Chapter 959： hardworking hollywood screenwriter

Head to head Hollywood 959 Author Qian Duxue Full text 4697 words

In order to negotiate with major labor unions, American film companies and TV companies have formed an alliance of film and television producers, and the rights are mainly composed of the six Hollywood giants. Established communication team to control. Before that, the league and the Screenwriters Guild signed a "Basic Agreement", a contract that needs to be renewed every three years. The content of the "Basic Agreement" is very detailed, including the minimum wage standard for screenwriters, signing agreements, dispute arbitration procedures, film and television drama replays and other income sharing, pension and benefits, etc. Now, three years have come again, and new negotiations are about to begin. Dunn did not attend the specific meeting and negotiation, and sent Shirley Lansing and Amy Pascal as representatives. The current situation is that New Universal is in full swing. In the film and television producer alliance, New Universal, Time Warner, and Disney are the three giants and have the heaviest voice. At the end of the meeting, there was an additional meeting report on Dunn's desk. The Writers Guild made a lot of demands for renewal. First, to increase the income of screenwriters, especially those whose salaries have not yet reached the welfare line; second, to demand a reasonable family vacation policy; third, to solve the long-term low salary situation of comedy variety show screenwriters; fourth, to cooperate with the industry The residual compensation standard for high-budget video-on-demand services with a similar level should be increased by at least three percentage points; fifth, to solve the problem of salary decline encountered by screenwriters compared with the short TV broadcast season; sixth, to further solve the problem of screenwriters the issue of script fees, and pay them the full amount of copyright fees for their works broadcast on cable TV, DVD, and the Internet; seventh, improve the status of screenwriters, and cancel the prominent characters that appear at the beginning of the film "This is a director of so-and-so" Films made", because this is a disregard for the screenwriter's work... In addition, there are requirements for medical insurance, pensions, etc., and there are many kinds. All told, the Writers Guild of Labor wanted to broker a benefit contract worth as much as $300 million, while the producers would only offer a contract of $120 million. There is a huge $180 million divide! This amount of money is really nothing to Dunn. However, Tang En would not agree to any of these absurd conditions! It's not about money, it's about principle! It's like a lion's mouth! The contract, signed in 2001, was worth only $1.10 in total. This time, the producer took the initiative to raise the offer by $10 million. As a result, the Writers Guild was really jealous and directly raised the offer by $190 million! Take Hollywood as a welfare home? In the past few years, affected by the economic crisis and the "lipstick effect", the film and television entertainment market has developed very well, and the appetite of screenwriters has naturally increased. In fact, the average annual salary in the Los Angeles area is only $54,000. But screenwriters earn an average of $200,000 a year, far more than the average person earns. Hollywood's compensation for screenwriters is much higher than expected. The Writers Guild has a total of 12,000 members. Even if a 3-year, $300 million welfare contract is signed, the average annual welfare guarantee per person is $8,500. It can be seen that the main group of strike threats are those low-level screenwriters who cannot afford to eat. In order to increase the welfare protection of each person by 5,000 US dollars a year, they will not hesitate to go on strike and cause billions of dollars in economic losses. Anyway, they are already at the bottom, and no matter how much loss they cause, it won't have much impact on their living conditions. So, Dunn is very resistant to this strike threat. This kind of behavior of flipping the table is tantamount to sabotaging the overall situation for one's own selfishness. The fastest growing countries in the world today...are countries without unions and without strikes. The economic slowdown in Europe and North America is largely due to the fact that the power of trade unions is too great, resulting in the inability to implement macro policies. Dunn intends to improve the treatment of screenwriters, but he is not interested in donating money to some lazy guys, even if he doesn't care about that little money. "Jonathan, what do you think of this?" Dunn called Jonathan Nolan to his office. The New Universal Group has a screenwriting department. Although the young Jonathan Nolan is not the chief screenwriter, he has followed the development of films such as Memento, Daredevil, Ghost Rider and Deadly Magic. With success, his prestige and fame grew. "I don't want to go on strike, no one wants to go on strike, this is a very serious consequence, and all screenwriters have to bear it." Jonathan Nolan shrugged, "The two strikes of the Screenwriters Guild in history have caused too much negative impact. Now." Dunn believed that this was his sincere words. Jonathan Nolan's income at New