If movie directors are the equivalent of football’s quarterbacks – the guys who get all the glory with every success – then writers are arguably the offensive linemen. Most writers toil in relative anonymity, not because their work isn’t important (it is – without a script, your favorite movie or show doesn’t exist regardless of how many directors a producer throws at it), but because the industry of Hollywood has always had something of an adversarial relationship with its scribes. Movie history is filled with stories of how studios and executives have stuck it to the writers, and it appears to be happening again. According to The Writers Guild of America, there’s been a recent upswing in the use of what are called "paper teams," which allows productions to hire two screenwriters for the price of one.
Deadline breaks down the nefarious details of the plot, which essentially finds studios forcing two writers to work together as a team for the WGA minimum. The catch is that the writers have to split the funds, meaning each is working for half of the Guild’s minimum – clear and direct violation of the Guild’s rules. This half-fee is still a decent amount of money, but it doesn’t change the fact that it takes advantage of young writers who are desperate for work and feel that half of the minimum amount they should be earning is better than nothing.
WGA West hasn’t successfully caught anyone violating the rule yet, but the investigations have been ongoing since 2012. Part of the issue is finding writers willing to go on the record about what’s transpiring. Speaking out against studios and producers can lead to blackballing by the industry, something most writers don’t want to risk.
Like most labor scams, this one preys upon the particularly vulnerable – young writers looking to get their foot in the door, and older ones trying to score a few more paydays before heading off into retirement. Producers lessen the potential sting of writing for well less than the Guild minimum by dangling carrots in front of the potential hire – usually in the form of promises for better positions with full pay somewhere down the line.
It should be clarified that writing tandems formed without coercion are totally acceptable in the Guild’s eyes. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright teaming up to write things like Shaun of the Dead is perfectly fine. Same goes for Joel and Ethan Coen and countless other teams. Some of the best scripts in movie history have come from the collaboration between two minds. The problem only arises when the writers are hired individually and forced into working together against their will, for less money than is mandated in the Guild rules.
The WGA says this happens most frequently in cable television production, but the practice is starting to spread to the world of feature films, where producers are eager to keep costs down to maximize potential profits. It’s just unfortunate that they’re shafting writers – who already make significantly less money than directors and actors – to achieve their budgetary goals.
