[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to The Storyteller's Mission with Zena Dell Lowe, a podcast for artists and storytellers about changing the world for the better through story.
[00:00:10] Now, today, I wanted to take a little bit of time to go over something else that we haven't talked about, which is the current writer's strike that's happening in Hollywood.
[00:00:22] Now, for those of you that don't know on May 2nd, the Writer's Guild of America, which is an alliance of two different labor unions that represents over 11,000 individuals that work in film and television and radio and that sort of thing- writers that work in those different mediums- they went on strike.
[00:00:42] So, writers went on strike after six weeks of negotiations had failed with a body called the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Now, this is the organization that represents all of the major Hollywood studios, the production companies that are distribution platforms, streaming platforms, places like Discovery and Warner, NBC, Universal, Paramount, Sony, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, everything, all the major streaming and studio network sources.
[00:01:19] So what is at stake? Why are the Hollywood writers striking? Well, there are two major issues at play, and of course one is far more prevalent than the other. And the main issue, the main issue is higher compensation. Right now, writers are not being compensated very much for a number of reasons.
[00:01:46] There are various factors that have contributed to declining pay over the last few years, and I'm gonna get to that in a minute. But the other issue, the secondary issue that relates to the first, is AI. And the Writer's Guild of America wants to put up some guardrails in anticipation of what could really become a problem in the future with the use of AI and what that might mean for writers and their compensation.
[00:02:16] So let's go to the first issue. What's happening? Well, over the last few years, the entire system has changed. What used to happen is we used to have series that were on network television and there would be say 20 to 22 episodes in a season. And so at the very beginning of the season, you know, you'd hire all these writers, they'd sit in the writer's room. You know, there could be really big staffs, in fact, depending on how big the show was. But you'd have all these writers, they'd sit in that room, they'd break down the arc of that season, and then they'd be assigned to take an episode and go write it. And then they'd come back and they'd all review and they'd fix plot holes and that sort of thing.
[00:02:59] And there'd be somebody that was running the room, the showrunner, who was running all of those. Things and they were in charge. And the writers, by the way, in television, have always been the people that were most in control in traditional television programming. They were the ones that are the producers of the show because they are the ones in charge. They're running it.
[00:03:22] This is why someone like Joss Whedon was so successful. He was the showrunner. That's the head writer of the show.
[00:03:31] So in any case, that's how the old system worked. But as we've migrated to a streaming type situation, everything has changed including how writers end up being compensated, how stable their jobs are, and what the entire situation is for them.
[00:03:53] And let me explain. So in the new system, now you might have a series that only is 10 episodes. So what will happen is they'll have these things called mini rooms. Now, a mini room is a mini writer's room where they bring in fewer writers, so maybe five, six writers instead of the 12 to 15, however many they would have before to break the season for these series.
[00:04:24] And then though, instead of keeping them on, they let all those other writers go and they just keep one, maybe two writers to write all the episodes. And so really then these writers who have done a great deal of the heavy lifting, they're only being paid for four weeks of work and then they're let go and they're done with that job. That gig is over.
[00:04:46] But furthermore, They're getting so little in that. It's not like they're getting paid a ginormous amount to do that particular work. No, they're getting paid pitance because they're not really doing the long-term work. They're not getting a weekly wage or a salary. They're not getting a consistent salary at all.
[00:05:06] It's freelance base. Everything in Hollywood is freelance base, but they're barely being compensated for that work. And so what writers are saying is, "We have a problem here. The budgets of these series are increasing exponentially, but our salaries, our money, our rewards for it are consistently shrinking."
[00:05:27] And this is also true because of what's happening in the world of residuals. So again, in the classic system, when you had a show on network television, Well, if that show was successful enough to go into syndication and you could watch reruns of it, well, guess what? The writers got residuals.
[00:05:49] But now that's not necessarily happening because once it's on streaming, it's not like it's in reruns. It's just always available. And so there's no transparency for viewership. We don't know how many people are watching these because the studios won't tell us. So we don't know how they're calculating it. But even if you're on a hit show, like say Game of Thrones or something like that,there's no increased residual. There's no residual at all that's coming really to the writer.
[00:06:20] In fact, in many cases, the writers are cut out of that altogether. Now there are sometimes you're getting a residual. For example, there's a gal that worked on Wednesday and she also was one of the writers on Jane the Virgin, those types of shows.
[00:06:34] So really, she must have a lot of experience, and she's probably a very good writer. Well, she recently wanted to show the world why writers are striking. And she took a picture of her last three residual checks and they were for like 3 cents or 8 cents. I mean, it was so despicable. It was so ridiculously low.
