tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7589733009281447335..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: The WGA vs. ATA (agents)By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7079593582276237612019-03-20T17:55:50.565-07:002019-03-20T17:55:50.565-07:00Thoughts on this?
https://apnews.com/5f298f618948...Thoughts on this?<br /><br />https://apnews.com/5f298f6189484e759c5791665e4d9ff5Tom in Vegasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43110458492770390252019-03-20T16:41:45.277-07:002019-03-20T16:41:45.277-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Tom Gallowaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13963192647095346402019-03-20T14:57:49.979-07:002019-03-20T14:57:49.979-07:00Well this intra-family squabble is tearing APART m...Well this intra-family squabble is tearing APART my Noth Ontario Hollywood-screenwriters-obssessed village.<br /><br />Two nervous breakdowns....lunch dates being broken all over town....picketing of the local mary-gee-wanna dispensary because one of the girls who works there wrote a play....ONCE!<br />And "the suits"-defenders in town (there's three), are so non-plussed, they're off to Ell-Eh to see what the pickin's are like.<br /><br />Please....can't we all get (well-compensated) along.DrBOPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179469265158025584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22276725332965865292019-03-20T14:52:23.815-07:002019-03-20T14:52:23.815-07:00I am sick of Tarantino's crap. The man's h...<i>I am sick of Tarantino's crap. The man's hubris to number out his shitty movies and this one he says is his 9th. How many more before he drops dead...</i><br /><br />Nine is important to fans (and maybe detractors who somehow feel forced to see his pictures anyway) because he's said that he'll stop with 10.Todd Everettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53080300182265926532019-03-20T14:04:29.644-07:002019-03-20T14:04:29.644-07:00David Simon says in the article that he still work...David Simon says in the article that he still works with David Jacobs and considers him one of the semi-good guys. It's Matt Snyder whom he really takes to task (and another individual he can't name because of an out-of-court settlement).Andy Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9251910977917772272019-03-20T12:12:09.631-07:002019-03-20T12:12:09.631-07:00I don't know if you're psychic or if your ...I don't know if you're psychic or if your Magic 8-Ball is working overtime, but it seems that every time I decide to give writing a serious effort you put up a blog like this one. Very discouraging. <br />As I've said in previous blogs, what's the point of even getting out of bed in the morning? <br />M.B. Mike Bloodworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04755626259169126800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56682402827360376912019-03-20T11:53:02.642-07:002019-03-20T11:53:02.642-07:00Even if your agent wants what's best for you, ...Even if your agent wants what's best for you, the conflict of interest is probably irresistible. That agent might be your friend, but when word comes down from above -- and agency is always going to value millions in profits over the clients' welfare -- they're not going to work on your behalf. <br /><br />There's no way to negotiate for both sides, and worse, the payment that Simon extracted from CAA suggests they know it too. With book publisher contracts demanding movie rights and (essentially) ebook rights forever, and agencies pulling crap like this, it's clear writers have few friends out there. Let's hope the WGA works something out. Tom Chandlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12606490006697803189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79714361513906295942019-03-20T11:05:19.619-07:002019-03-20T11:05:19.619-07:00I realize more and more from reading this blog, an...I realize more and more from reading this blog, and the anecdotes about network suits, agents, and other players, how much of a miracle it is to get a truly artistically worthy show produced in the first place. MASH, CHEERS, SEINFELD, FRASIER, just to name the top of the list, had to fight against incredible odds just to survive their first season. It must have been an uphill battle fighting every kind of jungle snake predator (mixing my metaphors in the best way here). <br /><br />I suspect the industry relies on a steady stream of new talent, which then can be rooked into the bait-and-switch: You have your creative idea, they green-light it, and tell you how great you are. You get confident for awhile, thinking you've made it--then you are sucked into their vortex of self-serving commercial crap, because advertising revenue controls it all, and you're really just disposable.<br /><br />Seems like the story of American life all around.Frank Beansnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4988105028060256892019-03-20T10:25:19.527-07:002019-03-20T10:25:19.527-07:00One more head rolls due to sex scandal. Warner Bro...One more head rolls due to sex scandal. Warner Bros head steps down.<br /><br />Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34423480601742866282019-03-20T09:16:24.658-07:002019-03-20T09:16:24.658-07:00Ken, the teaser for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood ...Ken, the teaser for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is out and you get a glimpse of 60s Los Angeles that Tarantino has recreated.<br /><br />https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Scf8nIJCvs4 Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12816245616741082012019-03-20T07:26:28.259-07:002019-03-20T07:26:28.259-07:00I know nothing about show biz except what I've...I know nothing about show biz except what I've read on your blog, but it strikes me that there are similarities to what's happening in the corporate world, i.e. stick it to the employees, then complain when they quit that "people don't want to work hard anymore."<br /> <br />McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90537156488767057322019-03-20T07:12:37.065-07:002019-03-20T07:12:37.065-07:00Pay the writer - Harlan Ellison.
