A page of a screenplay, showcasing character dialogue, scene transitions, sluglines, and action lines
Ascreenwriter (also calledscriptwriter,scribe, orscenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known asscreenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television commercials, video games, and the growing area of online web series.[1]
In thesilent era, screenwriters were denoted by terms such asphotoplaywright,photoplay writer,photoplay dramatist, andscreen playwright.[2] Screenwriting historian Steven Maras notes that these early writers were often understood as being the authors of the films as shown, and argues that they could not be precisely equated with present-day screenwriters because they were responsible for a technical product, a brief "scenario", "treatment", or "synopsis" that is a written synopsis of what is to be filmed.[2]
Screenwriting is typically a contracted freelance profession, not a hired position. No education is required to be a professional screenwriter, but goodstorytelling abilities andimagination give aspiring screenwriters an advantage. Many screenwriters start their careers doingspeculative work ("work on spec"), practicing their screenwriting with no guaranteed financial compensation. If one of these scripts is sold, it is called aspec script. Amateur screenwriters will often pursue this work as "writers in training," leading these spec scripts to often go uncredited or come from unknown screenwriters.
Further separating professional and amateur screenwriters is that professionals are usually represented by atalent agency. These screenwriter-specific employment agencies work to handle the business side of the screenwriting job, typically taking on legal, financial, and other important representative roles for the screenwriter.[3] These professional screenwriters rarely work for free.
There are a legion of would-be screenwriters who attempt to enter thefilm industry, but it often takes years of trial and error, failure, and gritty persistence to achieve success. InWriting Screenplays that Sell, Michael Hague writes, "Screenplays have become, for the last half of [the twentieth] century, what theGreat American Novel was for the first half. Closet writers who used to dream of the glory of getting into print now dream of seeing their story on the big or small screen."[4]
Every screenplay and teleplay begins with a thought or idea, and screenwriters use their ideas to write scripts, with the intention of selling them and having them produced.[5] In some cases the script is based on an existing property, such as a book or person's life story, which is adapted by the screenwriter. In most cases, a film project is initiated by a screenwriter. The initiator of the project gets the exclusive writing assignment.[5] They are referred to as "exclusive" assignments or "pitched" assignments. Screenwriters who often pitch new projects, whether original or an adaptation, often do not have to worry about competing for assignments and are often more successful. When word is put out about a project that afilm studio,production company, or producer wants done, they are referred to as "open" assignments. Open assignments are more competitive. If screenwriters are competing for an open assignment, more established writers usually win the assignments. A screenwriter can also be approached and personally offered a writing assignment.
Many screenwriters also work as full- or part-timescript doctors, attempting to better a script to suit the desires of a director orstudio. For instance, studio management may have a complaint that the motivations of the characters are unclear or that the dialogue is weak.
Hollywood has shifted writers onto and off projects since its earliest days, and the assignment of credits is not always straightforward or complete, which poses a problem for film study. In his bookTalking Pictures,Richard Corliss discussed the historian's dilemma: "A writer may be given screen credit for work he didn't do (as withSidney Buchman onHoliday), or be denied credit for work he did do (as with Sidney Buchman onThe Awful Truth)."[6]
After a screenwriter finishes a project, they pair with an industry-based representative, such as a producer, director,literary agent, entertainment lawyer, or entertainment executive. The partnerships often pitch their project to investors or others in a position to further a project. Once the script is sold, the writer has only the rights that were agreed with the purchaser.[5]
A screenwriter becomes credible by having work that is recognized, which gives the writer the opportunity to earn a higher income.[5] As more films are produced independently (outside the studio system), many up-and-coming screenwriters are turning to pitch fests, screenplay contests, and independent development services to gain access to established and credible independent producers. Many development executives are now working independently to incubate their own pet projects.
