The Pen is Mightier, But the Writer Still Gets Screwed

Where there is a person with ideas, talent, and a way, there are always going to be hundreds of more people waiting to capitalize grossly, (and I do mean grossly) from those ideas, exploit talent (and often claim it as their own), and do everything in their power to make the way that much more difficult, if not impossible - unless they happen to be pocketing most of the profits.

That is the way the world turns. Writers have for a long time been undermined, taken advantage of, and undervalued in the Hollywood system. But it doesn't end there. It's pretty difficult to be a writer at all these days. Even film writers in the indy world are never credited the way a director is. After throwing much of your soul into a script for months or even years, it is all too often unrecognizable once it hits the screen. So, creative interests aside, writers should at least be paid fairly. But it is usually the producers and the studios who profit handsomely from the work of writers. Why do we do it at all?

We write because we are writers, and that's what writers do. But we don't have to write as victims, silenced by the voices of studios and unfair contracts. It's time we write our own contracts, and make our own deals. The strike in progress is a simple attempt to be paid a fair percentage of what big execs are reaping from writers' work. I am brimming with pride that writers are standing up for themselves. As an aspiring screenwriter, it gives me hope that maybe these writers will make a difference, bring change to the studio system, and pave a smoother road for the next generation.
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