One Step Closer To Writopia?
John WellsA while back, I wrote about a magical studio called Writopia, where writers were treated the way they ought to be, and their lives were better, the movies were better, and dogs and cats played happily together in the sun.
Leave it to the incomparable John Wells to try and actually make it happen.
Yesterday, the Writers Co-Op was announced, and it includes eighteen writers: Ron Bass (“Rain Man”), Henry Bean (“Internal Affairs”), David Benioff (“Troy”), Scott Frank (“Out of Sight”), Robert Nelson Jacobs (“Chocolat”), Kazan (“Reversal of Fortune”), Callie Khouri (“Thelma & Louise”), Richard LaGravanese (“The Fisher King”), Phil Alden Robinson (“Field of Dreams”), Bruce Joel Rubin (“Ghost”), Stephen Schiff (“The Deep End of the Ocean”), Schulman (“Dead Poets Society”), Ed Solomon (“Men in Black”), Dana Stevens (“For Love of the Game”), Robin Swicord (“Memoirs of a Geisha”), Michael Tolkin (“The Player”), Rafael Yglesias (“Fearless”), and the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (“City Slickers”).
When I read this, I thought, “Great. Ted Elliott and I had the same damn idea a year ago, and we never did anything about it.” Then I read that it took Wells and Co. took several years to figure this all out, so I guess I’m not that lazy.
The way it works seems pretty simple. Each of the 18 must write one original script for Warner Brothers within the next four years. The Co-Op will act as the producer of the script. The writer will not be rewritten without their approval, which is obviously a revolutionary idea, and the writer will be meaningfully included in the development and production processes from start to finish.
The enticement for the studio is this: if they want to buy the scripts, they will cost in the low mid-six figures. This is an enormously advantageous term for Warner Brothers, as most if not all of the participating writers typically sell specs for no less than a million dollars, and sometimes upwards of three million or more.
So are these writers trading creative rights for money they should be rightfully earning?
Quite the contrary.
I’ve spoken to someone on the business side of things who worked on this deal, and while I’m not going to be so gauche as to spell it all out, I can tell you that if any of these guys get movies made under this Co-Op, they will be rewarded under terms better than I think any writer has ever received.
If Warner Brothers agrees to produce the films, the first thing that happens is that the writer is “made whole” on his quote. In other words, if he or she normally writes an original for $1.5 million but sells a script under this program for $300K, when the script is greenlit, the writer gets the remaining $1.2 million and then additional money as their credit bonus allows.
Beyond that, the writer gets a significant first-dollar gross position.
For those who don’t know what first-dollar gross is, it works like this. If you have, say, 2.5% of first dollar gross, then once the studio meets certain agreed-upon conditions, the studio then gives you two and half cents out of every dollar it earns on the film via theatrical, broadcast, pay-per-view, home video, etc.
What are those conditions? They vary, and I don’t know what they are here, but generally speaking, they’re better than “first we have to recoup our entire investment.” If you have first dollar gross, you’re very likely going to see some real profit out of the back end of the film.
However, most first dollar gross deals state that the upfront money is “against” the back end money. In other words, if you earn $1.5M up front and you have 2.5% fdg on the back end, the studio doesn’t have to pay out profits to you until the amount you’ve earned through your 2.5% exceeds the $1.5M they’ve already paid you.
That’s why first dollar deals sometimes seem better than they actually are. If you make a lot up front, the movie has to do very, very well for you to make significantly more on top of that.
Not so in this case. In this case, I’m hearing that the upfront money for the Co-Op writers is not applicable against the back end, which is a fantastic term for the writers, even considering that part of the profits are kicked back to the Co-Op to help offset operation expenses.
Of course, balanced against all of that reward is a substantial risk: they’re agreeing to sell their scripts at a steep discount of anywhere from 70-90%.
What’s fascinating about this particular group is that it bucks a number of trends. I don’t think any of the writers (save Benioff) is under 40. Quite a few are in their 50’s. Most write challenging fare. If we’re to believe the conventional wisdom, studios are frightened to death of older, high-priced intellectual scribes.
