Hollywood Writers

[TheMaker]

I've read (and heard) that TV writers get something like 2 or 3 cents for every DVD sold. Yikes. Take it into consideration. The overwhelming majority of these guys ain't rich, rest assured. Everybody reading this is either well acquainted with somebody who makes a lot more money than the average Hollywood writer, or personally makes more money than the average Hollywood writer.

 

What are the studio heads worth, again? And remind me how much cats like Kiefer Sutherland make per episode on a show like 24? Hrmmm. Summin' ain't addin' up.

[Good Old Neon]

I am 100% in favor of the writers requests, however, with that said, my hope is that they spend the time afforded by the strike to like, write a script worth watching or something or other.....

 

That goes double for those who write primarily for television.

[bjorn_skurj]

My dad is not going to be happy to hear that.

I am not your dad, but I am not happy to hear that either.

[tommyjacobs]

What are the studio heads worth, again? And remind me how much cats like Kiefer Sutherland make per episode on a show like 24? Hrmmm. Summin' ain't addin' up.

 

Studio heads have far more responsibility than a writer. Star actors are much harder to replace than a writer.

[OOO]

From my pal (I wish) Joss Whedon:

 

STRIKE DRAGS ON FOR SECOND DAY! IS THIS THE END OF WRITTEN WORD?

 

Reporters are funny people. At least, some of the New York Times reporters are. Their story on the strike was the most dispiriting and inaccurate that I read. But it also contained one of my favorite phrases of the month.

 

“All the trappings of a union protest were there… …But instead of hard hats and work boots, those at the barricades wore arty glasses and fancy scarves.”

 

Oh my God. Arty glasses and fancy scarves. That is so cute! My head is aflame with images of writers in ruffled collars, silk pantaloons and ribbons upon their buckled shoes. A towering powdered wig upon David Fury’s head, and Drew Goddard in his yellow stockings (cross-gartered, needless to say). Such popinjays, we! The entire writers’ guild as Leslie Howard in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Delicious.

 

Except this is exactly the problem. The easiest tactic is for people to paint writers as namby pamby arty scarfy posers, because it’s what most people think even when we’re not striking. Writing is largely not considered work. Art in general is not considered work. Work is a thing you physically labor at, or at the very least, hate. Art is fun. (And Hollywood writers are overpaid, scarf-wearing dainties.) It’s an easy argument to make. And a hard one to dispute.

 

My son is almost five. He is just beginning to understand what I do as a concept. If I drove a construction crane he’d have understood it at birth. And he’d probably think I was King of all the Lands in my fine yellow crane. But writing – especially writing a movie or show, where people other than the writer are all saying things that they’re clearly (to an unschooled mind) making up right then – is something to get your head around.

 

And as work? Well, in the first place, it IS fun. When it’s going well, it’s the most fun I can imagine having. (Tim Minear might dispute that.) And when it’s not going well, it’s often not going well in the company of a bunch of funny, thoughtful people. So how is that work? You got no muscles to show for it (yes, the brain is a muscle, but if you show it to people it’s usually because part of your skull has been torn off and that doesn’t impress the ladies – unless the ladies are ZOMBIES! Where did this paragraph go?) Writing is enjoyable and ephemeral. And it’s hard work.

 

It’s always hard. Not just dealing with obtuse, intrusive studio execs, temperamental stars and family-prohibiting hours. Those are producer issues as much as anything else. Not just trying to get your first script sold, or seen, or finished, when nobody around believes you can/will/should… the ACT of writing is hard. When Buffy was flowing at its flowingest, David Greenwalt used to turn to me at some point during every torturous story-breaking session and say “Why is it still hard? When do we just get to be good at it?” I’ll only bore you with one theory: because every good story needs to be completely personal (so there are no guidelines) and completely universal (so it’s all been done). It’s just never simple.

 

It’s necessary, though. We’re talking about story-telling, the most basic human need. Food? That’s an animal need. Shelter? That’s a luxury item that leads to social grouping, which leads directly to fancy scarves. But human awareness is all about story-telling. The selective narrative of your memory. The story of why the Sky Bully throws lightning at you. From the first, stories, even unspoken, separated us from the other, cooler beasts. And now we’re talking about the stories that define our nation’s popular culture – a huge part of its identity. These are the people that think those up. Working writers.

 

“The trappings of a union protest…” You see how that works? Since we aren’t real workers, this isn’t a real union issue. (We’re just a guild!) And that’s where all my ‘what is a writer’ rambling becomes important. Because this IS a union issue, one that will affect not just artists but every member of a community that could find itself at the mercy of a machine that absolutely and unhesitatingly would dismantle every union, remove every benefit, turn every worker into a cowed wage-slave in the singular pursuit of profit. (There is a machine. Its program is ‘profit’. This is not a myth.) This is about a fair wage for our work. No different than any other union. The teamsters have recognized the importance of this strike, for which I’m deeply grateful. Hopefully the Times will too.

 

I bolded something which may be of interest to this board...

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

My dad is not going to be happy to hear that.

It's not surprising, though, is it?

[gogo]

It's not surprising, though, is it?

I've got the same response to this that I had to the "Dumbledore is gay" controversy: I never really gave it a thought before, but now that it's out there, no, I'm not really all that surprised.

[ms. yvon]

for the last two days i could hear drivers in traffic on ventura blvd. honking in support of the picketers outside the studio where i work. i can hear them chanting out there now.

 

this is a tough, weird time.

 

i respect the writers for taking a stand, going on strike as a group to make a stand. i belong to a fairly weak union. we are a creative dept. under the umbrella of a technical guild. we receive no residuals and no percentages.

 

still. i'm anxious. if the strike persists, i'm out of work in one month.