https://www.yout...Pay the writer - Harlan Ellison.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE<br /><br />Sadly that video's comment section is full of morons berating writers for asking what is rightfully theirs.<br /><br />Tednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47748380225477736742019-03-20T07:02:59.417-07:002019-03-20T07:02:59.417-07:00The problem is that there's no one-size-fits-a...The problem is that there's no one-size-fits-all scenario with agents, who can be as variable in their dealings with you as people are in general. The best a contract can do is set basic minimums of service so at least being screwed over is discouraged.<br /><br />I worked years as a freelancer for one of the big four agencies. At first I was valued because I could explain why a proposed script was artistically sound and commercially viable. Then my damned honesty got in the way of agents who wanted to push a lousy screenplay attached to an irresistible package, while other agents still wanted my input regarding clients they wanted good material for. <br /><br />Bizarre as it seems, I wound up writing positive coverage within internal documents under a pseudonym so that my name would not be on record endorsing stuff I knew would bomb. All I'd say was stuff like, "This is a script. It has a story and characters. Consider it." A year later, the film would go down the toilet and careers were hurt, but by then the agent had gotten a hefty commission and moved on to other deals. In the end, I was called into the story editor's office and told I would have to be let go because they had to cut back on costs and couldn't afford two sets of notes... honest and short-term profitable. You can guess which of the two they needed more. A studio grabbed me a month later, but I lost all the clients who had regularly asked for me at the agency.<br /><br />Sooner or later the artists burned by such practices would have to demand fair dealing, which is what we see here. David Simon was properly livid when he found that his agency was shorting him because they represented both sides of the negotiations for HOMICIDE. At the same time, I've worked on teams who built the careers of major performers as carefully as a military operation. Hopefully the current negotiations will end up on the side of honesty and long-term profitability. E. Yarbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78922840392741918332019-03-20T06:36:14.019-07:002019-03-20T06:36:14.019-07:00I am far away but I do follow a lot about Hollywoo...I am far away but I do follow a lot about Hollywood especially the agents and their commissions.<br /><br />Seeing "Entourage" I was able to comprehend that anyone who wants to work in Hollywood needs an agent. Without an agent, no matter how talented you are or how good a script you have, you can't enter the show business.<br />And bigger the star, more people will take a cut like Manager, Publicist, Accountant.<br /><br />They should make a movie or a documentary on how writers have been cheated by these agencies. It would make a very compelling story.<br /><br />Dhruvnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55103602520263156882019-03-20T06:17:30.856-07:002019-03-20T06:17:30.856-07:00Here's a solution in that blog which sounds go...Here's a solution in that blog which sounds good.<br /><br />"As a former prosecutor, and current Co-EP (on everything from Law & Order to Man in the High Castle), the history of packaging looks to me a lot like a text book account of a long-term RICO violation. And, as Simon says, if some smart, ambitious Asst US Atty or even a NY or LA Ass’t DA (as I once was, in NY COUNTY under the legendary Robert Morgenthau) wants to pursue the matter, all I can say is that careers have been made on far less. Mendacity and breach of fiduciary duty is a terrible thing, and the civil actions such behavior may or may not give rise to are all well and good, but the power of the prosecutor is just so much more, well, powerful.<br /><br />But to take Simon’s position a step further: it seems to me it is not enough merely to undo the decades of corrupt practices (the C in RICO, btw, stands for “Corrupt”) by civil and/or criminal actions. Should the members of the WGA vote yes to prohibit packaging, terrific; I am certainly voting YES. But going forward we should maybe think about some form of reparations, and the form that comes to mind to this recovering attorney (and no matter what any of the other Law & Order writers say, and they are all friends and sometimes colleagues, I coined that term) is a 20-year reduction of commissions, from 10% to 5%. Think about it: the WGA gets rid of the Rotten Crass Indigestible Oppression (not what RICO stands for, by the way; Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization is the real acronymic) of packaging, and then sticks the knife in deeper by unilaterally dropping the commission rate five points. No packaging fees! No ten per cent!<br /><br />And if the agents at the big four kick and scream, let them. There are a lot of young, hungry entertainment attorneys and agents out there who will work their butts off for that 5 per cent, especially if it is 5 per cent of a FUCK WAD LOT MORE MONEY.<br /><br />PS – If Simon wants somebody to go with along with him to slash tires, well, I’m from Brooklyn, and it won’t be the first tires I’ve slashed."<br /><br /><br />https://davidsimon.com/but-im-not-a-lawyer-im-an-agent/comment-page-1/#comments<br /><br />Lot of writers have commented, I was seeing if you have? Michael Elias who sued CAA has a commented too.<br /><br />Claranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74311813614323500222019-03-20T06:11:10.751-07:002019-03-20T06:11:10.751-07:00On the topic of agents, what do you think of Brodi...On the topic of agents, what do you think of Brodie Van Wagenen becoming the Mets' General Manager? One day he's negotiating with the team while representing Jacob deGrom, and the next day he's representing the team and negotiating against deGrom's new agent. I like Van Wagenen in general, but how is this not an incredible conflict of interest?slgchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05947656936483533667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30872963440087487912019-03-20T06:10:12.584-07:002019-03-20T06:10:12.584-07:00I knew you would be on this when I read David Simo...I knew you would be on this when I read David Simon's rant yesterday.Jeff Weimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07802456524746485019noreply@blogger.com