Lack of Respect for Screenwriters

Nothing unusual about that.

"Hear about the dumb blonde who went to Hollywood to get into film? She slept with the screenwriter." - old joke told by Phil Rosenthal at AFF last year.

Screenwriters are back-office. Often barred from set. Almost always overwritten.

Actors and directors are front office: they can sell a movie. Way up the chain from writers.

Producers fund/package and employ all of the above. They can do what they want.

So who would you rather be???

Last night I watched the British National TV Awards and when the veteran actor, David Jason, accepted his trophy the first thing he said was, 'Without scriptwriters none of us would be here.'
He is Absolutely Write, isn't he.

About 70 or 80 years ago, Hollywood scriptwrters came to be called "schmucks with Underwoods."









Now we're known as "schmucks with laptops."

Hey don,

Don't you realise that movies are all about the vision of the director and the chemistry of the cast?

And I should probably have put in front of that!

Regards

Whacko

Hillgate said:

Screenwriters are back-office. Often barred from set. Almost always overwritten.

Actors and directors are front office: they can sell a movie. Way up the chain from writers.

Producers fund/package and employ all of the above. They can do what they want.

So who would you rather be???

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Explains why screenwriters are sometimes actors, directors or producers as well.

You got it!

Now we're known as "schmucks with laptops."

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That's progress, isn't it?



I don't think there's a lack of respect for good screenwriters.

Every nation finds their scapegoat for humor. Screenwriters are the Poles of Hollywood. But in Poland, they don't tell Polish jokes. They tell Russian jokes. So, executives have always been the Poles for screenwriters.

I'd say there's far more disdain for Hollywood executives than there is for screenwriters.

Personally, I believe the "schmucks with Underwoods" is not necessarily the collective consciousness of Hollywood. I've never spoken with an exec, producer, agent, manager, actor or anyone who has put down the entire race of writers. I've heard lots of trash talk about individual writers. And writers might be the brunt of a joke like a Polish person, but, I believe, for the most part, it's just in jest and that the writing professional is not wholly disrespected.

That being said, the prejudice definitely exists. And I think there are very real factors as to why this perception exists.

To start, the screenwriter is the first link in a long creative chain. Often, by the time the script is in production, the scribe's job might be long done. His hard work is a thing of the past, so to speak. Out of sight, out of mind. The script exists - but not the person who wrote it.

Or maybe several other writers were brought on to revise.

This process, IMO, dillutes the power of the writer, per se. Most films only have one actor play a role or one DP or one director. (Yes, they can all be replaced, but that's out of the ordinary. It's not standard operating procedure.) An assembly line of writers undermines the power of the writer. (Ironically, more writers work because of this system.)

The fact that individual writers jockey for credit or even sole credit on a project creates a lack of harmony amongst scribes. So, this sort of silent infighting might undermine the power of the writer. I've read rewrites and laughed over the changes - silly switches that seem to exist only so one writer can claim he did a certain percentage of the work.

Also, the WGA has been less than harmonious. Since its birth, it was politically divided (the right from the left). Writers were hit hard during the McCarthy era and that created a political ripple within the orginization. There's even a WGA-East and a WGA-West. I don't think the other guilds are divided in such a specific way. And some might say that past negotiations have never been all that successful. (I should add that I'm a WGA member.)

Conversely, the Black List has helped to boost the image of writers and the importance of scripts in the last few years. And spec sales - though sporadic - all contribute to good public relations. A unified front by writers is, IMO, the most important element in demanding respect.

If your screenplay wins, you get all sorts of mentions, and a great big raise in what you can charge. Sounds good to me.

Besides, how often does a screenwrietr actually write a script that doesn't end up with seventeen names on it?

Screenwriters tend to have more respect on TV shows. Probably because once a show is on the air, they need to keep the writers around to churn out more episodes.

fezfrascati said:

Screenwriters tend to have more respect on TV shows. Probably because once a show is on the air, they need to keep the writers around to churn out more episodes.

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And often they're the show-runner ie writer/producer meaning they have transcended the lowly writer's status.

fezfrascati said:

Screenwriters tend to have more respect on TV shows. Probably because once a show is on the air, they need to keep the writers around to churn out more episodes.

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TV writers are two a penny...episodes of an existing series/concept where characters already have well-defined voices can be turned out by anyone and believe me writers on these shows are completely expendable and work in teams anyway.

But when I say 'turned out by anyone' I mean that that is from a prodco/network's perspective. Writers, to them, are still an expendable commodity unless the show OWNER/showrunner is also one of the writers in which case if they like the show the big guys'll kiss ass.

I haven't had my ass kissed since this morning.

But that's too much information

Nite nite.

Hillgate said:

But when I say 'turned out by anyone' I mean that that is from a prodco/network's perspective. Writers, to them, are still an expendable commodity unless the show OWNER/showrunner is also one of the writers in which case if they like the show the big guys'll kiss ass.

I haven't had my ass kissed since this morning.

But that's too much information

Nite nite.

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The show "owner" is the studio that produces the show. A showrunner doesn't own anything. The showrunner is always a writer. A showrunner can either be the person who sold the original idea to the studio and then network (this person gets the "created by" credit), or he/she can be the experienced showrunner brought in to run a show created by someone (usually a feature writer) who doesn't have any TV experience. While there are writing teams in television, not all television writers are part of a team. Part of a writing staff, yes. But that's different.

The titles in television seem to confuse people. Not surprising, actually! But "showrunner" is the title of the person who is essentially the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation. His or her title is also executive producer, but there can be other executive producers on the show who aren't showrunners.

There's a little television math for ya.

I am not a script writer, but I have the utmost respect for those who are because I don't think I'd be any good at it

The thing to understand about awards is that there are two sets. Industry awards (which the public rarely or never sees - sometimes listed in Variety, but that's about it) and marketing, splashy stuff that's designed for one purpose - to put butts in seats.

Pretty actors winning something put butts in seats. Super special effects put butts in seats. A big name director puts butts in seats.

Very few people follow writers and the careers of writers. It's not glamorous or sexy (not that any aspect of making a film actually is, but that's the illusion that gets sold).

A few writer/directors have crowd recognition, to a degree. Those that are active self marketers (JJ Abrams, Kevin Smith) get known.

The Oscars are one gigantic commercial to make people think they're the only one who hasn't seen this or that movie, and to get them to buy.

Amazing that screenwriters are the bottom of the chain...

I would argue that editors are equally important and don't receive the respect and recognition they deserve, either.

Also, totally off topic, but I noticed something in that link....127 Hours? What was it "adapted" from?

Aron Ralston's book: Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Celia Cyanide said:

I would argue that editors are equally important and don't receive the respect and recognition they deserve, either.

Also, totally off topic, but I noticed something in that link....127 Hours? What was it "adapted" from?

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Real life events. You didn't hear about it? It was all over the news a few year ago.