030 - WREXIT w/ Jasmine Jafari-Shull

Life, the Cineverse, and Everything

• Introduce Jasmine.
• Have you seen anything good recently?
  • The Twilight Zone (CBS) / Pet Sematary (1989) / Dumbo
• NEWS:
  • Netflix plans to buy historic Egyptian theater on Hollywood Blvd / Batman movies returning to theaters in May / Adam Sandler to host SNL for the first time on May 4 / A Dreamer’s Production
• Main Topic:
  • Our aspirations in Hollywood
  • Every working writer in Hollywood belongs to a union called the WGA – the WGA allows for Agents to negotiate salaries on the behalf of their members, but there are imposed minimums for those payments. (WGA Website / ATA Literature)
  • A year ago, according to the current AMBA, the WGA informed the Agencies that they wanted to renegotiate their agreement and notably, impose a “Code of Conduct” that will eliminate packaging fees and call for the dissolution of Agency-owned production companies (Endeavor Content owned by WME, etc.) to make their clients the focus of an agent’s attention.
  • WGA Explains Packaging Video
  • “Where agents once focused on the percentage they got as job finders for their writer, actor, and director clients, those at big outfits like WME, UTA, and CAA—which represent much of the industry’s A-list—now frequently play a bigger part in the overall deal-making process. That sometimes includes producing projects and packaging, which happens when agents combine multiple clients, such as a writer, actor, and/or director, and sell them to a studio as a—you guessed it—package. In such deals, which are how most scripted TV shows come to market now, agents forego the traditional 10 percent commission on the writers’ fees, instead of being paid directly by the studios. In return, they stand to reap more from the packaging fees they get from studios (parts of which are taken directly out of the project’s budget) than from commissions for getting a writer client work.” (Vanity Fair)
  • Mar 22 – a letter was published anonymously, outlining some glaring errors of the ATA and a Statement of Support was published by the WGA by 778 writers agreeing to fire their agents if no deal can be reached: Tina Fey, Alfonso Cuaron, James L. Brooks, Aaron Sorkin, Shonda Rhimes, Seth MacFarlane, Joss Whedon, Mike Schur, Colin Trevorrow, Mindy Kaling
    • Not signed: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Ava DuVernay, Lee Daniels, Dick Wolfe, Chuck Lorre, Marc Cherry, The Duffer Bros, Dan Fogelman…
  • Talks were supposed to expire at midnight on Sat, Apr 6th but were extended to April 12th at midnight instead.
• What are you looking forward to seeing/doing in the next few months?
  • Avengers Endgame (Apr 26) / Rocketman (May 31)
• Sign off.