Old writers make the most money

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  • Old writers make the most money

    Here's a surprising stat from the WGA:

    "Writers Aged 71 to 80 Remain Highest Paid Film Writers

    Repeating a development identified in the previous report, the oldest group of film writers posted the highest median earnings in 2009 (see Figure 14). That is, film writers aged 71 to 80 had median earnings of $123,750 in 2009, which exceeded the figure for the second-place group of film writers, those aged 41 to 50 ($80,500), by more than $40,000. Recall that in the television sector this latter group was the highest paid group of writers. Meanwhile, film writers aged 31 to 40 posted earnings of $78,918, followed by writers aged 61 to 70 ($65,000) and writers aged 51 to 60 ($59,500). Also contrary to the pattern in television, the youngest group of film writers -- those under 31 -- had the
    lowest median earnings ($57,500)."

    http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/who...r11execsum.pdf
    "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

    Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

  • #2
    Re: Old writers make the most money

    Makes sense. People who haven't 'made it' drop out, switch careers, so there are less working screen writers to average the older it gets. It doesn't mean older screenwriters all make more than younger screenwriters, just that the average for the whole group is higher.
    @ZOlkewicz - Don't follow me on Twitter.

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    • #3
      Re: Old writers make the most money

      Originally posted by LauriD View Post
      Here's a surprising stat from the WGA:

      "Writers Aged 71 to 80 Remain Highest Paid Film Writers

      Repeating a development identified in the previous report, the oldest group of film writers posted the highest median earnings in 2009 (see Figure 14). That is, film writers aged 71 to 80 had median earnings of $123,750 in 2009, which exceeded the figure for the second-place group of film writers, those aged 41 to 50 ($80,500), by more than $40,000. Recall that in the television sector this latter group was the highest paid group of writers. Meanwhile, film writers aged 31 to 40 posted earnings of $78,918, followed by writers aged 61 to 70 ($65,000) and writers aged 51 to 60 ($59,500). Also contrary to the pattern in television, the youngest group of film writers -- those under 31 -- had the
      lowest median earnings ($57,500)."

      http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/who...r11execsum.pdf
      That's way lower then most government employees! Crazy, huh? But that is median, so I guess it demonstrates what John and Craig said on Scriptnotes, that very few writers actually make good money in Hollywood.
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      • #4
        Re: Old writers make the most money

        Originally posted by stainjm View Post
        That's way lower then most government employees! Crazy, huh? But that is median, so I guess it demonstrates what John and Craig said on Scriptnotes, that very few writers actually make good money in Hollywood.
        The typical WGA member makes zero income from screenwriting.
        "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

        Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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        • #5
          Re: Old writers make the most money

          Ageist flaming aside, perhaps the folks who've lasted that long in the biz make more because they're a proven product.

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          • #6
            Re: Old writers make the most money

            Do those figures reflect residuals? Perhaps the older writers are collecting quarterly checks for work done over the years?

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            • #7
              Re: Old writers make the most money

              Originally posted by ClintW3 View Post
              Do those figures reflect residuals? Perhaps the older writers are collecting quarterly checks for work done over the years?
              Don't know if they include residuals or not, but residuals decrease over the years until you're getting them for pennies. Veteran TV writers are priceless.

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              • #8
                Re: Old writers make the most money

                Originally posted by LauriD View Post
                Here's a surprising stat from the WGA:

                "Writers Aged 71 to 80 Remain Highest Paid Film Writers

                Repeating a development identified in the previous report, the oldest group of film writers posted the highest median earnings in 2009 (see Figure 14). That is, film writers aged 71 to 80 had median earnings of $123,750 in 2009, which exceeded the figure for the second-place group of film writers, those aged 41 to 50 ($80,500), by more than $40,000. Recall that in the television sector this latter group was the highest paid group of writers. Meanwhile, film writers aged 31 to 40 posted earnings of $78,918, followed by writers aged 61 to 70 ($65,000) and writers aged 51 to 60 ($59,500). Also contrary to the pattern in television, the youngest group of film writers -- those under 31 -- had the
                lowest median earnings ($57,500)."

                http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/who...r11execsum.pdf
                I'm not sure I'd call it a "surprising" stat. I would think that writers, from an economic standpoint, are similar to just about every other job where the people who have the most experience and the highest amount of work/salary history tend to make the most money.

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                • #9
                  Re: Old writers make the most money

                  Originally posted by SoCalScribe View Post
                  I'm not sure I'd call it a "surprising" stat. I would think that writers, from an economic standpoint, are similar to just about every other job where the people who have the most experience and the highest amount of work/salary history tend to make the most money.
                  Yes, but H'wood is notoriously youth-centric. And the WGA and AARP brought an ageism class action a few years back that settled for a lot of money.

                  So I'm surprised that there are a significant number of writers in that age bracket still working.

                  The first three older writers I thought of aren't even in that particular bracket: Julian Fellowes (64), Alvin Sargeant (86), and William Goldman (82).
                  "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                  Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Old writers make the most money

                    Here's another surprising stat:

                    Writers who write great specs, consistently turn in superior product on write for hire and rewrite jobs, who work well with others and turn their ego in at the door, and have a great work ethic make more money than writers who don't.

                    On another note... who cares who makes the most money. It doesn't matter. Each person, individually, who tries to do this screenwriting thing starts in the same place. They either make it, based on their ability to write, their patience, their drive, and their networking acumen, or they don't. Screenwriting is not a zero sum game. Just because others make it, doesn't mean you can't. It's up to you... yes, there has to be some luck involved, but luck doesn't happen if you can't deliver.

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