http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE

To be honest, though, with Ellison I think it's more about respect than money. Hell, he's still pissed at The New Yorker for not publishing his most recent short story.

As far as the amateurs undercutting the professionals, I think Ellison's off base. (He's talking about screenwriting, by the way. Yeah, I know he's always tried to make the case in the fiction world, but the fact is "rich" is not keeping Harlan Ellison from getting published in book/magazine form, or undercutting his fees.)

I know the WGA has been wrestling with the problem of writing for free for a long time, but the fact is that there are few instances (if any) of a non-WGA writer being paid to polish up his/her spec script. It's either bought or optioned, and if neither of those things happen, then, yes, the writer will be working for free to develop the script he's got, or working for free for the manager who's trying to get his client in the door by writing that spec based on some producer's idea.

DISCLAIMER: I have not optioned or sold any screenplay, but I've learned a lot this past year by writing a few screenplays and listening to others in my screenwriter's group.

If you're a member of WGA you HAVE to be paid. They have a minimum wage, so to speak. In order to maintain WGA member status, you have to pay your monetary dues, and you can only work with WGA signatory companies, i.e. production companies that abide by WGA labor rules.

What Ellison's talking about are the hacks--the guys that think they'll get paid AFTER they do the rewrite for some "producer". The problem is that Hollywood seems to run on handshakes as opposed to contracts. At least when starting out.

So you hook up with a "producer", or a "manager", who says they have an idea and they want you to write it. They say they can't afford to pay you upfront, but they're sure after you write it, the script will go for big bucks or be optioned. These are the people you stay away from, and the ones that Ellison is talking about. (I think he has an essay about his time working on Starlost; look it up if you get a chance.)

But what do you do when a producer or manager from a respected agency asks you to write a treatment or a script with no upfront money? Why can't they get the money? Because they're broke, too, with no discretionary funding, and a studio won't back a non-existent product, i.e. an idea without a script. So it's a leap of faith on both the agency and the writer, that the writer can come up with a kick-ass script that the manager can take to an agent/producer in the hopes that it will sell.

The above is what really bugs Ellison. But, at the moment, there's no real way around it. Even the WGA recognizes it as an issue, but gone are the studio days of hiring a write for a year-long contract and working on the studio lot. No one wants to go back to that system so now they're stuck with the system they now have: hopeful writers churning out scripts with no upfront money in the hopes that someone somewhere will buy it down the line.

Crazy stuff. There was an adage that went: You can't sell a script without an agent, and you can't get an agent without selling a script. Now, "managers" have taken over and new writers basically can't get anywhere without having a manager so you're writing that script with a manager, in the hopes of getting it to an agent, with the hopes that the agent will be able to sell it to a studio or production company.

But it's really not much different from trying to be a novelist, if you think about it. Just that everyone likes movies, and everyone seems to think he or she can write a script so there's an even bigger glut of screenwriters out there all vying for a handful of managers.

I always thought new script writers had to prove them selves on independent movies, then if the movie is successful or the work catches a producer's or agent's eye then it gets a bit easier.

Also does one need WGA membership for studios or big production companies to hire you?

quote:

---

I always thought new script writers had to prove them selves on independent movies, then if the movie is successful or the work catches a producer's or agent's eye then it gets a bit easier.

---

That's one way of going about it. Another way is to write a script that catches a manager's eye. Yet another way is to win a major contest (Nicholl, TrackingB), and yet still another way is to win a contest that no one thought would get the winner anything (Zoetrope)...except it did. All kinds of ways in, and each one seems to have a nuance to it that makes one think that anything is possible.

quote:

---

Also does one need WGA membership for studios or big production companies to hire you?

---

Yes. But the caveat to that is if everyone likes the script, they buy the script, and you're immediately hit with "do you want to join WGA or not?" Which is kind of like asking if you want to brush your teeth everyday. If you say no 'cause you don't like unions, or you want to be independent, or you wanna pull a Robert Rodriguez...then you'll probably never get hired ever again 'cause you're not Robert Rodriguez.

quote:

---

Are you trying to write a script for major studios to purchase? or for more independent filmmakers?

---

I'm just trying to write good scripts. I do have one that no studio would touch with a ten foot pole, but the main thing is to just write a good script. Come up with a good hook (a lawyer has to tell the truth for one day, or a guy gets kicked out of his house by his wife and takes up residence on the front lawn), and write the hell out of it.

The rule of thumb now is that if you're just starting out, you have to get a manager first, then (maybe) an agent. So of course, there's a guy on one of the message boards that's been a screenwriter for over a decade and still doesn't have an agent or manager. The paths all seem to be a little different for everyone.