Turns out they’re not, and that’s good news for any of us in the business who plan on aging or being serious (I’m one for two on that account).
In addition, many of these writers are pretty well-known as WGA guild activists. Through one sort of Guild thing or another, I’ve come to know John, Scott, Robin, Phil, Tom, Ron and Stephen. I don’t know if long-time Guild activists (including some people a lot of us think as “militant”) getting in bed with Warner Brothers is a good thing or a bad thing, but since I believe in labor detente, I’m going to say it’s a good thing.
It’s possible that nothing will come of this, the way the much-heralded Sony program fizzled out years ago (that was a deal where writers who met certain criteria could access back end profits on their movies, but the definitions weren’t that spectacular and Sony didn’t really seem to want to make any of those writers’ movies at the time).
Personally, I think this will matter. The business is changing. Whether writers take the reigns through partnerships with financiers or by creating mini-unions like the Writers Co-Op, one thing is clear. The old ways are starting to fade. I fully expect other A-listers to attempt to follow suit. As for me, all I can say is that Ted and I were on the phone for a long time yesterday…
Naturally, a lot of non A-list writers want to know how this affects them.
There’s good news and there’s bad news.
I think if this kind of idea spreads, it puts a downward economic pressure on spec prices, and an upward economic pressure on production prices. In other words, it’s a lot harder to get a million bucks for a spec when studios are suddenly accustomed to paying much less than that to world-class writers.
On the other hand, the barn doors that hid the real prize from us—true back end participation—have finally been flung open. The floor has been lowered a bit, but the ceiling has been raised a lot. Furthermore, studios will become more accustomed to partnering with writers, rather than marginalizing them.
To sum up: if you think the best years of your career are ahead of you, this is great news.
If you think you peaked a while ago, this ain’t gonna make things any easier.
I tend to be an optimist. I don’t know if what Wells and Co. did here is necessarily a good thing for writers per se, but it’s a great thing for the profession of writing, and for that, I applaud them.
Rewrite approval and gross points?
Nice - let’s hope the risk pays off.
If this actually works and takes off, it’s what I’ve been hoping for since I learned the alphabet—never having sold a spec, I’m not only perfectly willing to take less for them, I’m happy to do so if it means my actual script gets made instead of some bastardization to please all common denominators. Plus back-end? Sweet Jesus, when did someone realize that if you created the story perhaps you should get a share of its popularity? Or rather, why didn’t this happen before?
How much are Ron Bass’s ghostwriters going to get?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this interesting developement, Craig. I was glad to read that you are somewhat optimistic about the co-op.
Do I have to audition for this Co-op? Where do I send my headshot and resume?
It’s ambitious, and I hope it pays off.
I worry, though, about how broad the membership will be. Will the scribes of Borat, Old School and Scary Movie be as welcome to join as any of those founding 18 members? How is admittance determined?
I’m assuming “admittance is determined” by whoever Warner wants to work with, no? It’s their deal! I doubt this particular Co-op is trying to “sign with” other majors, since a studio would likely have another ensemble on their “wishlist”.
Craig, do you think this Writers Co-op can serve as a business model for other writers making development deals with studios? How would you see your optimism manifest? Or, in other words, what did you and Ted talk about on the phone… :)
Dear God, I hope my best years are ahead of me. It’s the only thing keeping my head out of the oven.
On the plus side, my quote can’t get any lower.
This is so fucking great. I’m gonna form a co-op, Craig. Get D.J.Pooh on the line.
Johnny:
Yes, it’s at WB and the current Co-Op’s joint discretion.
Yes, I think it can serve as a model for other writers coming together and making deals at either WB or other studios.
I actually saw John Wells tonight, and I talked about this stuff with him at some length. I can report that my understanding of the deal, as described above in the article, is very accurate.
What’s Warners’ financial upside if a) they’re going to make the writers whole on their fees when the movies get made, b) give them better back ends, and c) cede creative control to them?