Universal, including basic annual salary and dividends, is more than $4 million, which is more than many executives. Capable people do not need to fight for rights by overturning the table. Dunn held a pen in his hand, "In your opinion, which aspects should protect the rights and interests of screenwriters? Don't look at the proposals of the Screenwriters Association, those are too ridiculous." Jonathan Nolan glanced at Dunn and said hesitantly. : "The screenwriting industry... mainly because there are too many overlord clauses." Tang En smiled: "Don't forget, I'm also a screenwriter, just say it directly, I understand the situation." Jonathan Nolan said: "There are basically no screenwriters. The right to speak is at the mercy of the producer and the director. The script revision must meet the standards required by the investor. You must know that the screenwriters are the group of people who know the script best, but they have no right to speak. In the selection of actors, only Following the arrangements of the producer and the director, I have no right to speak." Tang En pondered for a while and said, "It is true that the screenwriter knows the script best, but the screenwriter may not necessarily understand the market and the tastes of the audience. Give the producer the right to speak. And the director is the core of the Hollywood business system. For example, the controversial "Pirates League 2: Deathman", many filmmakers are criticizing the film's poor story and poor screenwriting. But the result? The market reaction is very Good." For this reason, Jonathan Nolan was convinced. This year, two of his films as screenwriter came out, Zach Snyder's Ghost Rider and his brother Christopher Nolan's Deadly Magic. Both films have achieved very good reviews, and the stories are well written. Jonathan Nolan has also become a well-known screenwriter within the New Universal Group because of these two films, and his basic annual salary has also increased from $300,000 to $650,000. However, the box office results are far from comparable to "Pirate League 2: Gathering Souls" with "bad story" and "poor film language". Ghost Rider grossed $600 million worldwide. "Deadly Magic" cost 40 million US dollars, gathered stars such as Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, etc., and the global box office is only 110 million US dollars . There is a big gap compared with "Pirates Alliance 2: Gathering Souls", which took in $1.08 billion at the box office. Jonathan Nolan said: "During the filming of Daredevil 2 some time ago, there were three Korean filmmakers who came to study, and I have communicated with them. In Korea, the screenwriters are not only paid a lot of money , the status is also very high! Even above the director! The director cannot modify the script of the screenwriter without authorization, and it is disrespectful for the actor to modify the lines." Tang En smiled, "I understand the situation in South Korea, it is true. However, also It's just a temporary situation. With the deepening of cooperation with Hollywood, Korean films will definitely learn from Hollywood's production model, and the status of screenwriters will become lower and lower. However, your words did remind me that TV series and movies should be treated separately. ." Driven by the core system of screenwriters, Korean films are not yet qualified, the stories are good, and the film language, special effects production and market judgment are not enough. But the TV drama market has already dominated Asia. A "Dae Jang Geum" broadcast last year has become the most popular phenomenon-level TV series in Asia's history. Not to mention mass markets such as Japan and China, even Iran, which is closed to the country, has introduced and broadcasted it, and it has also formed a shocking scene of tens of thousands of people. Movies, especially commercial movies, are to constantly impact the audience's attention in a limited time, and through the wave after wave of driving, firmly grasp the audience's heart. Here, there are many means that can be used, such as wonderful stories, amazing special effects, large-scale shots, close-ups of big stars, superb acting performance, interesting visual composition... TV dramas are different. Longer time, more content that can be expressed. Because of the hardware limitations of TV sets and the atmosphere of home viewing conditions, it is difficult for TV series to continuously stimulate the audience to secrete hormones like movies. This gives the screenwriters enough living environment and development space. They don't need to rack their brains to explore the audience's ideas like filmmakers, but only need to focus all their energy on their own stories. As long as there is a good story, generally speaking, the TV series will have a very good result. Starz TV's "Six Feet Under", "The Walking Dead" and "Vice", the three hit American TV series, are typical examples. Tang En wrote something and said seriously: "Let's not mention the movie market, but the TV drama market, it is indeed necessary to improve the status of screenwriters. The act of tampering with scripts should be controlled." Jonathan Nolan face surprise. Although New Universal is not the company that produces the most TV programs, it is definitely the company with the highest quality and highest profit! No matter