John August

Search Results for: residuals

Franchises and the original writer

Film Industry, QandA

I would like to know more about franchises such as ALIEN. Seems as if a script has a definite potential for a sequel, it has a franchise built around it. I’ve read the story of the original screenwriter that wrote the initial ALIEN, before Ridley Scott got to it. It seem that he didn’t participate in the sequels at all. So can an “idea provider,” or a script writer, or anyone at the initial state of the development secure a place in the franchise to be made around that idea? How does one go about starting it the right way?

–Simion
Moscow

Ultimately, it comes down to contracts. Many writer’s contracts will state that the original screenwriter has the right of first negotiation in terms of sequels, spin-offs, or other uses of the underlying material. Hopefully, when your lawyer was making the deal for MAXIMUM MAYHEM, your brilliant spec screenplay, she included this kind of language. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee you’ll be the one writing MAXIMUM MAYHEM 2.

Movies that are made under the auspices of the WGA have some special provisions that get you paid even if you don’t write the sequel, generally by way of residuals. But it’s no substitute for having that protection in your initial contract.

By the way, it’s not just screenwriters who are concerned with staying on board a franchise. Producers have a vested interest in making sure they’re not booted off the gravy train. Their contracts are just are as tightly drawn to keep them involved in the life of a franchise.

First rewrite

Film Industry, QandA

If you sell a script to a studio, what are your rights regarding the first re-write? Do you have to be a member of the WGA to demand this?

–Anonymous

Simply on the basis of morality, ethics and artistic vision, the original writer should always have the first crack at rewriting his script. Unfortunately, morality, ethics and artistic vision are sometimes in short supply when it comes to making movies. That’s why it’s good the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has its “creative rights” provisions, which cover situations like this. You can find a full list of them here.

If you’re not a WGA member and you sell a script to a studio, are you still covered? Almost certainly yes. The major studios have agreements with the WGA which basically state that any writer they employ has to be a WGA member — so if you’re not a member when you sell the script, you have to join right away. And it’s certainly worth it. Not only does the WGA offer screenwriters these up-front protections, but it also offers health insurance and collects residuals for writers’ work.

So are you, Paul, absolutely guaranteed the first rewrite on your spec script? No. There are at least two scenarios where this wouldn’t happen. First, you might sell your script to a company that is not a WGA-signatory. Even relatively big studios (like Miramax/Dimension) have divisions that aren’t WGA. In that case, you wouldn’t be guaranteed the WGA creative rights. A second scenario might have you waiving your right to the first rewrite as a condition of the script sale. I’ve never heard of this happening — it feels morally, ethically and artistically wrong — but it’s conceivable, so I’m sure it has happened to some writer at some point.

Finally, I like that you use the word “demand” in your question. No studio will be inclined to give you anything just because you ask politely. If having the opportunity to rewrite your script is a priority for you — and it should be — don’t accept a deal that would shut you out.

(While you’re at the WGA site, you should also check out the “Independent Film Program,” which can offer some helpful protection even for non-WGA members.)

Writer’s strikes

Film Industry, QandA

I’m beginning my first script and I plan to market
it next year. But I wonder about the writer’s strike–what’s the protocol?
I think that writers
fighting for my chosen profession can only be a good thing and I don’t want
to undermine, nor be a "scab." On the other hand, the entire Hollywood
sphere is detached from a newbie like myself. Where do the unsigned, unrepped,
first timers fit in?

–Dan Bentley

Note: This letter came a few months before the great writer’s strike of
2001–which never in fact happened, although there was a de facto production
gap since
studios rushed to get movies finished.

This is the kind of question where a dedicated journalist would call up representatives at the [WGA](http://wga.org) and get a detailed answer to your question, complete with properly attributed quotes.

Unfortunately, I’m just a screenwriter cranking out my column at the last moment. As it happens, I think I can give you some good advice anyway. First, some general background info. With few exceptions, every screenwriter working for the studios is a member of the Writers Guild, an organization that enforces minimum standards and fees, collects residual payments, and awards "written by" credit on films, among other duties.

Every few years, the WGA negotiates a contract with the studios, deciding exactly what fees and percentages will be paid to writers. The current contract is set to expire at the end of May (of 2002), and there are several issues where studios and writers are at odds, which will make coming up with a new contract difficult.

Several of the issues are creative (such as the "a film by" credit), while others are purely financial, such as the calculation of residuals on foreign broadcast television sales (really, I’m not making that up) and how to account for distribution over the Internet. Particularly when it comes to the numbers, the differences may seem trivial — a half of a percentage point here or there — but for many working writers, it can mean the difference between writing full-time or waiting tables.

The writer’s strike is not a foregone conclusion. Many things could happen between now and May 31 which would cancel or postpone a strike, and the possibility of an actor’s strike at the end of the summer (over many of the same issues) might expedite a settlement.

So what does this mean for you, Dan, a newbie writer working on a script? Not a whole lot.

Finish your script, and don’t worry about the larger labor issues of Hollywood. Once it’s done and perfect, stick your head out the door and see if there are writers marching down Melrose with picket signs. If so, the strike is happening, and the whole town has probably gone crazy. Without writers, literary agents won’t have a lot to do, so they may be unusually happy to read your script and possibly sign you on as a client. There’s nothing scab-like about getting an agent.

Where it gets weird is if your agent tries to sell your script during the strike. My instinct is that this is a bad thing. Even though you aren’t currently a member of the WGA, the assumption is that you would have to join immediately after the strike, and they wouldn’t look kindly on your actions. Fortunately, you have a resource beyond my random speculation. Check out the WGA website. It’s chock full of informational goodness, and as the strike comes closer, I’m certain they’ll have a FAQ with answers to your specific questions.

Of course, this is all moot if you don’t finish your script. So write.