“This is an enormously advantageous term for Warner Brothers, as most if not all of the participating writers typically sell specs for no less than a million dollars, and sometimes upwards of three million or more.”
No. Warners wouldn’t care that the writers are only taking a fraction of their spec sale fees up front—-studios aren’t concerned about ‘spec screenplay prices’. They’re concerned about star salaries and marketing costs. That’s where the hemorrhaging is happening. Studios try to save where they can on development costs, but they spend more on one big movie star salary, or on one P & A campaign, than they do for all their development costs for an entire year.
Studios are especially un-concerned about paying for specs by big writers because big writers hardly ever write them. Because they make so much more money writing on assignment. If a studio says no to an Ed Solomon or a David Benioff spec, it’s never over price. Ever. Even at the highest, multi-million dollar price range.
Rather than caving to the ‘changing times’ as you seem to be saying, Craig, it sounds more to me like Warners is just offering a carrot to some of the town’s best writers to write specs.
The Co-Op deal is neither a sign of the changing times, nor a ‘great thing for the profession of writing’ because it only affects the town’s biggest writers. Who, armed with a spec, would be able to win these same terms as individuals anyway.
I would venture the reason Warners made the deal is, they’re sick of paying great writers to polish turds, and they’re sick of paying for work that gets thrown out. So they’re offering a carrot to the same writers to write specs.
But unless the incentive for the writers includes something they can’t get as individuals, like really fast progress-to-production clauses, it’s a fake carrot. And the writers won’t make any more money (because they’d make more writing on assignment) and they won’t get any more creative satisfaction (because Warners won’t have to make the movie if they don’t feel like it).
But whatever Warners’ actual motive for, and position in the Co-Op deal are, if it gets these writers writing specs, I support it.
First of all, very happy for all the writers involved. I’m glad to see that writers might have a chance to get some ounce of the respect they get in theater.
Second, this does concern me…does it seem like it might add to the hurdles a newcomer has to jump in order to make any kind of career?
Then again, if the upfront costs on screenplays go down, would that mean that more studios would be willing to take on more new writers?
Not that the screenplay was ever a major expenditure…but I’m looking for some kind of positive spin here. :)
Craig, do you think this will trigger a resurgence in the spec market? If studios are paying less up front, would they be likely to gobble up more scripts because of the reduced cost?
That’s sort of true. I think they’re more concerned about the overall cost of development. They do know that specs from these particular writers tend to run into the multiple millions, and all of the studios are trying to tame a development process that they see as bloated and costly.
Beyond that, while you’re right to suggest that they fear huge budgets, they also fear a lack of product in the pipeline. In fact, they fear that almost more than bloated budgets….and dontcha know, that’s why a lot of movies with bloated budgets happen. The studio is really an enormous distribution machine. Not being able to fill the pipeline with movies they think can succeed is the single greatest threat to their ROI…or so the story goes (we can argue that a megabomb is the single greatest threat, but it’s hard to disagree that the notion of all that overhead sitting around, getting written off against, well, nothing…is pretty scary).
So this deal allows WB a shot at filling their pipeline without breaking the bank on R&D.
It does, indeed, include legitimate proceed-to-production clauses, and even better, excellent terms of reversion. Reversion to the writer is apparently nearly instant if WB decides to not proceed to production. The writer can then go shop his script as a spec to every other studio in town.
It’s pretty much the definition of win-win.
It’s a great thing for the profession of writing, because it establishes that writing, like acting and directing, can be a first dollar job. Simple as that. It’s not a great thing for writers for the very reason you point out—most writers can’t get those terms.
I have to point out the obvious, though.
Most writers can’t even get the low mid six figures these folks are taking as a discounted price, so really, what we’re talking about is an improvement for the elite.
