Credit “Additional literary material” approved by the Writers Guild – The Hollywood Reporter

Members of the East and West Writers Guild of America voted to grant “Supplementary Literary Material” credit to the feature film.

This credit will provide recognition for writers who were previously unable to receive feature film screening credits who, working under contract with the Guild, have been employed to help draft a script or sell or licensed the work for it and submitted “literary material” for the script, although they cannot claim the script’s authorship. 73 percent of voting members voted in favor of confidence. Voting on the credit referendum screen begins on November 2 and ends on November 15.

The proposed credit seeks to acknowledge the work of writers who don’t have the copyright to a film but still work on it: “Popular writers tend to have shorter resumes, less more complete and less accurate than television writers with comparable work histories,” the Guild said in a document explaining and FAQ members about the proposed change. The Association’s Screen Credit Evaluation Committee estimates that in 2020, approximately 185 writers who worked on films for which the WGA identified credits did not receive credit for their work and will has the credit “Additional Literary Materials”.

With these voting results, beginning January 1, 2022, the WGA may provide an “Additional Literary Credit” to writers during the credit determination process, with a final credit established. set to display on IMDb and the WGA “Find Writers” directory. Credits are not retroactive, and studios will have to determine for themselves whether to include credits in the end-of-movie crawl: Let the Credit Claims Association be included in the crawl At the end of the movie, they’ll have to negotiate that in the future the minimum basic agreement, and the WGA’s current TV and Stage Basic Agreement will expire after May 1, 2023.

However, the Guild did note that the TV “writer” credit provides a precedent for how to institutionalize the credit: The “writing staff” credit begins by adding exemptions, instead of entering the minimum basic guild agreement. “The association started allowing it in 2000, according to the systematized language. It quickly became the norm,” the Guild said in the document providing members with the proposed credit. The WGA has drafted a draft waiver for use by writers in individual contract negotiations with employers.

Over the past few weeks, the credit has sparked controversy among members of the Guild, with some advocates arguing the measure would help disadvantaged writers and some opponents arguing that the credit would strip the power of those with traditional screenwriting credits on a movie. In a statement from the WGA West Inclusion and Equity Team, signatories include Crazy Rich Asians Writers Adele Lim and Not safe showrunner Prentice Penny says that big-name writers often join a project late in the writing process to “polish dialogue, make characters targeted, or “authentic,” and often don’t receive credits. traditional use. “Join us in voting YES in the Screen Credits Referendum. Please stop erasing our hardworking members,” they wrote.

A separate group planned to turn down the proposal, including writer Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Scott Frank (Queen’s Gambit), meanwhile, said in a statement that the credit union would be to the detriment of writers in general: “It would cause increased confusion between the press and the already confused public, who who will draw conclusions about making sausages will be the case unwarranted. And it will expose more of the sausage-making process itself – a process ugly enough as it is today, and a single process that defiled the status of writers,” they wrote. Others opposed to the credit said it could expose writing of credits to abuse by employers and individuals in other key roles who may seek credit for Friends or talent only minimally work on one scenario.

During the debate, writers included former WGA West Presidents Howard A. Rodman and David A. Goodman and Rachel Bloom (Crazy ex-girlfriend), John August (Aladdin) and Colin Trevorrow (Star Wars: Episode IX – Rise of Skywalker) was born in favor of the “Supplementary Literary Materials” credit. Robert and Michelle King (Good fight) and Malcolm Spellman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) publicly opposed the credit.