[00:06:57] It's nonsensical. And she's saying, "This is why we're on strike. This is ridiculous. This shouldn't even be the case." And it's true.
[00:07:05] So there's no residuals and there's no structure for residuals, and there certainly is no transparency on the part of the studios to be able to reward based on the success of a particular show that might be in the streaming world.
[00:07:20] So basically, what writers are saying is the whole system is screwed up and writers are getting the shaft, which is consistently true. There's always been tension between writers and studios because writers often feel like the redheaded stepchild. They're the ones who are relegated to the second class citizen level, while the actors and the directors and the people that are in the forefront, the glory roles, right? They're getting all this attention, they're getting all these rewards, but the writer, who is usually the person alone in the room writing isn't getting those rewards.
[00:08:02] Certainly that's been true in screenwriting, in feature films. That's always been true. There has been, in the past, more respect given to writers in television because of the fact that they were the ones running the show. But that's changed too. That has now changed too.
[00:08:19] And so now there's no respect for writers anywhere really. And it's been a long complaint. And as a result of that, again, in mid-April, 9,000 writers authorized this strike with 98% approval. The vote, 98% of the vote approved this strike, which means it's a really, really big issue for writers.
[00:08:44] Now for those that are interested, I do have a link to the WGA proposals, what they are asking for, and as well as on that document, the response from the studios. And what you're gonna find is that there are nine proposals that the studios have just outright rejected or refused to even look at, and they are not unfair things for the writers to be asking for.
[00:09:13] Now, there could be negotiation in there. There's always supposed to be negotiation, but the studios are not even willing to negotiate. They're just outright refusing to look at those particular proposals. And there's over a dozen proposals, but that's a great majority of this document they're not even willing to look at, and that's a problem.
[00:09:33] Now, the last time there was a strike from the WGA was 15 years ago, and that one lasted about three months, and that one helped pave the way for streaming. It was actually in anticipation of this transition into streaming, but everything changes so fast in Hollywood that now a new contract is needed and it's got to pay writers more. They're just not getting compensated.
[00:10:00] Now again, the reason the writers are striking is because according to them, the system is broken, and that surviving as a writer, as a professional writer, is impossible. That's what's actually at stake in this negotiation.
[00:10:15] Now, just to give you an example of this, what they're saying is that writing salaries, writer/producer pay has declined 23% in the last decade. That's pretty significant.
[00:10:29] And what they are trying to communicate to the powers that be is that this isn't just a simple economic negotiation. What WGA members are arguing is that this is actually a systemic problem that will be an existential crisis for writers. I mean, they just simply won't be able to continue as freelance writers. They won't be able to continue in the industry, which is going to affect everything down the road.
[00:10:56] Now, the way that Hollywood works, by the way, is for writers, it's always a freelance industry. You go from job to job and each contract can look different according to who you're working for, what the project is, how long the project lasts.
[00:11:11] It can also look different according to your experience and skills as a writer or as a professional with that particular background. It will change according to the credits that you have, the longevity of your job experience.
[00:11:27] Shows have different cadences. Some shows have bigger budgets because of the type of show and genre that it's in, whereas some have less.
[00:11:36] And of course, according to the film budgets or the television budgets, all of those things are factors that play into compensation for writers.
[00:11:47] Now the WGA contracts are supposed to guarantee certain minimums, but their take home pay often becomes much less than even those minimums.
[00:11:58] Now, right now, by the way, the minimums are the norm, and it shouldn't be that way. The minimums are there to set minimums. This is the very lowest, the very bit minimum that a writer should get, and yet, that's what's generally being applied are the very minimum.
[00:12:13] So right there you have a problem and keep in mind, then the writer is often employing other people, lawyers, agents, managers, things like this, to try to make sure that they have representation so that they don't get taken advantage of, which can take 25% of the minimum that they're getting. So writers are really, really, really suffering in that regard.
[00:12:36] I've heard a lot of people say that writers. Are, well, if they wrote better stuff, then they could be paid more. That's not, that's just a really wrong view here. And also it's not true. The writers are writing great stuff. Everything that happens comes from the writer.
[00:12:53] You cannot have a good project without a good writer. You just cannot. They are the king. They should be the king. And the fact that we don't realize that is a problem. But on top of that, there's this perspective for outsiders outside of Hollywood that writers are just raking in the dough. And that is not the case.
[00:13:14] In fact, as I pointed out, they are decreasing. It's getting worse for them, 23% in pay scale decrease in the last 10 years. And the the sad thing is because it's a freelance based industry, you're not guaranteed to ever work again. You could even be a writer on a hit show and then not get hired the next season. There's nothing guaranteeing you from getting hired again.