I’m an elitist, so I think that’s good.
i dont understand the criticism of the deal itself. its a great deal. if it fails it will be because the writers themselves cant put movies together, not because the deal sucks.
as i understand it, any of these people can write for their quote any time for any one. they’re not giving that up. most of them are writing on assignment all over town. but they are getting something on a case by case basis they do not currently have, and indeed very few players in hollywood do have:. gross points area BIG DEAL.
what people dont seem to realize is that they only have to put one movie every four years through the deal, and the movie they very selectively put through the deal will be one that makes financial sense for them and for the studio. it will probably be a movie they will have packaged with some big talent at the right price, and when they bring that package which demonstrates the financial upside to the studio, after already ferreting out what it will take to get a green light, the studio will say yes. that’s how we play the home version of the game.
the studio doesn’t own these people and are not holding all their creative work hostage. this is just a portal for the occasional well placed project to go through and give writers a shot at undreamed of control and a huge financial upside, something these writers didn’t have before and very few people do.
From today’s LAT: “A parallel movement has been stirring among a dozen frequent Sundance Screenwriting Lab mentors. Under the organizational guidance of Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen, the group has a tentative membership that includes John Ridley, Ron Nyswaner and John Lee Hancock.
The group aims to make itself available to actors and producers who want talented writers to develop projects outside the studio grindmill. One writer would take on the spec, and the rest of the group would essentially create a mini-lab where the screenplay is discussed and developed without any agenda. The idea would be to pre-package a project as talent agencies often do. The group offers to write an actor’s personal project for free, develop it within the group, and then take the solid script to a studio with a star and possibly a director already attached.”
It sounds to me like everybody is reading Craig’s blog and stealing his ideas. :-)
The best thing about this deal is that this means these 18 writers are all going to write specs over the next couple years. Not assignments based on an executive’s idea. Not remakes. Not sequels. Not based-on-books. Specs. Original ideas for films that they’re betting their livelihood on. I’m incredibly excited for this.
Good! He’s got lots of good ideas!
As someone who has not sold a spec and is not an elite writer, this deal currently appeals to me more as a fan of cinema than as a writer. Any deal which involves almost twenty original films by the best writers in the business being produced with the writers having unprecedented input is a deal that should be exciting for moviegoers everywhere.
I have to admit, studios having to pay less for A-list spec scripts is a little daunting.
It’s like the Dream Team showing up to try out for your basketball league.
To carry out the basketball analogy further, this could spark a whole writing league. Every studio could start one of these co-op groups, sparking a whole new type of competition.
However, if a studio reads and wants a good script, they’ll pay for it. I imagine they’ll still be bidding for good specs that come from outside of the co-op. I don’t imagine this will hurt the spec market any. Those million dollar spec sales might even seem like less money when the studio doesn’t have to pay the writer a first dollar gross. We’ll just have to see how the change of perspective plays out.
I think that this sort of deal is overdue. I think Will Ferrell is funny (at least %50 of the time) but I’m not buying a ticket just to see a particular actor. I’m spending money to see a good story. Will Ferrell probably got paid the same for Stranger Than Fiction and Blades of Glory, but I’m not going to watch Blades of Glory. But Zach Helm sure didn’t get a $10 million paycheck. A good writer is just as much of a star as an A-list actor and it’s time they get their due.
“But Zach Helm sure didn’t get a $10 million paycheck.”
Probably not, but he did get the power to crush my spirit by transforming the script I was working on from a “Hey, that sounds pretty cool” to a “Hey, that sounds kind of like Stranger Than Fiction.”
Forget the million dollar spec sale, if this Co-op helps free up some development money to allow me to make a $37,962 spec sale at Warners, I’d be more than happy.
Come to think of it, I’d sell a spec to Warners in exchange for the right to do Robert Preston impressions all around the Warner Bros. backlot whenever I wanted.
Not that I enjoy admitting it, but we are in a tiny minority on that one.
Only in our wet dreams.
Craig:
With co-operations such as these progressing and perhaps growing in future years will the screenwriting industry not be moving from a supposed meritocracy into an aristocracy?
