One blog I love to bring up quite often is written by John August, the guy who wrote Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the Tim Burton one) and Charlie’s Angles. He’s done quite a few other interesting works, such as his directorial debut The Nines starring Ryan Reynolds, and was set to work on SHAZAM! when the company took the project, sadly, out from under his feat. On his website he offers wonderfully insightful and amusing anecdotes to writers, as well as some glimpses into the industry as a whole. It’s been a ton of help for me, and this article is no different. In fact, its REALLY DAMN helpful.
In a recent article, John wrote about why it is a good idea and why it is REQUIRED that young writers (or older ones) join up with the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA), the guys behind last year’s fiasco.
Here’s a snippet to tell you why:
Let’s say a studio reads a script it wants to buy. The writer isn’t a member of the WGA. If the writer weren’t required to join the union, the studio could save a lot of money and hassle.
* It could pay less than minimums.
* It wouldn’t have to pay into the health plan.
* It wouldn’t have to pay into the pension plan.
* It wouldn’t have to pay residuals.
* It could decide which name would be listed for “written by.â€Given these advantages, a studio would certainly prefer if the writer weren’t WGA, and could make purchase of the script contingent on the writer agreeing not to join the WGA.
I recommend you guys interested in writing read the whole thing. It’s certainly opened my eyes a bit. I think last years strike was a public disaster for the WGA, but they are useful, and since they’re mandatory, we better get what we can out of them.