Online platforms such asWriteSeen have emerged to help screenwriters showcase their scripts, pitch projects, and receive industry feedback in digitally timestamped environments.[7]
Screenwriters are rarely involved in the production of a film. Sometimes they come on as advisors, or if they are established, as a producer. Some screenwriters also direct. Although many scripts are sold each year, many do not make it into production because the number of scripts that are purchased every year exceeds the number of professional directors that are working in the film andTV industry. When a screenwriter finishes a project and sells it to afilm studio,production company, TV network, or producer, they often have to continue networking, mainly with directors or executives, and push to have their projects "chosen" and turned into films or TV shows. If interest in a script begins to fade, a project can go dead.
TheInternational Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG) is the international federation of screenwriters' and playwrights' unions, who recognize union membership across international borders. They have 14 different affiliates across various nations who collectively work to verify original authorship, fight for fair compensation, and enforce copyright.[8]
Most professional screenwriters in the U.S. areunionized and are represented by theWriters Guild of America (WGA). Although membership in the WGA is recommended, it is not required of a screenwriter to join. The WGA is the final arbiter on awardingwriting credit for projects under its jurisdiction. The WGA also looks upon and verifies film copyright materials.[9]
Other notable screenwriters' unions include theWriters' Guild of Great Britain, representing screenwriters in the UK, and La Guilde Française des Scénaristes, representing screenwriters in France.
Minimum salaries for union screenwriters in the US are set by theWriters Guild of America. The median compensation for a first draft from a first time screenwriter is $100,000, while the most experienced members have a median compensation of $450,000. The most experienced WGA members have reported up to $4,000,000 compensation for a first draft. Multi-step deals, where the writer is signed on for more than the first draft (typically including a rewrite) can earn a screenwriter more, with experienced WGA members earning up to $5,000,000 for their work.[10]
Non-union screenwriters can also work for a salary, but will typically earn less than a unionized screenwriter. Pay can vary dramatically for a non-unionized screenwriter.
Against: A word used to describe a script's unproduced price relative to its value if approved for production—for example, if a script is sold for $300,000, but the writer gains an extra $200,000 if it leads to production, the screenwriter's salary is described as "$300,000 against $500,000".[citation needed]
Option: If a script is not purchased, it may be optioned. An option is money paid in exchange for the right (the "option") to produce—and therefore to purchase outright—a screenplay, treatment, or other work within a certain period.
Feature assignment: The writer writes the script on assignment under contract with a studio, production company, or individual.
Pitch: The writer holds a five- to twenty-minute presentation of the film to buyers in a short meeting.
Rewriting: The writer rewrites someone else's script for pay. The writer pitches their "take", much like they would an original pitch.
Spec script: Short for "speculative" or "on speculation" as in; "She wrote her script on spec". The writer writes the script (original or someone else's idea) without being paid, and, subsequently, tries to sell it.
1900: One of the U.S.'s first screenwriters, New York journalistRoy McCardell, is hired to write ten scenarios (each about 90 seconds long) for $15 each (equivalent to $567 in 2024).[11]
1949:Ben Hecht is paid $10,000 a week (about $132,154 in 2024).[12] ClaimsDavid O. Selznick paid him $3,500 a day (about $46,300 in 2024).
1990: Kathy McWorter, who was promoted by her agent as a 21-year-oldwunderkind, though in fact she was 28 years old, sells her sex comedyThe Cheese Stands Alone for $1 million.[13] This was followed by nuclear-terrorist technothrillerThe Ultimatum byLaurence Dworet and Robert Roy Pool, and WWII action comedyHell Bent... and Back! byDoug Richardson andRick Jaffa, both of which sold for a million dollars. None of these movies has been produced so far.
1992:Sherry Lansing is hired[14] to runParamount and spends $3.6 million in less than a week, $2.5 million for a two-page outline ofJade byJoe Eszterhas,[15] and $1.1 million (about $1,968,366 in 2018) for the scriptMilk Money byJohn Mattson.[16] Both deals are records, respectively, for outlines and romantic comedy specs.
^abcdFerguson, Brooks (17 April 2009). "Creativity and integrity: Marketing the "in development" screenplay".Psychology and Marketing.26 (5):421–444.doi:10.1002/mar.20281.
^Corliss, Richard.Talking Pictures: Screenwriters in the American Cinema, 1927–1973, Overlook Books, 1974, p. 78
