ROTTEN TOMATOES: 75 Percent of Stockpiled Scripts "Up In The Air?"

75 Percent of Stockpiled Scripts "Up In The Air?"

Writers strike forces hard choices for film studios.

by Jeff Giles | November 12, 2007

It's just a week old, but the effects of the writers' strike are already being felt on television -- and, as Variety reports, those shockwaves will eventually be heading to a theater near you.

In a lengthy report by Anne Thompson and Tatiana Siegel, Variety examines the difficult decisions facing studios forced to choose between the scripts they hurriedly stockpiled during the months leading up to the strike. From the article:

For the most part, they are prepared to shoot their locked and cast projects that start within the next month or so, meaning there will be little impact on the 2008 schedule.

But if the strike goes on past the New Year, things start to look a bit more dicey. Every production chief faces the anxiety-filled challenge of actually proceeding with greenlit projects that will shoot under unprecedented duress, and "bubble" projects that have solid scripts but incomplete casting.

An estimated 50 or so projects across studios are at the "go" stage, among them the next James Bond movie, "The Da Vinci Code" prequel "Angels & Demons" and "The X-Files" sequel, rumored to be titled "Done One."

A producer who has five films on the bubble, however, estimates that as many as 75% of the "go" projects are actually "up in the air." Inevitably, some will end up on hold or the chopping block.

The problem is that, as long as the writers stay on the picket line, those scripts can't be touched -- no polishes, no fixes, no overhauls of any kind. As Variety puts it, "Even under the best of circumstances, screenplays require writer-assisted tweaking right up until the first day of principal photography and sometimes throughout the shoot"; the article quotes an unnamed Sony producer as saying "There's no such thing as a locked script."

This is less of an issue if you're filming with actors who are comfortable improvising -- Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories and the Jeremy Piven-led, Will Ferrell-produced The Goods are named as two projects that can get by without additional input from writers -- but for the most part, the strike has left the studios wandering through uncharted territory.

To read more about the writers' strike -- and to see if any of your most eagerly anticipated upcoming films are on the bubble -- click on the link below!

Source: Variety

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(1-19 of 19 posts) | Reply

rt_hire_me writes:
on Nov 12 2007 07:51 AM

"Comfortable improvising." Is that why their films are so hard to sit through? I used to make up stuff as I went along, then I got to 4th grade - beginning, middle, end. It makes a story better, you know, so you don't end up going places that make your audience wonder what kind of nine-year-old is behind today's lame lame comedies.

(Reply to this)

jasperoosterveld writes:
on Nov 12 2007 08:32 AM

Just give them more money for **** sake!

(Reply to this)

Darkness My Old Friend writes:
on Nov 12 2007 01:17 PM

The writer's guild needs to start working on getting actors some residuals for the lines they ad-lib, since they are contributing to the film's script. Plus, it'll like... double the amount of money Nick Cage gets per picture.

(Reply to this)

OperaGhost21 writes:
on Nov 12 2007 01:55 PM

Good. So now I have a 75% chance of never having to see Cabin Fever 2.

(Reply to this)

BrianInSD writes:
on Nov 12 2007 02:28 PM

In reply to this comment (#1271608)
If an actor ad libs 30% of the script, he can get a writing credit and the subsequent writing residuals.

(Reply to this)

jukeboxhero6660 writes:
on Nov 12 2007 02:42 PM

how about this PAY ACTORS AND DIRECTORES LESS!!!!! that will free up the money, no actor deserves 20 million for speaking and emotions, i know they are talented and deserve to be paid somewhat well but over 20 million is insane.

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LordViper743 writes:
on Nov 12 2007 03:20 PM

I heard the writers are looking for just 6% of the movie instead of the usual 3% sounds like a no brainer. BUT I think we need to let in some new talent anyway movies have a lame theme lately in my eyes. And nick cage needs to crawl under a rock for a while and he can bring Sam jackson with him. I dont think they ever say no to a script.

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rerun717 writes:
on Nov 12 2007 04:02 PM

Where did all this come up about Nicholas Cage? Me confused.

(Reply to this)

FireflyFan4evr writes:
on Nov 12 2007 05:12 PM

Both writers AND directors deserved to be paid more. A lot of actors are paid around the same or more than the directors, yet they are only part of principle photography and the directors are there (hopefully) from start to finish. I know that actors are the main reason people will go to see a movie for, but come on, they don't deserve even half the credit for the film's success or failure (except in those rare cases). Writers deserve more respect and it starts with more pay. They come up with the entire story and then get s*** on by producers and the studio. Writing is by and far probably the most important job in filmmaking. If you have no solid foundation, your movie will fail- it all starts with the writers.

