Movies | August 11, 2009 | 1 comment

Hollywood Writers: Downward Employment Trend / Dim Outlook

source: http://artfulwriter.com/?p=870

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JonRaymond
In this ArtfulWriter.com blog Craig Mazin (Scary Movie franchise writer-director) discusses a turn of events in Hollywood to something called the step deal. Now I don't fully fathom what that is. But it sounds like a way for studios to short change writers by having them sign an option to do a first draft with the studio having the right to then go to another writer for that writer's first draft, as the film's second draft. Confused? I believe second and subsequent drafts by the same writer pay better than the first. At least it's another solid gig. Certainly any writer would prefer to do as many drafts of a film as possible, if not all of them exclusively.

Anyway, what I find most intriguing is not the post itself, but the reactions in the comments by working and not so working industry writers. Specifically one post by CP who is apparently 28 and on the verge of poverty for the sake of his passion to write, forsaking all those around him. The problem is that in 2009, screenwriting doesn't fair well for this kind of new independent writer.

In fact the industry seems to be more and more steeped in business plans that have little to do with writing talent. It's about marketing what can be made into a video game and can be marketed on an international scale, and what can have a music component like sound track hits, for example. These Hollywood industries like GE, which owns Universal along with a plethora of other mostly finance industry companies, see movies as a small part of their big corporate Wall Street picture, little more than add placement opportunities, if you will. In this regard, Transformers is a two hour Camaro commercial. GI Joe is a Pentagon recruitment ad. Transformers too, considering all the pro military tripe it espouses. After all, Transformers' director Michael Bay started out making commercials, car commercials I believe.

What self respecting writer coming out of film school wants to write two hour commercials, and yet if they don't their future looks very dim? But are all studios like GE subsidiaries? Perhaps not.
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1 comment // Hollywood Writers: Downward Employment Trend / Dim Outlook

  • JonRaymond
    • 0
      JonRaymond  
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    • This Written By article by the High School Musical writer outlines the profound changes he sees in the screenwriting trade, including a movement toward marketing based screenplays. Ok, that's not news. But the scale in which this is happening is. The movie "story" itself has become much less important than it's marketing potential in other peripheral content industries like music, video games, and international markets. They want films that you can illustrate have a potential to fill those other content markets, not to mention future potentials like spin offs, sequels, and eventual franchises.

      (Note the Blue Toad magazine format is tricky if you aren't used to it. But it's pretty cool. Double click on the page to get the zoom bar where you can zoom in. Then scroll or grab the page with your mouse and drag it.)

    • 2 years ago
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