4 months ago
Let nan gig system statement begin.
One of nan astir contentious issues successful nan writers strike that erupted May 2 is nan assertion by nan Writers Guild of America that screenwriting is successful threat of becoming portion of nan “gig economy.” The WGA’s projected solutions — mandatory staffing minimums and guaranteed weeks of employment — are arsenic dividing labour and management.
Now that statement talks betwixt nan WGA and nan Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers person cratered, analyzable issues are being chewed complete by writers who are fired up, stepping successful circles (literally) and coiled up astir nan semipermanent employment image for Hollywood scribes.
“I americium nan illustration of why we’re striking,” says Cindy Chupack, a two-time Emmy victor for her activity connected “Modern Family” and “Sex and nan City.” Chupack has scrambled for nan past fewer years to combine capable penning jobs — she’s logged arsenic galore arsenic 5 shows successful 1 twelvemonth — to support her income steady. But her bigger interest is nan destiny of nan younger little knowledgeable writers that she’s worked pinch successful mini rooms each complete town.
“What we’re trying to do is guarantee that location will beryllium a early successful penning and nan adjacent procreation will person nan chance to make a bully surviving successful nan measurement that I person had,” Chupack says. The copy problems are debased salary for mini rooms — an replacement to accepted aviator and bid improvement wherever a mini group useful connected aggregate scripts — and nan short long (six to 8 weeks) of galore activity assignments.
The guild’s remedy is to instrumentality staffing minimums of astatine slightest six writers connected a bid that runs six episodes, pinch 1 further writer to beryllium hired for each 2 episodes beyond nan first six. It besides seeks to found guarantees connected nan long of that job.
The AMPTP balked, saying nan proposals would adhd tremendous costs erstwhile accumulation budgets are already staggeringly high. According to WGA data, a emblematic writer connected a streaming show useful 20 to 24 weeks. The studios constituent retired that a unit writer moving astatine minimum would gain $90,920 complete 20 weeks. At nan writer-producer level, 20 weeks astatine WGA standard is worthy astir $150,000. Writers besides gain fees per script.
WGA members opportunity those averages disguise nan real-world pressures connected younger writers to activity astatine union-scale rates connected a treadmill wherever they’re ever hunting for nan adjacent short-term post.
“It’s awesome that we’re bringing each these young, divers writers into nan [mini rooms] but we haven’t made it imaginable for these group to enactment successful nan occupation agelong term,” Chupack says.
Nikita Hamilton has nan ambition to go a showrunner, but she has had small acquisition successful accumulation beyond writers’ rooms pinch mini staffs. “The only clip I’ve ever been to group was connected my first book arsenic a co-writer, and I was still an assistant,” Hamilton told Variety arsenic she picketed May 5 extracurricular Amazon Studios successful Culver City. “I’ve worked connected 4 shows since then.”
The word “gig economy” has go a lightning rod successful nan nationalist argumentation and ineligible realm. It typically refers to employment that is wholly freelance (think Uber and DoorDash drivers), often connected a day-to-day basis, without benefits aliases different protections that full-time employment provides. The WGA strategically invoked nan building successful overmuch of its strike-related communications to its 11,500 members.
Of course, employment for writers successful Hollywood has mostly been handled connected a project-by-project ground for decades. In this context, “gig economy” felt for illustration a loaded word to manufacture insiders — until writers by nan twelve began sharing their individual stories.
Amid seismic structural changes successful TV and movie ushered successful by nan emergence of streaming, writers connected nan picket lines their action to unafraid a financial liking successful a accumulation and a opportunity successful decision-making is nether attack. The changing occupation scenery is coming into crisp alleviation astatine a clip erstwhile profit-participation pacts are disappearing, acknowledgment to those aforesaid shifts.
The WGA doesn’t woody pinch profit-participation issues — those are wrangled connected an individual ground by agents and lawyers — but guild members consciousness nan nonaccomplishment of income. WGA-negotiated residual fees paid to scribes for repetition airings of TV programs and movies were besides a intends of giving each writers tegument successful nan crippled complete nan agelong haul. But residual-fee rates person shrunk successful nan streaming era, moreover arsenic nan measurement of residual payments has risen pinch nan TV boom.
Patrick Meighan, a longtime writer-producer connected Fox’s “Family Guy,” has a short reply for really studios tin sorb nan costs of nan WGA’s staffing proposals — namely, commencement by trimming astatine nan apical of nan workplace pyramid.
“How tin you spend to salary [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] David Zaslav $245 cardinal successful a azygous twelvemonth but you can’t salary six writers?” says Meighan, referring to Zaslav’s banal grant-inflated salary package for 2021. “How is it that you utilized to beryllium capable to salary 12 writers connected a unit erstwhile nan show was connected broadcast TV. But now that it’s streaming, six is immoderate ridiculous number? I don’t deliberation nan mathematics adds up.”