[00:13:41] So again, what's changed? Well, there's shorter TV seasons, there's fewer chances to advance. There's fewer chances to earn your stripes, as it were, to become better and better. It's just a different world.
[00:13:55] Again, historically, network television might run a show for 24 episodes or 22 episodes every season, and then that writer would be guaranteed to work full-time at least nine months out of the year.
[00:14:11] Whereas now the writer's rooms are smaller and there's less of a chance to be hired, and the TV seasons can be short. They can be as short as eight episodes. 13 at best, right? And so all of a sudden it just changes everything.
[00:14:29] There's one particular gentleman who wrote for HBO's The Other Two. And the season is slated to be 10 episodes all together. The writer's room, he said, met for around 15 weeks, which is on the shorter side. And after fees and taxes, he got about $3,200 a week for those 15 weeks. And then he was done.
[00:14:50] So 15 weeks, $3,200 a week. Now you might be thinking, well, that's a lot of money. Well, okay, but that has to sustain you. For how long? Because there's no guarantee he's ever gonna get work again. So how long does he have to make that work? That's actually- you break that down, it's not very much money. Especially in Hollywood. Especially in Hollywood.
[00:15:11] And so there are a lot of fewer opportunities, even for the junior screenwriters or television writers who are trying to work their way up.
[00:15:20] It's a real problem. Writers used to get paid for going onto the set and being part of the production process in case a storyline needed to be changed last minute, that sort of thing. And then they could also accrue production skills, which made them more valuable. And they could take that to their future projects because that now- they had more knowledge and they have the knowledge of the production stuff that you need to be a better writer. But that's less common these days. Today, if you go to the set, you do it unpaid in most cases.
[00:15:52] Okay. Part of the problem again is how are they calculating what writers should get? Why are they getting peanuts in, say, residuals if that show is being watched over and over and over again?
[00:16:05] Well, it's because most streamers don't have specific viewer data. Certainly not data that is available to the rest of us. We don't have any idea how residual amounts are being calculated because the powers that be aren't telling the writers or the consumers even what those numbers are. There's no transparency in that, which is a problem. Now of the more than dozen proposals that the WGA outlined.
[00:16:34] As I mentioned, the AMPTP has rejected nine outright. One of them has to do with AI, how AI is going to be used in Hollywood. Now this is important. This is really important for people to understand how AI is going to be used. So essentially what writers are trying to get ahead of is how AI is going to be used.
[00:17:03] They wanna regulate the use of material that's being produced by artificial intelligence or similar technologies. See, the Writer's Guild isn't alone in trying to figure out where AI is going to fit into the industry, people in all creative professions are concerned about this. Artists, actors, musicians, everybody needs to understand and there has to be some limits on what AI is allowed to do, or it might remove this creative element from those industries as well.
[00:17:39] So there's a lot of fighting over this. And here's why. So take for example, this idea that if AI is allowed to be responsible for, say, source material, which is one of the key issues that the WGA wants to prevent.
[00:17:56] It says, "The WGA proposes to regulate the use of artificial intelligence on M B A covered projects. AI cannot write or rewrite literary material. It cannot be used as source material. An M B A covered material cannot be used to train AI."
[00:18:18] Source material, by the way, the reason this is important is because how it works in Hollywood is there are different pay scales. There's different compensation given depending on what you're actually writing.
[00:18:30] If you turn in a proposal for something, you're not gonna get as much as if you turn in an original screenplay that's completed y that's called source material.
[00:18:39] Or say that you are adapting a novel and that novel, you know, you, if you're the first screenwriter to adapt it. Both of those are source materials.
[00:18:48] Yours is the source material as the screenplay, so any other future rewrites of the screenplay, you are still the first person to have written the screenplay, and therefore that's considered the source material to build on. But also the screenplay has been built off of the source material of the novel.
[00:19:06] And so this is very, very important for writers of all capacities really. Because what would happen if the studio execs just talked to AI and said, okay, so here's my general idea. Write a story based on this. And then AI composes the literary work. And now they go and hire a writer to fix it and make it better.
[00:19:28] Well, what happens is the writer doesn't get compensated appropriately. They're fixing AI material. They have to because you still need a creative person in the process. It's not gonna be perfect, whatever AI does, but because of where they come into the process, the real person, they're going to get paid peanuts for the rewrite or the fixes or the whatever it is that they're doing to this AI generated script.
[00:19:53] And so that's not fair. That is not fair. And so the WGA wants to have regulations associated with that and for good reason.
[00:20:03] Now, keep in mind that what the Guild is basically proposing is that material generated by AI ,or similar technologies, is not considered literary material or source material.
