David Simonfavorite creator The wire, joined the Writers Guild of America strike in defense of the future of Hollywood. During an interview with More Perfect Union, Simon perfectly summed up the reasons for the strike in a way that only a master storyteller can, explaining the complex legal battle between the WGA and the Film and Television Producers Alliance in terms that everyone can understand.
Last March, the WGA began negotiations with AMPTP so that Hollywood writers can get a fair wage for all their hard work. Unfortunately, AMPTP refused to negotiate, which eventually led to the WGA approving a nationwide strike. The strike has already affected dozens of TV shows and movies, and if a deal isn’t reached soon, the Hollywood machine could be completely frozen in the next few months. Of course, on the outside, people are wondering why the writers are on strike and when their favorite series will return to production. Simon does a great job of explaining the situation by comparing the current work contracts being offered to writers to the one he got on the first TV show he ever worked on. Homicide: Life on the Street. As Simon recalls:
“Look, when I came into business -Murder the season was production, pre-production, production, post - I had 30 weeks. Sometimes more, depending on the episodes. You can make a living from this. And then the other 20 weeks when you don’t work, fine. You know, we were paid at a decent enough rate. You keep your money, you wait for this next season, or if the show doesn’t get picked, you find another one. You always had to find a gig, but a gig will make you enough money so you can afford a mortgage or health insurance. Now they will open the mini-room and say, “Here’s the paycheck for three weeks.” And by the way, we don’t guarantee that you’ll get a script for a script fee. Just three weeks’ pay. Just come and give us your ideas. We can put on a show, we can hire you. We may not hire you and then go look for another show, or we’re not sure we’ll book the show. Let’s see if we book a show. But while we decide, don’t take another job. We signed a contract with you for three weeks of work, and you must survive, and for this you must create a family. This is madness.”
What does the WGA want from the strike?
During the interview, Simon also highlighted how the television business has changed with the advent of streaming platforms and the increased focus on shorter seasons. According to Simon, new contracts should take these changes into account because:
For example, when I was working on “Murder,” had 22 episodes. Thus, the writers had a chance to get more work. We have been in the state longer. All episodes were - for lack of a better word - episodic, that is, they were all connected into one big story. You couldn’t do it at 22. So you couldn’t write them all before the season started. So basically they needed writers to stick around and make this show work. As the broadcast model disappeared, with shorter seasons—with episodes that require higher production quality or more in-depth story development at an earlier stage—they were able to quickly pay off the writers. They’ll make a prep room for eight, nine or ten weeks with pay, demand scripts from everyone in advance, and then leave the showrunner alone, or with perhaps minimal help on set, to make any necessary changes. Every time you lose a seat, or every time you see something not working with an actor, or every time you need to cut down on time. Turns out you don’t finish writing when you turn in the first draft of a script, or even a filming script. This is how you always write. And yet, they found a way to force showrunners to do double work and deprive other writers, story editors, and staff writers of nearly their entire paycheck. Well, it resulted in the kids not being able to pay their mortgages, especially the younger writers.”
While the way television is produced has changed, the need for writers to stay on set to ensure the quality of our favorite shows remains unchanged. Many people might think that a writer’s job ends when he writes scripts during pre-production, but as Simon explains:
“Script writing happens throughout production and it happens in post-production until we do the last ADR and we write the last intermediate material where we cut scenes and jump in time. I need writers. And you could ask me as showrunner and say, “Well, you’re a writer.” I also manage the whole concept of the show. I’m cutting tape. I’m doing contracts for next year. Showrunning has many facets. And if you’re saying, “Oh by the way, write everything yourself and don’t have a writing staff,” you’re essentially saying, “Okay, be a manager, be a producer in your title, and also write. The writers are saying here, “Look, it’s devastating to the core of the writing team, to keeping the writers that can keep the show going in the future, but it’s also an incredible burden.” Meanwhile, the writers who make a living doing this are told, “We don’t need you on set.” We don’t need you to do any of these jobs. We’ll get it from the showrunner.” So they cut it down to 8, 10 weeks of work. They cannot earn a living in a year. They’ve slipped into the gig economy, and they’re also not learning all the skill sets that will make them better writers and better producers. So you’re not growing the future.”
