By B. Scott
“What happened to the cinema?” “The film industry is dying!” “They don’t make movies like they used to!”
If you’ve heard any of these complaints, you probably think the film industry is on its way out, and films, as we know them (watching them in a dark theater, or viewing them on a disc), is a pasttime that’s headed straight for wherever they put the dodos and horse-drawn carriages.
The good news is, film, as a business, and an art, is still quite vibrant. And that means writing for film is still quite a viable endeavour.
Here’s some reasons why:
Streaming services are the new gold rush for media corporations
Just last week, Disney announced it was ending its distribution deal with streaming titan, Netflix. Why? So Disney could start its OWN streaming service which it’s planning on launching in 2019.
That means Marvel, Star Wars, Muppets, and all the other great Disney universes are finding their own home, which Disney plans to monetize. And when Disney does something, it does it hardcore.
And that’s just the latest, biggest example of a traditional studio / media company jumping into the streaming world with its own service. HBO, CBS, Paramount – everybody’s getting into the streaming game, which ostensibly means everybody is going to need MORE CONTENT.
So what does that mean for screenwriters writing for film? It means more opportunity, because not everything on every new streaming service is going to be a series. Streaming services like HBO and AMC have shown that, yes, series are lucrative, but those series are more like 10-hour feature films.
That is, what we think of as tv is becoming more and more like film, which means tv writers should be thinking more and more like screenwriters as the market demands more and more cinematic television.
Experienced writers could be moving from cable shows
With the streaming boom comes the money boom. Apple. Even Apple (yes, the iPhone/computer company!) is now getting into the streaming game, earmarking $1 billion (US) just last week to spend on original series and films over the next year.
A large sum? Perhaps. Until you compare it with Netflix’s planned budget of $7 billion (US), and Amazon’s planned $4.5 billion (US), and Time Warner (HBO)’s planned budget of $2 billion (US).
That’s a lot of money on brand new content. So where’s it going? Two words: Talent. With Amazon, Apple, HBO, Disney, and Netflix all competing for the same actors, directors, and writers, you can bet everybody’s going to be taking much bigger cuts of the pie. And while that hasn’t always translated to bigger wallets for writers, it’s reasonable to assume that a lot of established writers on network and cable are going to be dangled a lot of cash to write for these streaming giants.
But the good news is: network and cable aren’t going away. To compete with the streaming services and all that juicy, cinematic fare on streaming, they’re going to have to get more cinematic, or take an entirely different tack, a la reality shows. If they tend to eschew reality shows (as more and more of the viewing audience grows tired with them), it could mean a lot of positions in writers rooms opening up, with a need for writers with cinematic, and not specifically tv, chops.
More and more “writers rooms” on big tentpole films
When one thinks of a “writers room,” one generally thinks of a television show. A team of writers spitball with a whiteboard behind a closed door. They “break story” (the act of working out the outline of an episode) and then they go about the actual writing of the scenes, either separately or in small teams.
Films, on the other hand, have traditionally been the realm of the solo writer, or the writing duo. Teams have happened, but they’re rare. But writers rooms? Only in the rarest of circumstances.
Alas, not anymore.
More and more, studios and production companies are now bringing together teams of writers, sometimes in groups, sometimes in waves, to write the material for their films. From conception to draft to polish, each step in a feature film’s writing process could now be written by an entirely different person or team of writers.
The phenomenon is something that mostly seems to take place on larger studio “tentpole” films. These are the 4 or 5 major, worldwide release films a studio or group of studios will produce. Because they need to perform worldwide, studios do everything they can to make sure these megafilms are successful. And that means bringing aboard multiple writers. Or entire groups of writers.
This may not be exciting news for cinemagoers who find big, dumb films unpalatable, but it’s great news for aspiring screenwriters who could be one of those new voices in the writers room.
The WGA is getting even stronger, and more organized
This spring, in the states, our WGAw (Writers Guild of America, West, which covers the western portion of America only. It’s a long story), nearly averted a strike. Negotiations had reached a point between the WGA (the union) and the AMPTP (the producers/studios), where a strike was imminent, but both sides were able to walk away from the table with a piece of what they wanted (the sign of any good deal.)
The takeaway wasn’t so much that, however, as it was that some of the new blood at the WGA was more determined than ever to make sure that for the next negotiation (slated for 3 years from now), the WGA’s bargaining power would be substantially more, well, powerful. And “new blood” is focused on several key things, not the least of which is making sure screenwriters, and not just television writers, are more fairly represented, and the vast majority of non-name, working screenwriters are more fairly paid.
Sundance is still bullish on films and new voices
Sundance, both the institute and the famous film festival, has been one of the major cultural voices of cinema for the better part of 30 years. When it says that it’s still excited about feature film and feature screenwriting, it’s wise to listen.
When asked in Variety Magazine about whether or not the indie film business has recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, Sundance Director John Cooper replied: “I think it’s stronger than when I took over.”
Studios may be cranking out 3-5 huge films per year, but indie filmmakers who send their films to Sundance number in the thousands. A similar point can be made of almost any of the world’s great indie film festivals and institutions – nobody sees film going away anytime soon.
So take heart, film is not dead, and feature screenwriting has many rich opportunities to exploit over, at least, the near term.
Now, time to get those writing samples out and shipped out to some writers rooms. I hear they’re making a new Transformers movie and they need 14,051 new writers for it.
Guest post courtesy of Screenplayreaders.com.
