Company Town

As you know, we’re heading toward a crucial period in the Guild’s negotiation with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (the AMPTP). The Negotiating Committee needs your help and they’ve asked us, the screenwriters on the Committee, to reach out to you.

You’re probably also aware that the studios are stampeding to rush projects into production. Each day brings more rumors of projects being rewritten, green-lit, brought back from the dead. As best we can tell, there are some 180 active projects heading toward pre-production, about three times the norm.

This week, however, comes a rumor that the studios will not assign any more writing projects until things ‘stabilize’. Some of this is gossip, some of it disinformation. To make crucial decisions in the forthcoming weeks, the Committee and the Guild need to have a clear and reliable picture of what is actually going on. We, the feature film screenwriters, are the best source of that reliable information so we’re reaching out for an overview of the current and projected screenplay work. The TV writers on the Negotiating Committee are also reaching out to TV writers to gather information about television production schedules.

We understand this is extremely sensitive information and we want to assure you that the sole purpose of the attached questionnaire is to make strategic decisions as to how to be most effective in applying or not applying the threat of a withdrawal of labor. The information provided by you will NOT be used for any other purpose and will remain absolutely confidential. If you’re not comfortable with anything in the questionnaire please do not hesitate to contact any of us through the Guild. We’ll be happy to discuss your concerns with you personally.

This is the crucial contract negotiation of our time. With this information, we on the Negotiating Committee can focus the power that our solidarity and resolve has brought to these negotiations so far.

Please work with us as we move toward a just and enduring contract.

Sincerely,

Andrew Bergman
Bill Condon
Stephen Gaghan
Terry George
Carl Gottlieb
Susannah Grant
Marc Norman
Ed Solomon

Writer XXX

1. You are listed as a writer on the film, XXX. Are you currently working on this project?
2. If not, have you finished all writing on the project, or are you scheduled to provide writing services on this project in the future?
3. If you are not the current writer on this project, who do you believe is the current writer?
4. What is the nature of the writing services you are doing/have done/will do on the project?
5. How close to completion is the writing on this project?
6. What is the projected start date for principal photography for this project?
7. Is this the kind of project that is likely to require significant ongoing rewriting during principal photography?
8. What is the projected release date for this project?
9. Are there other persons on your production that would step in and finish the writing if you were unable to finish it? Have you heard of any contingency plans?
10. What in your opinion would be the impact on this project of a WGA strike on November 1st?
11. Any other information you have about this project or any other project(s) that you believe would be helpful to us?