Screenwriters are really needed to make good TV. As such, having a writer’s room is also an important tool for teaching the next generation of writers how to handle many aspects of TV show production. Simon brilliantly sums up this need by saying:
“The truth about the film’s storytelling and form is that even people who don’t have a visual background, meaning the screenwriters, understand the story better than anyone, better than the actors. The actors understand their characters perfectly, better than the writers. Directors understand shots better than screenwriters. But it is the writers who understand the story. And that’s why when you give a full story, like on TV, they put the responsibility on the writer. Because when you get to episode 11, you’ll remember everything you set up in episode 1, which is a long way to go. And if you are not teaching people to understand this whole, you are not preparing for the future.”
The merger of major studios led to irrational cost cuts
During the interview, Simon also talked about how big studios have gone through several changes over the past few years. For example, Disney acquired Fox and Warner Bros. merged with Discovery. While merging giant companies under one banner may seem like a good business strategy, mergers can only be done by acquiring a lot of debt, which these companies try to offset by cutting costs in the short term instead of thinking about the future. Simon gets down to business again, saying:
“There’s a certain momentum that says, ‘I just have to cut costs. I don’t need to develop a business. I don’t, I don’t need to make it more creative. I don’t need to expand my subscriber base and convince more people to use my product. I just have to cut costs. This is the easiest and most brutal way. But what he does lays the foundation for the future. And if you think about what TV and movies are doing, what has made them and what will be done in the future, that’s history, that’s storytelling. And it starts with the writers.”
AI is a fee, not a replacement for the screenwriter
Simon also discussed WGA proposals to prevent studios from using AI to write movies and TV shows. In Simon’s words, “Anything, like a thesaurus, a dictionary, or a collection of quotes that can be quoted, can sit on a writer’s shelf and serve as a tool.” However, tools like AI cannot replace the writer because they are incapable of being creative. For Simon, AI writing “is a derivative form. You load all this crap into your computer and say, “Give me a proper cop show like any other stinky cop show or medical show or legal show.” And this derivative work will never break through.” Simon goes even further, comparing AI writing to copying a work of art. As the narrator explains:
“[AI writing] basically it’s like buying a photocopy of a print and hanging it on the wall. You know, it’s Starry Night, it’s Guernica, but no one will look at it with the same stern gaze as the real picture. And so I don’t mind the idea of it [AI] as a tool for writers. But don’t let the studio tell me, “Look, we ran it through the algorithm, and this is our favorite AI, and it will make a police show that will maximize our audience.” Because in the short term, you can fool some people into watching 10 episodes of crap. But over time, the number of views will decrease. Television has always had a certain amount of derivative crap. Always will be. But there was also an opportunity to create something new.”
Although Simon is a successful Hollywood writer who doesn’t have to worry about how much money he makes, he is still on the picket line defending the rights of the younger generation. Simon concludes:
“It’s a young writers’ strike, you know? I don’t get paid per episode, and I don’t get paid at the weekly rate, and I have a development contract - it can be canceled in five weeks due to a strike. But, you know, I went for a run, and everything is fine. Young people are growing up, they deserve a career. And some of them are great writers and great future writers. And they deserve a job, and this strike is for them.”
The Collider will be reporting all news from the WGA pickets throughout the duration of the strike. Check out Simon’s full interview below.
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Source: Collider
I have worked as a journalist for over 7 years and have written for many different publications. I currently work as an author at Daily News Hack, where I mostly cover entertainment news. I have a great deal of experience in the industry and am always looking to learn more. I am a highly motivated individual who is always looking to improve my skills. I am also a very friendly and personable person, which makes me easy to work with.