[isadorah]

Studio heads have far more responsibility than a writer. Star actors are much harder to replace than a writer.

 

 

really? but if the star actor has no good lines to recite...

[tommyjacobs]

really? but if the star actor has no good lines to recite...

 

I'm not disputing that writers are essential. I'm just saying that if they are more easily replaceable, then all else equal they will be paid less.

[isadorah]

I'm not disputing that writers are essential. I'm just saying that if they are more easily replaceable, then all else equal they will be paid less.

 

 

really??? then again, i think we put too much value on one person's job/talents over another with no substantiated basis behind it. you see this in most professions.

 

[there was an agency i worked for once. I got to attend the retirement party of John Young, the longest serving astronaut in US history. At one point during the tributes, someone asked all of the astronauts in the room to stand up, I was awestruck and commented to a colleague how lowly my job was compared to the folks that got to ride the rocket. she pointed out to me that my job was just as important to the mission as that of the folks that got to go into space. without the rest of us, there would be no rockets to ride. that was one of the philosophies of the Agency, or else why would someone so lowly be invited to attend the same party that Buzz Aldrin and John Glenn were attending. i thought she made a nice point all around.]

[TheMaker]

Isadorah, that post made my bitter heart soar!

 

Studio heads are generally worthless, regardless of their level of "responsibility."

 

One might argue that their responsibilities entail looking out for quality programming that takes time to grow an audience rather than stacking the airwaves with truly idiotic garbage such as "reality television." Maybe I'm fucked right in the head or something, but the guys and gals responsible for such inventive fare as Arrested Development, Undeclared and Firefly, to name just three short-lived gems, are worth more to me than any Les Moonves or Catherine Pope.

[ikol]

really? but if the star actor has no good lines to recite...

 

Then he can just put sunglasses on while delivering bad lines, and everything's OK.

[TheMaker]

That's been working for David Caruso on CSI: Miami for years.

 

BA-DUMP-BUM!

[ms. yvon]

One might argue that their responsibilities entail looking out for quality programming that takes time to grow an audience rather than stacking the airwaves with truly idiotic garbage such as "reality television."

would that it were so.

 

i'm telling you, even the most distinctive programming gets crammed through the mill of what execs think people might want and expect to see.

 

at the end of every season i say this, and if i'm out of work b/c of the strike it may just happen, i'm done with tv. i'm going to renew my fcc license and look for a gig in radio. public. radio.

[Dr. Steve Brule]

Damn, even Cousin Mose is not immune...and are they picketing Michael Scott's subdivision?

 

[yermom]

I wish I was part of some union so I could picket too. Looks kinda fun, I have never picketed anything.

You don't have to be in a union. There's always something to picket.

[ZenLunatic]

I'm not disputing that writers are essential. I'm just saying that if they are more easily replaceable, then all else equal they will be paid less.

 

I think a show's success all differs from writing, directing, acting, and producing depending on the show. Some shows are all actor power, while some are all writer or whatever combo of each. I think all shows should base the residuals and percentages on their own circumstances.

[ZenLunatic]

You don't have to be in a union. There's always something to picket.

 

But I am particular in picketing not making enough money.

[jenbobblehead]

But I am particular in picketing not making enough money.

you can always change your livelihood so you make the money you want.

[EL the Famous]

Studio heads are generally worthless, regardless of their level of "responsibility."

 

One might argue that their responsibilities entail looking out for quality programming that takes time to grow an audience rather than stacking the airwaves with truly idiotic garbage such as "reality television." Maybe I'm fucked right in the head or something, but the guys and gals responsible for such inventive fare as Arrested Development, Undeclared and Firefly, to name just three short-lived gems, are worth more to me than any Les Moonves or Catherine Pope.

 

i'll preface this by saying that i completely support this strike and that these writers need better compensation for their work.

 

however, to say that all studio heads or network execs who oversee numerous programs shouldn't receive more money than a writer on one program and are worthless is absurd. plus, don't kid yourself, these 'suits' are tasked not w/ the job of 'looking out for quality programming but 'looking out for programming that will generate ratings and, thusly, ad revenue'.

 

everybody in the machine is important, but to say there shouldn't be a sliding scale on compensation based on your responsbilities is crazy and based in a land of rainbows and puppy dogs. these writers should definitely be more fairly compensated...a lot more. but the writers/actors/execs are equally required.

[Sir Stewart]

if i'm out of work b/c of the strike it may just happen, i'm done with tv. i'm going to renew my fcc license and look for a gig in radio. public. radio.

Step... away... from... the ledge!!

>

[gogo]

But I am particular in picketing not making enough money.

You could unionize your workplace... just ask Dreamin'.

[ZenLunatic]

You could unionize your workplace... just ask Dreamin'.

 

Yeah I was totally kidding about picketing. If I want more money, I just go talk to my boss. Im my own union.

 

I would like to have just a smiley face or on a sign and walk around.

[ms. yvon]

Step... away... from... the ledge!!

>

 

i suppose if the strike continues after i've been laid off, i can join a picket line...

 

for the record: editor's guild, local 700. *fist in the air*

 

also: the film & tv industries are NOTORIOUS for taking advantage of crews, working us crazy long hours. the unions in this industry do keep this stuff in check by using high overtime wages (meal penalties, night premiums, etc) as a deterrent.

also, our union provides us with health care. and minimum salaries.

 

i have still worked stupid hours this season: 4 weeks without a day off, 16 hour days for weeks at a time...but i made sure i was paid for every minute. not b/c i'm greedy, but if studios insist on giving us inhuman deadlines to generate these programs they have to be aware that it will cost them. with all the MBA's in positions of creative power (don't get me started...) all these people seem to understand is the bottom line.

 

feh.

 

still: as long as the show i'm on is in production, i'll be down at the catering table for lunch. woo!