2023 Writers Strike - the problem with streaming
HOLLYWOOD GREED
Writers in Hollywood have been unpaid and underappreciated for years. Now, they are speaking up against the injustice and refusing to work until they can get paid fairly for the work that they do. Read about the 2023 writer’s strike and how streaming is a leading issue.
WHAT IS STREAMING?
First, let’s define what streaming is.
According to Roku, streaming is “the way video and audio content is delivered over the Internet”. It is now the most popular way of watching video and listening to music. Streaming took over the entertainment industry and basically eliminated the need for DVD’s, CD’s, VHS, and all of the other physical objects that hold audio and video. Now, the internet is all you need in order to watch and listen to almost everything.
Streaming has made the lives of entertainment enthusiasts all over the world easier and more efficient. Now, we don’t have to take a trip to Blockbusters to rent a movie. We can just pick a streaming service, such as Netflix or Hulu, and hit play.
Streaming services have also made the audio/visual experience cheaper. For $10-40 a month, you can pay to have a streaming service offer HUNDREDS of movies and shows that you can watch instantly. That’s a great deal if you watch a show or movie every day. It’s more affordable than going to the movie theater, renting movies, and cable.
But there’s a downside …
The Problem with Streaming Services
While we, as viewers, reap the benefits of streaming services, workers in Hollywood are taking a hit.
Some actors aren’t getting paid as much, especially if their movie goes right to Netflix instead of hitting theaters first. One example is when Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over a breach of contract, resulting in less pay for the actress due to the movie, Black Widow, not showing in theaters long enough and going right to Disney+.
Now, the world is learning that writers are not getting paid fairly either.
Streaming services don’t cost very much, so companies like Netflix (this is just one example out of many) are purchasing the rights to stream movies and shows at a lower price than what companies used to buy DVD’s for.
The lower price point means that the workers who created these movies and shows are getting paid less.
Here’s a breakdown of how writers in Hollywood get paid.
(Please note that this is a generalization and not every writer has the exact same experience.)
HOW WRITERS GET PAID
Writers Rooms
First, we need to understand the hours that writers put into creating a story. They go to what’s called a “writer’s room”. Recently, the “writer’s rooms” have turned into “mini rooms”.
In these mini writer’s rooms, a few people get together to hash out the potential for a show or movie. They create the characters, make mock-ups of scripts, and lay out plans for what the project might look like. These mini writer’s rooms don’t last very long. Some might be as short as six weeks, while others don’t tend to go on past four or five months.
The writers submit their work, and then they have nothing to do but wait until a decision is made about whether or not production will begin. But in that waiting period, the writers aren’t getting paid, so they have to pick up other writing projects and join more mini writer’s rooms for short periods of time.
Writers used to have job security – they knew when they signed on to write a movie that they would have a job for about a year. If it were a tv show, they could potentially have a job for ten years, depending on how many seasons are filmed.
But now, the career of writing for Hollywood has turned into a freelancer gig, and no one ever knows when their next job will be.
Now let’s look at how writers get paid in these mini rooms. Writers get paid a minimum, based on WGA rules (the Hollywood union).
Base Pay is $5000 (and some change) per week.
Let’s assume that the average timeframe of mini writer’s rooms is ten weeks, just for the sake of this example.
$5000 over a 10-week period comes out to $50,000. Not a bad check, right? Think again…
(Click HERE to see what WGA has to say about mini writer’s rooms)
Fees and Taxes
Writers, like actors, have agents and lawyers and all sorts of people that help them get onto a project. Writers have to pay their agents and lawyers a cut of their pay.
So, if a writer makes $50,000 on a project, they now have to put aside about 5% for taxes (because they are independent contractors and taxes are not automatically taken out of their checks). They also have to pay their lawyer about 5%, and 5%-10% to each of their agents (some writers have up to three DIFFERENT agents).
So, let’s average this number to 5% for a lawyer, 10% for an agent, and 10% for a manager.
At the end of all of that, the writer only keeps $36,551 of that original paycheck, for a project that they worked on for ten weeks. That comes out to around $3,655, per week.
That’s still not a bad paycheck! It’s certainly more than what most average Americans make every week. But… keep in mind that writers live where the work is, in Las Angeles.
We all know how expensive it is to live in big cities like Las Angeles, and inflation in the US keeps going up and up. On top of that, writers are freelancers, so while that $3,655 weekly check might feel nice, a large chunk of it needs to go into savings because you never know when your next gig will be. It might be a week until you find another gig, or it could be a couple of months.
Some writers have started taking on multiple gigs at the same time, just to be safe.
The Future of workers in Hollywood
Unless something changes soon, writers won’t be the only ones striking against Hollywood.
Many well-seasoned industry professionals are preparing for the worst – that all jobs will be affected if the writers continue to strike long-term.
If there are no writers, then there are no shows or movies. If shows and movies come to a stop, or even just slow down, MANY people will be out of jobs. Directors, producers, actors, set designers, hair & makeup artists, caterers, drivers, security… everyone will be affected.
My Prediction...
This strike is predicted to directly impact original production, meaning that recurring shows and more sequels are still safe.
I believe that, if all of Hollywood is impacted by this writer’s strike, then we will start to see an increase in book-to-movie or show adaptations.
Why?
Because the script has already been written! Writers will still be needed to adapt the book to the screen, but if the writers finally listen to what readers want, then they shouldn’t need to spend months creating a script. Just follow what’s in the book!
Writers and producers will not need to spend so much time on cultivating an original story if they focused on adaptations.
Harry Potter, for example, is planned to have a full season for each book. The Wizarding World has already been created, and the lines for the script are already written into the books, so the writers don’t have to think about creating something original. In fact, readers don’t want something original.
We want exactly what’s in the book.