(Article 13.B.9.) If you fail to adhere completely to these provisions, you risk not being paid for your work. Be sure to include a written request or invoice for payment. The best way to help prevent free rewrites is to perform work only at the request of the person(s) named in your contract as authorized to request revisions and to deliver your materials to the place and to the person(s) identified in your contract as being authorized to accept delivery. The Company must specify in your contract the name(s) of the person(s) who may authorize you to write, and where and to whom to deliver material. You must contact and notify any other writers assigned to work concurrently. You should ensure that any source material referenced in your contract is owned by the Company at the time of the assignment and that your contract properly identifies and references the same materials upon which the work is to be based. (Article 18) Click here to download the Article 18 form to submit to Companies.Ĥ. The Company must also indicate in your individual employment agreement whether the material is in turnaround from another company and, if so, the name of such company. The Company must also include in your employment agreement the names of all other writers then or previously employed by the Company on the same material, or from whom the Company purchased the material on which you are employed (including, in the case of a remake, the names of the credited writers of the prior photoplay). Also, the Company must notify you of any writers hired to write simultaneously with you and of any writers hired subsequent to you. Likewise, the Company must notify you of any other materials upon which the work is to be based. The Company must notify you of any writers who preceded you on the project. This is prohibited "speculative writing." (Article 20.B., Working Rule #14) For example, the producer may not say "Write up the story and, if I like it, I'll pay for it."ģ. The Company may not ask you to perform any services for which payment is contingent upon the acceptance or approval of the material. (Article 13.B.7., Working Rule #4) For example, know up front if you will be asked to write a separate story, or if you will go directly to teleplay.Ģ. The Company must tell you the number of writing "steps" and the amount of money you are to be paid for each step. Before you are employed, you should clarify with the Company the writing services you are being hired to perform. Please call the WGAW Contracts Department at (323) 782-4501, or the WGAE Contracts Department at (212) 767-7837, if you have any questions.ĭownload "What Every Writer Needs to Know". Note: WGA jurisdiction includes all employment by a signatory Company for writing services, options/sales of literary material by "professional writers" to a signatory Company, and options/sales by writers the Company agrees to treat as "professional writers" as that term is defined in the MBA. The word "Company" refers to entities that are signatory to the MBA it also refers to authorized representatives of the employing and/or purchasing Company. The references listed after each provision refer either to the MBA or the Guild's Working Rules. In the event anything herein contradicts the MBA, the MBA controls. However, do not use this guide as a substitute for the MBA as it is not intended to and does not alter the provisions of the MBA in any way. Specific MBA Articles, Appendices and Credits Schedules are referenced throughout this guide. Do not rely on the fact that a company has produced other films or that the company promises to become signatory or that other companies with similar names are signatory to the MBA. Before accepting employment or selling literary material, we urge you to call the WGAW Signatories Department at (323) 782-4514 or the WGAE Signatories Department at (212) 767-7837, or use the Signatory Company Confirmation Lookup tool online, to ensure that the relevant employing or purchasing Company is signatory. In fact, if you are a WGA member, it is a violation of the Guild’s Working Rules if you perform services for a company or sell literary material to a company that is not signatory to the MBA. If you work for a non-signatory company, the Guild cannot guarantee you the protections afforded under the MBA. A Guild signatory company is a company that has agreed to be bound by the terms of the MBA. To ensure that you are able to take advantage of the many protections afforded by the MBA, you must deal only with Guild signatory Companies. It also contains other information beneficial to writers working on films under the Writers Guild's jurisdiction. The purpose of this guide is to provide you, the writer, with a quick reference to some of the rights to which you may be entitled under the WGA Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement (better known as the "MBA"). Screenplays of the 21st Century (so far).Discrimination in Hiring & Representation.
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