[00:20:18] Because literary material and source material is the stuff that writers get paid to write. So writers are responsible for screenplays, treatments, outlines of course, novels, that sort of thing.
[00:20:31] So what they're basically saying is, anything that AI generates, it shouldn't be considered source material. It's just, it's not, it can't be considered that because in that scenario, writer's employment and their pay shrinks.
[00:20:47] But they have rejected this, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers rejected this proposal. Instead, they want to have annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology, but that doesn't do anything to protect writers. In fact, writers are very exposed in that thing, and that should concern all of us.
[00:21:06] Now I could go into all sorts of details about what the minimum weekly salary is for staff writers on a television series right now, and how that's changed over the years and what their yearly salary would be now compared to then, and that sort of thing. But I'm not going to.
[00:21:23] Instead, I just want to end by saying this and, and that is that according to the WGA, about half of all writers are now working in streaming, and that medium pays almost no residuals for writers. And that's true for new and preexisting shows. I mean, it's just unbelievable. But plus, because it's a new area and the model is different, and it's not 24 episodes for a season, but it's only 10, and because you have the mini room that lasts 10 weeks instead of the nine months that you're in that writer's room or that sort of thing.
[00:22:03] It's just very, very difficult for writers. And by the way, this is one reason why- what am I doing? I'm supplementing my income, right? I, it's impossible to make a living as a writer alone these days. And so I supplement my income, I coach, I critique, I do consultations, I do the podcast. I do online classes to help other writers.
[00:22:27] Now, I would probably do those things anyway because I love it, but the truth of the matter is, If I was in a writer's room that lasted for nine months out of the year, then I probably wouldn't have time to do those things. But because it's a freelance based industry, there are times when I'll go for a long time between gigs and I have to have some sort of way to make a regular salary.
[00:22:52] I'm lucky in some ways that I have The Storytellers Mission and can do that. A lot of other writers don't have anything like that on the side. Maybe because they've been slightly more successful and so they couldn't sustain it. Anyway, the point is, It's almost impossible to make a living just as a screenwriter, even if you are responsible for a hit show, and it shouldn't be that way.
[00:23:18] So I am absolutely standing with my WGA brothers and sisters who are on strike. I totally support this strike, and I hope you will too. Now, in the face of all of the industry shifts, really what is being proposed by the WGA is only fair.
[00:23:36] They just want increased regulations regarding artificial intelligence.
[00:23:41] They want pay structures that would make up for the elimination of residuals, or of course some way to account for residuals that would be fair and commiserate with the success of a show.
[00:23:54] They want preservation of writer's rooms so that they can't be abused and dismissed and sent away so easily, and then get minimum pay for that show.
[00:24:05] And of course, they want decent pay for streaming because that's primarily where the work is these days. And whatever was the deal that was made 15 years ago is not working now because so much more of the content is on streaming than it used to be.
[00:24:23] So these are all of the things. That writers are asking for.
[00:24:26] They would like to have a minimum number or a guaranteed number of on the week jobs for writers so that they could actually make a sustained living.
[00:24:37] And we want that for writers because otherwise the consumers, what they're consuming is going to be bad. It just affects it. You need the good writers. You need the people that are experienced or else you're not gonna have good content.
[00:24:52] It always starts with the writers. That's why this podcast exists. So right now the Guilds proposals, according to the W G A would cost studios around 429 million per year. Now that sounds like an awful lot of money. But you have to consider, this is a billion dollar industry and they are making billions of dollars.
[00:25:17] And what the studios have countered with their counter proposals have only amounted to about 86 million. So they've gone up about 86 million. But do you see the disparity there? It's still pretty far apart, so, That's going to mean that the strike is going to keep lasting for a while.
[00:25:38] Writers are prepared, I believe, to die on this hill because they recognize how incredibly important it is to get a fair deal.
[00:25:47] If they don't succeed here, they won't be able to continue working in this industry. That's just the truth of it. It just won't be possible, so I think they're prepared to die on this hill. And in the meantime, probably what's going to happen is there's going to be an increase of, of course, reality tv because that's where they go when they don't have writers, and there's going to be probably an increase of sports shows, things shown that way, and that's all well and good, but I don't think that'll satisfy people forever because we really like scripted television and we really like good movies. And so where will we go from here if this doesn't happen?
[00:26:31] And by the way, Hollywood's other unions- which include the guilds for actors and directors- for one, they are facing their own deals expiring right on the heels of this, but they are absolutely in support of the WGA. Now, the reason they can't strike with the WGA is because their contracts forbid them from doing so. They must continue working so, that's why they're going to continue working unless there's something happens that shuts down the production.
