Arbitration on non-original scripts

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Arbitration on non-original scripts

    hey friends

    I wrote a screenplay on a project that had a whole bunch of writers come before me.

    my draft is the shooting script. the previous drafts were all pretty much D.O.A.

    the story is non-fiction and there's a book that recounts the events. all writers on the project (including myself) used the book as primary source material.

    question: what is the likely outcome for an arbitration in this case? I know the Production Company will put my name forward as the sole writer- I am mostly curious about the WGA's take on it.

    The story is going to be the same for all drafts since it's based on true events: characters, situations, chronology etc. will be the same. Nobody "broke story": the story was already broken.

    So does the WGA just divvy up the pie evenly among all writers? Do they look for the WAY in which the story is told?

    I can't get a clear answer out of anyone and I've heard many differing opinions on this. Some movies like Dallas Buyers Club had a bunch of writers over the years but credit was handed to the original authors. Other movies have 3-4 credited writers, none of whom even knew about previous scripts.

    I certainly have strong thoughts about this but I am curious to hear what everyone's experience has been, and if there is a somewhat consistent trend.

  • #2
    Re: Arbitration on non-original scripts

    Originally posted by TravisPickle View Post
    hey friends

    I wrote a screenplay on a project that had a whole bunch of writers come before me.

    my draft is the shooting script. the previous drafts were all pretty much D.O.A.

    the story is non-fiction and there's a book that recounts the events. all writers on the project (including myself) used the book as primary source material.

    question: what is the likely outcome for an arbitration in this case? I know the Production Company will put my name forward as the sole writer- I am mostly curious about the WGA's take on it.

    The story is going to be the same for all drafts since it's based on true events: characters, situations, chronology etc. will be the same. Nobody "broke story": the story was already broken.

    So does the WGA just divvy up the pie evenly among all writers? Do they look for the WAY in which the story is told?

    I can't get a clear answer out of anyone and I've heard many differing opinions on this. Some movies like Dallas Buyers Club had a bunch of writers over the years but credit was handed to the original authors. Other movies have 3-4 credited writers, none of whom even knew about previous scripts.

    I certainly have strong thoughts about this but I am curious to hear what everyone's experience has been, and if there is a somewhat consistent trend.
    My understanding of the process is each writer turns in their last draft submitted and the WGA determines how much each writer contributed to the final or “shooting” script to determine shares of credit.
    “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Arbitration on non-original scripts

      Originally posted by TigerFang View Post
      My understanding of the process is each writer turns in their last draft submitted and the WGA determines how much each writer contributed to the final or "shooting- script to determine shares of credit.
      This is the truth, but extra weight is often given to the first writer. Not always, though.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Arbitration on non-original scripts

        There's a good discussion at the beginning of this episode of 3rd & Fairfax with Lesley Mackey from the WGAW Credits Dept.

        HTH,
        Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

        -Steve Trautmann
        3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Arbitration on non-original scripts

          I never understood the "first writer gets credit" logic. I've heard it before and frankly it makes no sense.

          If a first writer gets hired, comes up short, and subsequent writers are hired to start from scratch... why should the 1st one get credit? especially if the other scripts don't have any elements from the first draft? am I missing something?

          I guess it goes back to my question regarding non-original work... I can understand if 4 writers are hired to work on an original screenplay set in outer space, and each one leaves original ideas in their drafts that are then re-utilized in subsequent ones.

          But let's say a studio wants a movie about the Ali/Foreman fight in Kinshasa. And they have a book that has the characters, the events, the locations. Then they bring 4 writers in to write the scripts.

          The 4 scripts will have the same "elements" listed above but only the last script truly pops - the dialogue, characterizations, point-of-view etc. After all, you can give 4 people the same story (or in the case of artists, the same landscape) and come up with 4 completely different outcomes.

          What then? Would the WGA just split credit between the 4 writers? That would be kind of crazy.

          Originally posted by EdFury View Post
          This is the truth, but extra weight is often given to the first writer. Not always, though.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Arbitration on non-original scripts

            The rules were changed at some point in the last decade or so so that writers don't get "credit" for using elements that were in the original source material.

            If you started with the book as your source and wrote your script, you'll be in good shape come an arbitration.

            It's not the same situation as an original script, where the first writer does (rightfully) have some protections.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Arbitration on non-original scripts

              Ditto what Jeff said. I'm a WGA member and wrote an original spec script that was produced in 2019 as a Netflix Original (released April 2020). After I sold the script, I did several revisions, then other writers were brought in by Netflix (one writing team of two, then another writer by himself). Because there were more than two writers, it went to automatic arbitration. Everyone had to read the various drafts and then write statements supporting their credits. After the process, the WGA determined that the credits would remain the same as those proposed by the producer: I received "Story by" and "Screenplay by" and everyone else received "Screenplay by."

              What I learned by going through this process is that the original writer always receives "Story by" and probably "Screenplay by" unless the additional writers make such major changes to the original script that it essentially becomes a brand new script with different characters, structure, etc. The WGA has specific percentages/guidelines set for all of this. I'd suggest reading those guidelines and asking the WGA credit department about any further questions. They're very helpful. Good luck to you!

              Comment

              Working...
              X