Writing An Effective Arbitration Statement
Even though I suspect most of you haven’t been in a credit arbitration, it’s never too early to start thinking about it.
You do plan on being successful in the business, right? Well, one of the true costs of success is credit arbitration. It’s emotional, it’s harrowing, and when it doesn’t work out in your favor, the result can be the indignity of sharing credit with someone you don’t think deserved it…or even worse, getting no credit at all for the work you did.
Actually, I think the worst thing is knowing that someone else is getting credit for the work you did, but that’s a tangent.
When you are involved in a credit arbitration, you are asked to write a statement. This statement is the only input you have in the process. Your statement and the scripts you wrote are it, baby. You can’t plead your case in person to the arbiters. You can’t call them. You can’t email. You will never know their names (and theoretically, they’re not supposed to cheat and figure out your name through IMDB).
It’s no surprise, then, that with our dignity, recognition, residuals and credit bonuses on the line, our one shot at making our case suddenly takes on mythic importance.
Having been on both sides of the arbitration process, and having spoken at length with a number of fellow writers who have been arbiters, some common “best practices” have emerged for a good arbitration statement. Take heed—I offer these not as an official WGA recommendation, but as my own personal opinion of what’s best.
Keep the statements short. No, really. I know how difficult it is to be economical when you feel like the other guys are probably submitting volumes of evidence against you. Besides, you have a thousand line-by-line arguments for why the credit ought to be a certain way. The problem is that the arbiters are writers with lives. They have to read three, four, ten…occasionally twenty drafts as part of this unpaid task! Burdening them with an additional novella isn’t going to help your case. How short is short? If the statement is more than two pages, you’re entering the red zone. More than five, and you’re in danger of seriously annoying the reader.
Do not badmouth the other participating writers. This is crucial. Going negative will never help you. The kind of guy who volunteers his time for his fellow writer, aka your arbiter, is precisely the kind of guy who doesn’t like seeing one writer crap on another. Furthermore, it’s a weak move. It’s all-too-easy to assume that you’re battering the other guy because the argument in favor of you ain’t that compelling.
Talk about what you contributed to the final screenplay, and nothing else. Who hired you, what you had to put up with, the bad notes you got, the fact that you didn’t deserve to get fired, the producer who pushed you around and made you do things…honestly, no one gives a good sweet damn. The readers have been given one simple assignment: determine the proper credit for the final screenplay.
Avoid the percentage trap. I must admit, I wrote a terrible statement earlier in my career, and serving as an arbiter and reading other writers’ statements made me realize it. My major error was a common one. Given that our arbiters are supposed to assign credit for contributions of a certain percentage to the final script, it’s awfully tempting to try and do your own mathematical analysis of the writing and help “guide” them to a number. “See, by following my logic and spreadsheet here, you can see that I’ve objectively contributed 58%!” No, no, no. The arbiters don’t want you to throw numbers at them. They want to make up their own minds by reading the scripts, and since they’re going to…why attempt to sway them with groundless arithmetic?
Thank them for their service. This one doesn’t help you win anyone over per se, but you ought to do it nonetheless. These people are giving their time, and they want to be spoken to nicely at the very least and gratefully at the very best. Don’t be a sycophant, but offer appreciation.
Cite the rules. The arbiters are going to have to cite the rules when they write their decisions. You’d best cite them as well. No, don’t quote the whole damn manual. Simply cite the one or two rules that you feel are most relevant. It will help frame the debate. If you have a slightly subtle point (God forbid), you must cite a rule to support it. Otherwise, it will simply flutter away into a cloud of ignored rhetoric.
Accept your fate. Some writers are tempted to look into the future when they write their statements. They say things like, “If I don’t get credit, then I’m just going to lose my mind.” Avoid this. In fact, it’s best to simply say, “I’m glad the decision is in the hands of my fellow writers. I trust you, and I will accept your answer whatever it is”. No, you don’t have to actually believe this. You might really want to say, “And seriously, if you blow this, I will track you down and kill you.” Showing the poor guy on the other end a little faith, though, certainly can’t hurt.
In the end, there’s no real way the style of a statement can sway an arbiter to decide in your favor. I do believe, though, that a bad statement can really hurt a writer’s chances. If you’re a writer who deals with one of these every year or two or three, then I highly recommend becoming an arbiter (call the Credits Department and let them know you’re ready and willing), because it will inevitably make you a better statement-writer.
If you’re a rookie or unproduced, bookmark this. Put it in your “when I make it big” folder. It’s going to happen to you sooner or later. The last thing I’d want is for any of you to repeat some of the mistakes I’ve already made.
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Craig— I just finished writing a statement for a movie this summer (my protest) and while I sympathize with the reader who slogs through thirty drafts of scripts only to be faced with another “novella” for a statement, I (and you, I’m sure) am well aware of many fifteen and twenty page statements that have been successful. Perhaps they would have won if they were two pages, but sometimes you need to go line by line or page by page. An arbiter might not love it, but they can always just skim that section in the statement until they get to that part of the script and use it for reference. My arbitration (ongoing so I should be vague) had few written materials. I felt more comfortable writing a very detailed statement.
The problem is…you never know what’s going on with the other writers and that compulsive need to get in the last word on EVERYTHING starts to take over…But I agree with you on the percentage thing…if we wanted to do math we wouldn’t be writers..
Craig: As usual, well done. I think you’ve done a real service here. I read many statements in preparation for our first arbitration a few years ago, and I was struck with how wildy variable they were in tone, length, content. The best ones, I think, adhered pretty much to the guidelines you set out.