I mean Social Darwinism and Elitism have their minor roles in certain spheres but surely they’re entirely contextual and bound to the belief system of the present industry (whether good or bad); surely this initiative will only serve to alienate much of the already beleagured proponents of the writing trade, whether they’re talented writers or not?
The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer on every level.
I feel some folk are complaining that a great new dessert has been added to the menu while they’re still on their way to the restaurant…
Doug:
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Also….no.
Your entire comment is predicated on a false assumption, which is that everyone of equal writing talent is equally deserving of being a successful screenwriter.
This is not the case.
It’s possible to play screenwriting as a solo, but the very best writers are the ones who know how to work with directors, actors and producers.
The ones who can’t turn into those bitter, angry folks who go on and on about how the “system is broken.”
Folks, the system will always be broken. Some will complain, and some will change the system.
The “rich” aren’t getting richer. If Scott Frank, for instance, never writes another word in his life, then I can guarantee you this: his career will be deader than anyone’s. Anyone’s. We’re as good as what we write.
If WB wants to make a film of Scott’s under this deal, then he’s EARNED the money, okay?
There’s no trust fund here, no manifest destiny, no titleage. If you deliver, you win.
If you don’t, you lose.
This business is a meritocracy…depending on your definition of merit. Is it your writerly definition?
Then no.
Is it the financier’s definition?
Then yes.
Will it always be their definition?
Yes.
Do those definitions overlap?
Occasionally.
Anyone who thinks that this deal is going to somehow rob them of their fair desserts is just out to lunch. Go sell something, go become a big writer, and then watch how everyone wants you to be in their Co-Op.
Hey Craig,
How will this affect those writers-directors? I know John Wells mixes it up — any mention from him how this will change the hyphenate crowd?
Jay:
Actually, it shouldn’t have any affect on it at all. One of the ways that WB must “proceed to production” under the terms of the deal is to choose from a list of actors and directors to make pay-or-play deals to…a list that the writer submits.
The writer is obviously free to include his or her own name on that list, and if it’s a writer like Phil Robinson, they just might make that offer.
However, I don’t think the writers can say “hey, I have to direct this one.” If they feel that way, I think they’ll have to go set that script up outside the terms of this deal. I’m not 100% on that, but 90%. When I talk to John next, I’ll include that question on my list.
Wow, the writer submits the list? If the writer is able to basically “cast” the central players (or exclude certain people), then that alone entails a major power paradigm shift. Of course, it all comes down to the strength of the content…
The Variety article made the point that the co-op writers are savvy business men first and foremost. They made this point a number of times, probably on Wells’ behest because, I imagine, the single greatest sigma film writers carry is the desire for final cut “for art’s sake,” regardless of the final movie’s success.
Do you think Wells and Co is attempting to transition certain film writers to a position similar to the much more powerful TV writer/producer role? If so, it’s a pretty damn successful model to emulate.
Yup. Writer submits the list, in consultation with his Co-Op partners.
Yes, I think Wells is trying to “producerize” writers in theatrical, and he’s very very very smart to do so.
I producerized myself two movies ago, and I hate to think I’d ever have to look back.
Thanks, Craig for ferreting out this additional information about the Co-op. It’s very interesting. These are exciting times for anyone in the creative arts… or scary times depending on your own perspective.
I prefer to see the positives. Even if this Co-op doesn’t affect me directly, it seems like a step forward in the perception of writers in general. It takes people using their power to move the whole of us forward. At the very least, it gives the rest of us something more to aspire to and potentially sets a precedent that we can hope to someday follow.
If that makes any sense at all.
Craig:
You think I’m a communist, and it’s probably not unwarranted…
But I can assure you seven months of subscription to the Artful slapped any petty-minded resentment out of me a long time ago.
