It looks like Mr. Clooney and the WGA are no longer sleeping in the same bed. we get wind of this domestic crisis thanks to the professionals at Variety:
Clooney went financial core last fall, after the WGA decided 2-1 in a credit arbitration vote that only Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly deserved screen credit on the picture that Universal opens today. Clooney says he would have quit the WGA altogether if he could, but that would have prevented him from working on all WGA-covered productions. He says he wanted nothing more to do with the WGA but didn’t want to be hampered in his ability in writing scripts. By going fi-core, writers withhold the portion of dues spent by the WGA on non-contract activities — while still being able to write scripts. Fi-core writers pay dues that are 1.9% less than regular members; they also can’t vote on contracts or in any WGA election.
As for “Leatherheads,” Clooney took a languishing 17-year old project and got a greenlight after personally giving the script a major overhaul that transformed it into a screwball comedy. He says he felt he’d written all but two of the film’s scenes. While he agreed that Brantley and Reilly deserved first position credit for hatching the idea and characters, he was incensed enough by the WGA arbitration process to go financial core, which rendered him a dues-paying non-voting member.
The news piece goes on to state that Clooney did not divulge his feelings when the verdict was first given because the WGA was in the process of “gearing up for a strike”. From what I am reading, it certainly does look like Clooney was treated unfairly. He doesn’t want top billing, only acknowledgment of the fact that he re-wrote much of the film into a different animal. If someone adds anything to any screenplay, no matter how small, I would certainly deem it fair and appropriate to give them credit. On principle I agree with Clooney, and his action is an appropriate response to such a needless affront to his contributions.
I am not certain how on earth this ruling happened. Perhaps I am just ignorant to the rules and regulations of the WGA – but if you are going to vote against George (Mr. Hollywood) Clooney, you better be making an air tight case for your actions; and I just don’t see it. Clooney has now chosen to be a back bencher. If he wants to work, he has to be a part of the union; but it is clear that he would have preferred to leave altogether.
I am interested in knowing if any of our readers side with the WGA. If so, please share with us why you do and illuminate why you think Clooney is in the wrong. I would like to know both sides of this story, because from where I am sitting now – it looks like George got fucked over by the people that should’ve had his back.
@ZapRowsdower
Since unions are created by the workers themselves, you are then, in effect saying that those who form and/or participaate in them are also currupt. Never mind that the reason most form and/or join unions to protect themselves from occasional management arbitrary behavior in thier respected work fields.
When you say “all” you include “all” in one huge lump.
So, we are not just talking WGA or even SAG then. Not only the DGA but also…
We also include the UAW.
We also include the NEA.
We also include the AFF.
We also include the APWU.
That’s just a few.
Are all of these “currupt” unions?
So, if that’s true…
*All those who work building your car is currupt;
*All those who teach in schools and universities are currupt;
*All the firefighters in the entire United States are currupt;
*All the people who work for the mail/UPS/Fed Ex are currupt.
But if you strictly meant those in the entertainment field, why watch television and go to films when all of the actors, writers, directors, production designers, editors, cinematographers etc are all currupt?
And what’s your debate on this?
Calling those who disagree morons.
So be it.
I’ll be the moron who likes his car made in the USA.
I’ll be the moron who supports education.
I’ll be the moron who supports those risking thier lives to protect me and/or my neighbor when disaster strikes.
I’ll be the moron who likes to get his tax refund refund in the snail mail (and stuff from UPS)
I’ll also be joined a million other morons who will watch TV and films because you know, we all love currupt people.
We hate you.
No matter how much you contribute, if you contribute ANYTHING, you should get credit for it, end of story. I don’t see how there can be people arguing against that.
I’ve been involved in arbitrations on both sides (and been an arbiter – last month in fact) and the primacy is ALWAYS given to the original writer(s) if only to prevent powerful producers/actors/directors from coming along, changing a few words and saying “Hey, I co-wrote this.” In fact, to reduce their incentive to do so.
If actors who rewrote scripts got credit, every movie in the theater would be “written by” the biggest star in it. They change the lines anyway. Giving them this credit whenever it’s requested, it’s rightly felt, would only give them more reason to alter every script they accepted. That would hurt the films, and demean the contribution of the original writers, some of whom work on a script for literally a decade, only to have Joe Movie Star ask for a co-writing credit for a weekend brainstorming session at his house.