A question, perhaps for the committee your are on— why can’t all participants in the arbitration see the other writers’ statements? It seems like a reasonable check against gross misrepresentations and calumny… also might serve as a civilizing influence on the process, as knowing the other guy is going to see your statement will at least make you think twice about character assassination. Basically, tranparency in the process, as much as possible.
Phil
Interesting. I always imagined arbitration was more like the board room on “The Apprentice.” Guess if it was Mark Burnett would have turned it into a reality show by now.
MStarr
Phil:
Hmmm…you know…that’s a pretty genius idea. Lemme float that one!
Josh:
I think most arbiters read the statements before reading the scripts. As such, they tend to skip past the analysis, figuring that they will do their own.
Craig— But is it your feeling that arbiters don’t refer back to the statements either after they read the script or during? If there’s a general trend away from arbiters reading the analysis (and I think it’s bad practice for arbiters to skip sections of someone’s statement) then perhaps the guild should provide some limits as to type and length vis a vis statements.
I try to be very specific in my statements but would hate to think that type of specificity works against me. I can see arbiters scanning through a statement looking for the big points but would hope they’d go back and try to see it from the writers’ POVs and balance that with their own analysis. I always imagine them reading sort of “parallel”.
Josh:
I do think they refer back after reading. It’s just that, as you might well imagine, once you’ve read a script…you’ve read it. As Malcolm Gladwell points out so well in his recent book “Blink”, the arbiter’s analysis is ongoing and immediate as he reads, and he’s very likely to return to your statement having already formulated an opinion.
I think your “big points” comment is right on. That’s probably exactly what leaps out. They’re not going to be forensic with this stuff, so the forensic statements tend to be off-putting or just ignored. In short, they don’t need you to detail every difference because they can read that in the drafts themselves.
Our committee has discussed imposing a limit on statement length but have pretty much discarded that notion; we don’t want to stifle writers any more than they already are in this pretty awful process.
I think the Guild currently includes some fairly mild language about how it’s best to write “concise statements”…maybe in the packet that goes out to participants. We can encourage it, but I don’t think we can legislate it.
Craig: I think part of the problem is in the math. When you put a number (33%, 50%) out there for people then they’re gonna feel compelled to keep stacking brick upon brick upon brick (no matter how big or small) to ensure that a particular “amount” is reached. But what we should be talking about (and I think in reality this is how arbiters look at it) is basically—did you contribute a little, some, or a lot? And how important are those contributions? But those little numbers sitting there…they make people crazy.
I really appreciate this Web site, Craig. I’m certainly out of my league when it comes to W.G.A. discussions, but they’re still great to follow. And it’s all such a nice change from other screenwriting message boards, which feature endless threads on how many spaces come after a period.
Josh:
Without a doubt, the numbers make EVERYONE crazy.
Michael:
Thanks so much! I’m glad we’re carving out our own unique niche here on the net, and I appreciate your compliments. Spread the word!
Who’d really want to share or part of a slightly advantageous 2% on a 51/49 mess determined subjectively or not?
That’s the most obvious objective, isn’t it?
Evaluate contributions all the way by voluntary arbitration processes if you like… basic first draft has a 50% (or much more) solidity no rewriters should be able or allowed to squander over.
As always, Craig’s points are largely right on the money, especially about tone and professionalism. Like him, I’ve been on both sides of the arbitration process and the last thing you want to do is go negative, either about your experience on the project, or (worse) the contribution of other writers.
But I’m definitely in Josh’s camp when it comes to the number of pages. A statement needs be long enough to to lay out your logic about why your proposed credit makes sense.
An arbiter may be forced to read eight drafts spanning six years by five writers. Craig is right in that arbiters can see the details for themselves when they read the drafts. But there’s no way they’re going to see everything.
Your statement needs to be able to draw connections that wouldn’t otherwise be apparent: CHLOE is actually just RACHEL with another name; critical scene 19 at the airport is the same as your scene 24 at the bus terminal, even though it disappeared in an interim draft. Whether they read your statement before the scripts, or after, you’re giving them a roadmap that leads to your conclusion.
I agree with Craig that you don’t want to break it down to numbers — yes, the “Blink” factor is real — but you do need to give arbiters a reason to believe that you well surpassed whatever threshold is in question. I think you should claim what’s yours, and just as importantly, acknowledge what isn’t.
John’s right. There are details you need to make clear. Maybe what I ought to be suggesting isn’t concision for concision’s sake, but rather that you write your arbitration statement the way you write your screenplays: with your audience in mind.
As long as you balance the need for clarity with the reality of the reader’s limitations, you should be fine.
I am looking to contact writer Josh Friedman. Does anyone know how to reach him? I went to school with he and his brother in Colorado. I am an actress in LA and I thought It be great to touch base.
Craig — Thanks a ton, I’m a first time writer who might be cornered into a protest. After re-writing the entire screenplay with the producer’s changes, his buddy made a couple changes before shooting — a couple unimportant scenes and some dialogue help (nothing dramatic) — and after saying that “Story by Greg and Screenplay by Nick and Greg” could only be done if story was from another literary subject (not a screenplay), they are suggesting “Written by Greg and Nicky” (at least I hope my name is first, he mentioned in an email it was written by us both). I am two weeks into the wait for the tentative credits, so if I dont get them soon I guess I’ll call WGA to see if they have it yet. But Nicky shouldnt have ANY credit based on the final draft I saw — and I may shoot for that.
Well, it went to an arbitor, and using some of your tips I wrote a kick-ass letter, and along with the fact that I deserved it, the letter worked and I won. Thanks, I get full credit.