One writer’s perspective on the Writer’s Guild Strike

…sorting through the information to find out what the strike is all about,

…looking at Hollywood writers alongside other writers, and

…links to free TV and movies showing what great screenwriting looks like

What the strike is about

Work is not always available

One May 2023 article I read quotes a striking screenwriter as saying, “There is a misconception that, ‘You make so much money, you’re so successful’…[but] I could sell one script and then not have another project for two years, and you have to live off money from a project you had sold a year before.”

She goes on about how she had to take on a part-time job, and a colleague works multiple other jobs (public speaking, branded content, producing a podcast, writing a book) to keep a roof over her head.

From all my research as a writer over the past 15+ years, the complaint of this striking screenwriter in 2023 has been part of the typical writer’s struggle for a long time, and in the gig economy in general.

Pay is too low

I can understand that, having historically enjoyed top pay for their screenwriting, a dip in pay would seem tragic to many contemporary screenwriters. However, it’s all relative.

Hollywood screenwriters’ pay:

According to this source, a new member in the Writer’s Guild with no screen credits makes an average of $100,000 on a first draft screenplay. In another source, “In 2023, the median staff writer on a network show works 29 weeks for a wage of $131,834, while the median staff writer on a streaming show works 20 weeks for $90,920.” (This is in addition to benefits “that are far superior to what many full-time employees receive for working an entire year.”)

Average non-Hollywood writers pay:

Compare this to the average non-Hollywood writer. The average full-time writer made an average of $20,300 per year. If you talk about all writers, the average full-time OR part-time writer made $6,800 per year, according to this article.

Using Artificial Intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence to create scripts is intriguing to me. I found some articles interesting:

This one by Stuart Heritage at The Guardian website, testing to see if AI can write a really good movie

Another, claiming that AI does not create, but rather compliments, human input

And here, a screenwriter clarifying that the WGA is not completely against AI, but emphasizes that it is being used to create mediocrity. “They’re also in violation of copyright…also plagiarizing.”

Use the writer’s strike as a time to appreciate good screenwriting!

While I of course want employers to demonstrate fairness to employees, there are some big issues at stake for the general viewer. The most noticeable issue to me is the decreasing quality of screenwriting, and entertainment in general, over the past fifty years.

Audiences have many choices, including the whole catalogue of movies and television from past decades.
Auguste Meyrat, May 11, 2023 article, Acton Institute, acton.org

Discover high-quality screenwriting in some FREE TV shows and movies!

Here is a list of 13 movies and 5 TV programs to try out for starters. Use the comments section below to share which ones you like!

MOVIES

Movie – King Kong (2005) https://archive.org/details/KingKong2005_201610
Movie – children – Disney’s Fantasia (1940) https://vimeo.com/415938812
Clip – children – Three Little Pigs (1933) https://www.freegreatmovies.com/Free-Movie-Clip/Three-Little-Pigs/512

Movie – To Sir With Love – Sidney Poitier (1967)