What do you say we all hold hands and walk into traffic together? I'm kidding of course... maybe...
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That's why I don't make writing my source income...I got steady, good paid job covering my mortgage and kids happiness...wasn't always as this, had a bumpy upcoming and the writing was always there good/bad times...it's a stimulus more than anything else for me...
But I have no issues with working writers...if this is you do 24/7 you need steady pay...now how much of that gonna be reality in the upcoming mid-21 century that's another talk...