[00:27:04] But both members and leaders of those other organizations have expressed their complete solidarity with the WGA.
[00:27:11] Now in terms of how this is going to affect the rest of the world, that's up for grabs in a way. There is no template for how this is going to look months down the line for consumers because it's the very first strike we've ever had in this streaming arena.
[00:27:28] We've never had one here, so we don't really know. But I would imagine that in some ways it won't seem like much is impacted depending on how long the strike lasts, because we're sort of used to these long breaks between seasons now, you know, you might have your favorite show come out and you don't get another season of it for three more years.
[00:27:48] That's happening more often. And so for consumers, they might not even notice too much and there's enough stuff that's in production that can continue to be filmed.
[00:27:58] Because once the script is done, you can keep filming. Now, you can't do any rewrites that might be needed on those projects, but you can film, everybody else can keep working.
[00:28:09] So there's a lot of stuff that's probably in process right now, but on some sets, even those are being shut down.
[00:28:16] Like Stranger things, the set of Stranger Things ended up getting shut down. Even though they had finished scripts, if they needed any reworking or whatever, production had to stop.
[00:28:27] So that's where we are and that's what's happening.
[00:28:32] In any case, I want to thank you for supporting writers. The truth is, nothing happens without the writer. Nothing happens without the writer. We are the most important person in the process. Writers are where it all stems from.
[00:28:51] If you're familiar with Mandy Patinkin, the actor, best known for his role in Princess Bride, Inigo Montoya, he said a very positive thing about writers. In a recent tweet, he said, "Hey, this is what I would be doing without writers." And he posted a video of himself basically in silence doing nothing, staring off into space.
[00:29:13] Very effective because he's right. That's what he would be doing. Without the writers, there's nothing to do for the actor. So I appreciate him for supporting writers and for everybody else who's gone out to support writers.
[00:29:28] What's happening now is the writers are on strike. They're waiting to come to some agreement, and Guild rules prevent members to pitch projects, to make new deals, to turn in new scripts, to do anything like that, while this is going on, all they can do is accept payment for work that's already been completed. That's the only thing they can do.
[00:29:52] Now, those of us that aren't in the union ought not cross those picket lines because these people are picketing for all of us. For all of us, and we ought to support them and not be scabs as it were, because we won't get good deals if we did that. So in any case, we are waiting to see how it shakes out, and it could be a very long and ugly one because it doesn't seem like the studios are anywhere close to capitulating, to the writer's demands.
[00:30:26] Now, mind you, the writers would negotiate, but there again are those nine particular points that the studio is just rejected outright, which is really, really unfair. I, for one, do not believe that what the writers are asking for is unreasonable. Now again, I think there could be some wiggle room there, but nevertheless, what they want is not unreasonable. It's essential, and I hope that they get it.
[00:30:51] Anyway. I hope that this episode has helped you to understand what's going on right now in Hollywood. If you are a writer in Hollywood or if you're not, if you are a novelist who has a story that you think would be a good movie, well, guess what? Everything is off the table right now.
[00:31:08] It affects everybody. It affects consumers, it affects writers. It affects novelists. It's affecting us all. So I hope that this at least helps you to understand more what's actually happening in the writer's strike in Hollywood. Having said that, I'm just gonna say this. It is a good time for writers to be sharpening their skills.
[00:31:30] Because as soon as this strike is over, and it's going to end at some point, they're going to be hungry for new content and new writers even. We're going to need more people because a lot of these people may have to leave before it's all over.
[00:31:45] They are trying to sustain big houses maybe, and they won't be able to pay for it. So they might have to go away. So the point is, right now, what can you do as a writer? Sharpen your skills, and guess what? If you're a screenwriter, I happen to have a class for you to do just that. You need to take my class Formatting as an Artform. This is the perfect time to do it.
[00:32:06] You take this class. You sharpen your skills. You get your project ready to go. Make it excellent because there's a really good chance they're going to be hungry. Hungry, hungry for new stuff as soon as the strike is over.
[00:32:19] So the best thing you can do right now is to take my class Formatting as an Artform. You can click on the link provided and you'll be taken to the page where you can read all about it, find out what's there.
[00:32:32] There's a free video, a free training video to help you understand some of the ideas behind what's in this class, and then sign up.
[00:32:40] For heaven's sake, it's the cheapest it's ever gonna be, and you should take this class. It is the most comprehensive class on screenwriting in existence.
[00:32:49] I'm telling you it's a game changer. So take this class. You'll be ready when the studio is available again for us to pitch to.
[00:32:58] Okay. In the meantime, I want to thank you so much for listening to The Storyteller's Mission with Zena Dell Lowe. May you go forth inspired to change the world for the better through story.
