Word Pirates

Hollywood is a mess and the studios are blaming the writers. Now that the writers are back at work after the strike, the studios are restricting raises and reluctant to make new deals, according to this fascinating article in Variety.

In the same way that some execs were convinced that WGA leaders were hell-bent on striking, some writers’ reps believe the cost-cutting and downsizing taking place in Hollywood isn’t a mere matter of economics.

“The studios are punishing writers for going out,” one partner at a major talent agency argued. “They want to take their pound of flesh, so they’re pushing back deals and not making new ones.”

and:

No wonder then that TV overall deals, while still being made, are an endangered species on most studio lots. Many of the scribes who saw their overalls eliminated during the strike are slowly realizing that they’re not going to get a new pact somewhere else (though reports of bidding wars for a few scribes make clear there will continue to be exceptions for top talent).

Even those with jobs and deals aren’t immune to the pain.

Mid-level scribes looking forward to the usual pay bumps that accompany the start of a new season have also received bad news in recent weeks: Forget about the raises. Because the strike resulted in far fewer episodes being produced this season, execs believe segs that will air next fall should be treated as this season’s episodes.

“Why should someone who’s rendered services for eight or 10 episodes instead of 22 be bumped up?” one studio chief asked. “Why would I want to increase costs like that? We’re dealing with things in an appropriately tougher manner.”

and:

For example, it once made sense to sign a dozen comedy scribes to development pacts because odds were that one of those deals would result in a “Friends” or a “Two and a Half Men.” But with networks measuring primetime success by a much smaller yardstick, and syndie revenue a fraction of its former self, having a large roster of comedy talent on staff now just seems stupid. …

Some agents, however, believe execs need to be careful about just how hard a line they take with talent. Push too hard, they argue, and creative types could just end up abandoning the studio system altogether.

“The studios are being short-sighted,” one tenpercenter said. “They’re biting the hands that feed them. As long as content is controlled by creators, we’re going to be in the driver’s seat.”

Don’t these network CEOs sound awful? Hollywood may be one of the few places where writers can make some decent bank, but man, sounds like you have to put up with a lot in the process.

~ Joy