Some films (most, actually, these days) have many writers who “work on” the scripts. The Flintstones, as a famous example, believe it or not, had 23. Arbitration kicks in automatically when one of the people claiming credit is in a position of power over the others.
The final judgment is made by 3 members (the arbiters) chosen at random from a list of people who’ve worked in the field recently. They work anonymously. They don’t get the contending writers’ names: the scripts are identified only as being by Writer A, Writer B, etc. Each contributing writer hands in all of his/her drafts and a statement (stripped of identifying comments) as to why he/she deserves credit.
Then the arbiters read all the Guild rules for taking credit, all the anonymous statements, and all the drafts — sometimes dozens — and they vote. “The Guild” doesn’t make the final decision: these 3 professional screenwriters do.
There are arbitrations every day, in TV and in film. There’s at least one loser in each arbitration, sometimes 5 or 6. If every losing member quit the Guild there’d be no one left.
But the system is preferable to allowing the most powerful person on the film to decide. That’s the way it works in music and lyric writing for TV, and, strangely enough, in the 30 years I’ve also been intermittently doing that, every single piece of music or lyrics I’ve written has been “co-written” by the star or by the studio, or by someone’s wife or kid whom I never met. And there is no recourse or arbitration in music publishing; I split my royalties for all the songs I wrote with actors who can’t play an instrument or with studio execs I never met, because of the lack of a system such as the one the WGA has.
@darren
yes, every union is corrupt.
you moron.
I am not jumping on this bandwagon and I’ll tell you why.
“Arbitration” is a tricky thing, and while Clooney may have indeed “contributed” to the script, the ruling was that that he did not contribute enough. Does anyone really think this is the first time the WGA has left out a writer or two? Oh. <em? those bad, bad, bad people at the WGA</em? give me a freaking break.
I’d like to hear all sides of the story before I start saying Clooney got messed over. Granted, he did direct and star, so it’s highly possible he *did* have a lot of final say in the script. But…just changing it from a drama to a comedy…? I’m not convinced it was as much as he thinks. Speaking of which:
“he felt he’d written all but two of the film’s scenes”
So he does know what he wrote, or doesn’t he? And why is this news happening now? Shouldn’t it have happened before? Don’t hand me this “during the strike” nonsense. The film was already written (and re-written) before the strike.
One last thing. Int’l friends: not every uninon is “currupt”. The WGA isn’t “currupt”.
I’ll sleep in that bed:)
Of everyone in Hollywood I have to honestly say that I hold a lot of respect for George Clooney, especially with this move. He’s one of the few people who seems to have tried to keep some of the class and dignity that barely lingers on from a Hollywood of ages past.
It’s sad to see the WGA make this decision, they don’t deserve that kind of power considering the child-like actions of previous months. When you put other people, many of them hard working people, out of a job for what many had considered stupidity then you lost many points in my book. People deserve to have acknowledgment for their actions, be it via acting or major script rewriting, it’s a shame Clooney didn’t get any in the credits for what he did.
As any idea involving more than one person, it’s beauty is lost as soon as a second individual is added. Unions, guilds, governments are great ideas, in that, they’re ideas. As soon as they become practiced, corruption is imminent.
Still can’t find anything through the ‘nets. Anyone else get any hits?
@Zuke:
Of course the guilds/unions are as corrupt and greedy as the studios…why has it taken you so long to realize this? Anybody who thinks otherwise has clearly never dealt with a union.
I agree, it looks like they f*cked Clooney.
It’s things like this, the movie studios blaming piracy on falling ticket/DVD sales, and the RIAA blaming piracy on languishing CD sales, that make me believe most of the entertainment industry has their head up their collective arses. I supported the WGA in the strike, but this makes me think they’re as greedy and stupid as the studios.
Nothing like a monopoly on a multi-billion dollar industry… Sucks that you either HAVE to be part of the WGA (or other union) or take your chance being ostracized by the industry you love and pour all your efforts into making better. If a guy like Clooney would rather shut up and be a silent member in the industry than take a chance on doing his own thing with a stature and name as large as his, what chance does the “little guy” ever have?
I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but I’d like to see some more information come forth. In the meantime, Yahoo and Google searches will work.
Doug, any idea of a public statement from the WGA?