I am however still unsure of the wider implications of this new co-op and as a result will probably find myself in deeper and hotter water with these next few questions; if I don’t ask them though, I’m denying myself the opportunity to learn something…So please crack open that spare barrel of “no’s” you’ve got next to your desk, I’m sure you’ll need them:
If each of these eighteen writers are to deliver one original screenplay in the next four years, without understanding the contractual logistics, I’m assuming WB will have roughly four or five scripts on their hands each year. If this catches on and each studio has a co-op attatched to it - in future years exactly what kind of depressions are going to be felt by the professional writers who aren’t working under these coalitions? I’m basing this on the assumption that the studios will no longer have as much drive for external input when they’re being fed by such august writers.
If as you’ve already mentioned, many of the A-listers are drawn to working for the co-op’s, what sort of implications are going to ripple through the WGA as an effect? When writers have bonded together like this and are protected to the hilt both as individuals and larger unities, exactly what purpose will the Guild hold in future years, or moreso, will it need to radicalise itself in any way when these writers no longer have as much incentive to remain with them? Can you for instance see these co-op’s becoming guilds and unions unto themselves?
Do you think the co-ops will remain independent of the studios, or over time will they become amalgamated? What kind of future projections do you think are in store, viewing the co-op as a morphological entity within the industry?
And I guess this last question is something of a crux for most writers: exactly what kind of criteria for enlistment will these bodies be working under? this for me is why I highlighted the term aristocracy, assumptive? probably, and undoubtedly spurned by the fact you said it benefits the elite and that that’s a good thing but I’d be interested to hear what you’ve heard/experienced. The reason I pull that up is for me the word “elite” is entirely contextual, and quite dangerous at times. For instance these co-op’s aren’t secretly masquerading as writer coalitions whilst maintaining eugenics facilitities in underground basements with thousands of David Koepp’s in glass jars right? right?
Personally this is very interesting and exciting news, naturally this is going to have massive implications on the writer’s of tomorrow right?
Dougal.
I’ve been thinking about the co-op for the better part of the day, specifically regarding the little players. And, I think, the bulk of the writers will benefit immensely from this shift. Here’s why:
The writers within the co-op will, as Craig puts it, producerize (“producerize” will surely be the biz buzz word for ‘07 — take claim now, Craig!).
Within the co-op, the “exec writer” takes ownership of the original concept and story. Then much like TV with Abrams, Sorkin, Wells etc. creating the overall arc, additional writers will be employed to further develop the content, write dialogue, etc.
Most importantly, these freelance writers will be working directly for the co-op, not the studio. Writers working for writers. Dreamy, right?
Compensation for the freelancers will probably be similar to the exec writers, only smaller. Share the back end wealth with bargain bin prices upfront. Works for the studio, works for the co-op.
Additionally, the exec writers will have more time to create even more content. Wells, Abrams, Sorkin, Surnow, Kring, etc. but for film. This level of power may not be given to the co-op writers starting out, but, then again, the current members were probably chosen specifically for their experience, production aptitude and strength at the table, so to speak.
For the bulk of writers, the question won’t be how to join a co-op, but how to get writing assignments with the co-op content creators. These co-ops could quickly become incubators of huge amounts of first rate material and, if the success is anything like modern episodic TV, yield box office gold far more regularly than any studio development department’s wildest dreams.
So, Craig, am I on the mark or way off?
Craig:
Seriously.
Give me your drums.
Doug:
“I’m basing this on the assumption that the studios will no longer have as much drive for external input when they’re being fed by such august writers.”
The 18 writers will be writing original scripts. Only about 5% of films produced are based on original scripts; 95% are based on scripts that the writers were hired to write. So I dont think there is much drive for external input to begin with. Most professional writers work on assignment almost all of the time, or so I understand.
Craig:
What kind of entity is the Writers Co-Op? It seems kind of unlikely that it’s a co-op, in the legal sense (which I understand to be a kind of unlimited liability company).
Is it an ordinary production company with a highly unusual development deal with a studio?
Or is it a kind of “scheme” or package (for want of better words) that a production company, that’s also involved in other things, has put together?
Even though, as stated earlier, this is a short-term victory for the screenwriting elite, it does feel like it could be a long-term victory for all.
If the movies produced from this co-op are extremely successful, then it should trickle down the totem pole to everyone else too…