what the outside world is like, if New Universal can take the lead and enhance the status of screenwriters from the production of TV series, then with the influence of New Universal, it can gradually radiate out. This is a good thing! "Also, it's a question of treatment." "Welfare guarantee?" Tang En tickled the corner of his mouth, somewhat sarcastically, "The company should provide medical insurance and endowment insurance for its employees, which is right, but those screenwriters from the Screenwriters Association, How many of them work in film companies? Just because they have participated in the writing of several films or TV series, it is unrealistic to expect huge benefits from film companies. The target of benefits is the Screenwriters Guild, not the film. Company." Jonathan Nolan shook his head and said, "Only those screenwriters who have no jobs will fight for benefits regardless of the consequences. I'm talking about normal screenwriter compensation." "Oh? Let's talk about it!" "A project, a movie Whether it’s a TV series or a TV series. If the filming does not start, the screenwriter will not be paid after-tax remuneration, which is equivalent to a disguised arrear of remuneration.” Tang En raised his eyebrows, “Not to pay one-third in advance?” Jonathan Nolan shook his head, "No!" Dunn frowned deeply. It's not right to do so! Installment payments are a big way for Hollywood to avoid risk. For example, the basic salaries of producers, directors, and actors are distributed in three installments. Sign the contract and pay the first one-third of the remuneration; when the movie starts, distribute the second one-third of the remuneration; when the film is completed, the remaining remuneration is settled. If an accident occurs during the project approval or filming of the film, resulting in a miscarriage of the film, the distribution of the remaining remuneration can be terminated to reduce the loss of the producer. However, the status of screenwriters is too low, and there is no treatment for producers, directors and actors. Jonathan Nolan continued: "If it is a TV series, the screenwriter's salary is calculated on an episode basis, and 10 episodes have to be signed exclusively. If a series lasts for several months, then the screenwriter must also be bound to the series for several months. , which has caused the screenwriter's salary to drop by 60%. If the TV series is cut during the broadcast, it will lose 70%-80% of the salary." Dunn is a professional, and he understands it as soon as he hears it. In order to avoid risks, many TV dramas are filmed and broadcast at the same time. If the effect is good, they will continue to shoot, and if the effect is not good, they will be cut off. In order to allow the screenwriter to devote himself to the creation better, the producer will sign an exclusive agreement with the screenwriter, requiring the screenwriter not to sign contracts with other producers to create new scripts during the production of this TV series. This delay is several months. The screenwriter can't take other jobs can only wait for all the TV dramas to be filmed, which is a waste of time. If the TV series does not play well and is cut off by the TV station or the producer, then the screenwriter will not be able to get the full salary. After a few episodes are counted, the income will be less. Tang En said solemnly: "This situation is too much, and it must be changed! In the cost of a film and television work, the screenwriter's expenses only account for about 6%, which is not high. Just because the screenwriter is a behind-the-scenes person, we can't squeeze it too much. The payment method of remuneration... Movies should be paid according to the payment model of the actors, and TV dramas should be settled in one go! No matter whether the TV drama is cut or not, as long as the screenwriter's script is a finished product that has been approved, it must be done according to the standard of the finished product. Pay the remuneration." Jonathan Nolan said happily: "If so, that would be great! I am also a member of the Screenwriters Guild and have many screenwriter friends. If I promote such a plan, this negotiation will definitely take place. It will be very smooth. I'm afraid of other film companies..." "Don't care about them!" Tang En waved his hand and said indifferently: "If you can't allow his dignity, he must allow him money. Otherwise, something will happen sooner or later! Other producers If the company has an opinion, I will discuss it. I want to see how many short-sighted people there are.” In a previous life, the negotiation in 2004 did not lead to a strike, but the grievances accumulated deep. It was not until 2007 that it finally caused a catastrophe, setting off a huge wave of strikes, which lasted until the spring of 2008, even the Golden Globes were forced to be cancelled, and the Oscars almost closed. Direct economic losses amounted to $3 billion. Under the circumstances of the economic crisis at that time, the entire Hollywood fell into a crisis, and a large number of companies went bankrupt, including the copyrights of commercial blockbusters such as "Transformers 2", "Special Forces", and "Alice in Wonderland". Non-stop reselling. In this life's Hollywood, since Dunn appeared, he must take into account the overall situation and make changes. . m.