(Reply to this)

LordViper743 writes:
on Nov 12 2007 07:06 PM

firefly i agree but thats politics. there the low man on the pole but should not be by far.

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Bloody Mathias writes:
on Nov 12 2007 07:28 PM

I hope the studio's hubris catches up to them and bites them hard.
As an amateur screenwriter, i have a TON of respect for writers and without them, there can be no movie whatsoever. It's their imagination and creativity that attracts directors and producers and actors. There's nothing more powerful than a terrific script.

An to all those who say, "The writing in movies these days is so bad. Writers should get paid less." are making the mistake of thinking that the shooting script is identical to the original. Producers and studios always mess with them to make them more "commercial'. An explosion there, a car chase here, a romantic interest and a happy ending to send audiences home "happy".

Directors/producers just try to get the voice of the script to the big screen.
Actors just deliver the lines given to them by the script.
Writers are the unsung pros of hollywood and it's high time they got some respect.

(Reply to this)

jacog writes:
on Nov 12 2007 11:54 PM

"Even under the best of circumstances, screenplays require writer-assisted tweaking right up until the first day of principal photography and sometimes throughout the shoot"

For aknddon3 and his "writers aren't important" bollocks.

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Lux Obscura writes:
on Nov 13 2007 01:41 AM

weelll, I'm sure somebody can tweak the script, pleeease, it can't be that hard to change a line or two, just brain storm it out....aren't directors and actors supposed to be creative? this is an art form of some kind...right? Writers are important and should be paid fairly but this complaining about 'tweaking' a script is just ridiculous.

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tHe LiviNg dEaD akaOMG writes:
on Nov 13 2007 02:54 AM

It is so amazing that most of the people commenting here have no clue as to what the strike is really about. The strike itself is not about more money. Well it is, but only to a certain extent.

The strike is about new media, i.e. the internet. Networks and studios can stream television shows and media, pack them full of advertisement, and then pay the writer nothing extra. It is ridiculous that the studios are refusing to give up a measely share of new media income.

Either way, the common misconception is that because these writers are in Hollywood, they are paid great. Not true. A good chunk of the writers in the union actually live in apartments. Not great, huge apartments either. These guys live like us. Not like actors. I am a writer, and I fully understand where the people are coming from. You create something amazing, give it up to someone else, and at least expect a fair compensation, then receive nothing. It is horrible, and they deserve to be paid.

And nightbat666, go to a different forum. Your ignorance is showing..."Writers are important and should be paid fairly but this complaining about 'tweaking' a script is just ridiculous." No one said anything about "complaining". Only the writer knows where the story was intended to go. Directors direct, actors act, and writers write. If actors and directors were also more commonly writers, there would be no WGA.

Peace. Love. Empathy.
XXX

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Nov 13 2007 08:07 AM

In reply to this comment (#1272934)
Respect the sentiment, but 'not about the money'!? Are you sh*tting me? The whole thing here, from top to bottom, right to left and at its very heart, core and soul, it's about money.

That *doesn't* mean there is no 'right' and 'wrong' and I agree that it seems the writers deserve more than they're getting, but let's not lose sight of the whole forest/trees thing.

(Reply to this)

Hamboner writes:
on Nov 13 2007 11:27 AM

Well.. if Hollywood is losing billions dollars a year on film development like it represented itself in Variety, then maybe 75% of these films (a majority of which will be outright disasters anyway... I'm just playing by the averages here) shouldn't be made anyway.

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Skates forJersey Dude writes:
on Nov 13 2007 11:47 AM

Hell, I'll act Spielberg or someone give me a script. You only gotta pay be like $10,000 and I'll happily do a movie. But seriously the writers do deserve more money I mean alot of them do have much talent and are good at what they do.

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GotMyOrangeCrush writes:
on Nov 24 2007 04:12 AM

I have to be honest if they are really expecting to go from 3% to 6% then I absolutely understand why the studios said no. Thats is a very significant raise. 6% is too much period. If they were at 3% and making as much as they were then going to 4-4.5% would be a very significant increase. I dont think I have ever seen a strike where the people striking were demanding a 100% raise, especially when the figures they are getting a percentae of are huge figures. I was in the dark regarding this issue before now but now that I have heard what they are after I am 199% on the studios side now. Offer them 4-4.5% and if they dont take it drag this strike out until they are starving and thier cars are repo'ed and thier houses go into forclosure. The studios can certainly wait alot longer than the writers when it comes down to it. How many writers do you know that could go 3-6 months without a paycheck and be ok?

(Reply to this)

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