the legend goes that samuel goldwyn, one of the great hollywood movie moguls of old, once said, “writers have all the power in hollywood. we just have to make sure that they never find out.”
the amount of power writers actually have varies from production to production, but more often than not, once the writer’s work is done and production starts, the director and production team take over leaving the writer to a) start work on the next project and b) wonder whether the script they toiled so hard over is being treated well or not.
a small percentage of writers are lucky enough to be on set for re-writes and will have some creative input in the editing phase, but the majority will only have a minor influence once the script has been handed over.
it doesn’t seem fair that someone who has put so much creativity into a piece of work has to sit back as others bastardise and make changes to the work you have done – sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. but they are still changing what you have done.
that’s fair enough to a certain extent as film is a collaborative process, which is one of the reasons i love working in this industry. (there is nothing better than sitting down with a writer, director and producer to discuss a script and find that everybody clicks and the project improves as a result). and hopefully you have been paid well for your work.
what i do find difficult to take is how the balance of influence seems to be misplaced. why is it that a writer has less overall influence than some others involved in the production of a feature film? that is a question that has been discussed for decades with no clear answer, but regardless of what the answer to that question is, it just doesn’t seem right that the person that started the ball rolling – in fact actually built the ball, often from scratch – is left twiddling their thumbs wondering how everything will turn out.
rightly or wrongly, film is a director’s medium – you only have to look at the ridiculous “a film by…” credit! – and seems that it will remain so for the time being, but that doesn’t mean a writer should lie down and take it!
some writers end up deciding to direct their own scripts, which gives them much more creative control. however, that is also very time consuming, and a lot of writers either don’t want to commit to that – because they want to write – or they find it hard to be given the opportunity because they don’t have the experience.
that is why more and more writers are becoming writer-producers.
here’s a list of names for you – all have served as writer-producers. some have also directed, but the titles listed here are writer-producer credits only.
steven zaillian – girl with the dragon tattoo (2011), american gangster
mark boal – the hurt locker
matthew vaughn – the debt
rick jaffa/amanda silver – rise of the planet of the apes
charlie kaufman – being john malkovich, human nature, adaptation, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
and not forgetting luc besson who has been doing this for many years and has 22 credits as writer-producer on top of the films he wrote, produced and directed!
a separate list would include people like judd apatow or j.j. abrams who are ‘multi-hyphenates’, but are chiefly thought of in the industry as producers who write, and occasionally direct.
to show that you don’t have to be a big shot writer to be a writer-producer, here is another list of writer-producers on lower-budget, independently produced films that have also found relative success.
steven gaydos – road to nowhere
brandon freeman/heath freeman – skateland
deborah calla – a beautiful life
robert longstreet – septien
all of these films have been released in the last 6 months alone and account for less than half of the films released on the independent circuit with a writer-producer credited, so it is possible to become a writer-producer regardless of your experience or the size of the film as long as you do the work.
if you are a writer than wants to hold on to a certain amount of creative control then you should try and work your way to a producer’s role. there are three main producer credits of any weight for you to choose from –
‘producer’ – you could become the major producer of the film, controlling the hiring and firing, the financial and organizational aspects of the whole production. this, however, is even more time consuming than being a director. you would be on the project longer than anyone else, and would need to be available to everyone 24/7. unless you have the energy of the duracell bunny, chances are that it will be unlikely that you would be able to write your next masterpiece and produce a film at the same time.
‘executive producer’ – this is where you would aid the production financially in some way, either through your own private financing or by deferring some or all of your fee in return for more input down the line. an executive producer credit is also the one given to a writer who has been on a project at an earlier stage, but when the project takes a different direction and the writer leaves, they are given this credit as a thank you and/or a pay-off.
‘associate producer’ – this is by far the most appealing of the producer credits for a writer. the definition is often confused with the ‘executive’ credit, but whereas the ‘executive’ is predominantly a silent partner, the ‘associate’ is defined as a person who has done an extensive amount of creative work throughout the production – enough to warrant more than a straightforward writing credit. this would mean that you might have been doing extensive re-writes on set, probably outside what has been set out in your contract, or had some input during the editing phase, as well as perhaps having input with the actors and other creatives in rehearsals or pre-production. you would give up a certain amount of time performing this role, but you would be able to split your time between production and writing your next script. this, to me, makes it the optimal producing role for a writer who wants some creative control, but who also wants time to move on with other projects.
a fourth, lesser credit is that of ‘creative producer’. this is a more ephemeral title, and is used on smaller films as someone who has been highly involved on the creative side in the early stages, chiefly in development, but has little influence during production and post. on larger films the ‘creative producer’ is someone who has been involved in creating a specific world, storylines and characters designed for a potential franchise, where the work done at the beginning will be carried on through subsequent films.
it isn’t easy getting a producer credit as they are rarely given up lightly, and you will really have to put the work in for others to consider you worthy of the extra credit. bear in mind that it is the main producer that hands out these titles so it really depends on who you are working with and how willing they are to share the credit! you will need to gauge the relationship you have with the producer and the amount of additional work you have done before negotiating whether you are eligible for a production credit or not.
so are you a writer that wants to retain as much creative control as possible, or are you a writer that is willing to put your trust in others to do their jobs and to do them well? are you happier spinning your stories in the seclusion of your writing space, perhaps enjoying the process more than the end result, or are you the sort of writer that has the patience to follow a project through to the very end?
either route is commendable and both have their advantages and disadvantages. take things project by project and as long as you’re enjoying your work then that is what matters the most!
if you have any questions about becoming a writer-producer, then you can either leave a comment or send me an e-mail – phil@scriptguyphil.com
happy writing
phil
scriptguyphil 