In order to negotiate with major trade unions, American film companies and television companies formed a film and television producer alliance, and the rights were mainly controlled by a communication team established by the six major Hollywood giants.

Before this, the alliance and the screenwriter union signed a "Basic Agreement", a contract that needs to be renewed every three years.

The content agreed in the Basic Agreement is very detailed, including the minimum wage standard for screenwriters, signature agreements, dispute arbitration procedures, film and television replays and other income sharing, pension and welfare, etc.

Now, three years have come again, and new negotiations are about to begin.

For the specific meeting negotiations, Donn did not attend, and sent Shirley Lansing and Amy Pascal as representatives.

The current situation is that New Global is at its peak. In the film and television producer league, New Global, Time Warner and Disney are the three major giants with the most say.

At the end of the meeting, there was an additional meeting report on Tang En's desk.

The Screenwriter Association has put forward many requirements for renewal.

First, we require increasing screenwriters’ income, especially those screenwriters whose salaries have not yet reached the welfare line;

Second, require reasonable family holiday policies;

Third, solve the long-term low salary of comedy variety show screenwriters;

Fourth, the remaining remuneration standards for high-budget video on-demand services that are comparable to the industry level will be increased by at least three percentage points;

Fifth, solve the salary drop problems encountered by screenwriters in a relatively short TV broadcast season;

Sixth, further solve the script fee problem of screenwriters and pay them in full the copyright fees for broadcasting their works on cable TV, DVD, and the Internet;

Seventh, improve the status of screenwriters and cancel the eye-catching big words "This is a movie shot by a certain director" at the beginning of the movie because this is an indifference to the screenwriter's work...

In addition, there are many requirements for medical insurance, pension, etc.

To sum up, the Labor Screenwriters Association hopes to promote a welfare contract worth up to $300 million, while the producer will only offer a contract of $120 million.

There is a huge difference of $180 million!

This little money is really nothing to Tang En.

However, Tang En would not agree to any of these absurd conditions!

This is not a matter of money, it is a matter of principle!

It was like a lion's mouth!

The total value of the contract signed in 2001 was only US$1.1. This time, the producer took the initiative to raise the quotation of US$10 million, and the Screenwriters Association was really red and directly raised the quotation by US$190 million!

Do you use Hollywood as a welfare home?

In the past few years, due to the economic crisis and the "lipstick effect", the film and television entertainment market has developed very well, and the screenwriters' appetite has naturally become bigger.

In fact, the average annual salary in the Los Angeles area is only $54,000. However, the average annual salary of screenwriters is $200,000, far exceeding the income of ordinary people.

Hollywood pays screenwriters much higher than expected.

The Screenwriter Association has a total of 12,000 members. Even if it really signs a 3-year and 300 million US dollars welfare contract, the average annual welfare guarantee that each person receives is 8,500 US dollars.

It can be seen that the main group that threatens strikes are those low-level screenwriters who cannot afford to eat. In order to increase the welfare guarantee of 5,000 US dollars per year, they will not hesitate to strike and cause billions of dollars in economic losses.

Anyway, they are already at the bottom, and no matter how much the losses they cause, they will not have much impact on their living conditions.

Therefore, Tang En is very resistant to this kind of strike threat. This act of lifting the table is equivalent to destroying the overall situation for his own selfishness.

In today's world, the fastest-growing countries... are all countries without trade unions and strikes.

The economic slowdown in Europe and North America is largely due to the great power of trade unions, which makes macro policies unable to be implemented.

Tang En intends to improve the treatment of the screenwriter, but he is not interested in donating money to some lazy guys, even if he doesn't care about that little money.

"Jonathan, what do you think about this?"

Don called Jonathan Nolan to his office.

The New Global Group has a screenwriter department. Although the young Jonathan Nolan is not the chief screenwriter, his prestige and fame have become increasingly greater with the success of films such as "Memory Fragments", "Darkward", "Ghost Rider", and "Deadly Magic".

"I don't want to strike, no one wants to strike. This is a very serious consequence, and all the screenwriters have to bear it." Jonathan Nolan shrugged. "The two strikes of the Screenwriters Association in history have caused too much negative impact."

Tang En believed this was his truth.

Jonathan Nolan's income at New Global, including basic annual salary and dividends, exceeds $4 million, and his income is more than many executives.

People with ability do not need to fight for rights by turning over the table.

Tang En held a pen in his hand, "With your opinion, what should we protect the rights and interests of the screenwriters? Don't look at the proposals of the Screenwriters Association, those are too ridiculous."

Jonathan Nolan glanced at Tang En and said hesitantly: "The screenwriter industry... is mainly because there are too many overlord terms."

Tang En smiled and said, "Don't forget, I'm also a screenwriter. Just say it, I'll understand the situation."

Jonathan Nolan said: "Screenwriters basically have no say, and they are at the mercy of the producer and director. The script modification must meet the standards required by investors. You should know that the screenwriters are the ones who know the most about the script, but they have no say. When selecting actors, they can only follow the arrangements of the producer and director, and have no say."

Tang En pondered for a moment and said, "Authentic, the screenwriter knows the script best, but the screenwriter may not understand the market and the audience's taste. Giving the right to speak to the producers and directors is the core of the Hollywood business system. For example, the controversial "Pirates League 2: Soul Cave", many filmmakers criticized the movie story for being bad and the screenwriter's level is too poor. But what's the result? The market response is very good."

Jonathan Nolan convinced this reason.

This year, two films he has been released as a screenwriter, one is "The Ghost Rider" filmed by Zach Schneider and the other is "The Deadly Magic" filmed by his brother Christopher Nolan.

Both movies have achieved very good reputations and the story is written in great detail.

Because of these two movies, Jonathan Nolan has become a well-known screenwriter within the New Global Group. His personal basic annual salary has increased from $300,000 to $650,000.

However, the box office results are far from being compared with the "pirates 2: Soul-gathering Coffin" which has "bad story" and "bad movie language".

"Ghost Rider" has a global box office of $600 million.

"The Deadly Magic" costs $40 million, bringing together stars such as Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Cain, Scarlett Johnson, Rebecca Hall, and the global box office is only $110 million.

Compared with "Pirates 2: Soul Gathering Coffin", which won $1.08 billion in box office, there is a big gap.

Jonathan Nolan said: "When filming "Darkward 2", three Korean filmmakers came to the crew to study. I had a conversation with them. In Korea, in addition to being paid a lot, the screenwriters have a very high status! Even above the director! The director cannot modify the screenwriter's script without authorization, and the actors modifying the lines is also a disrespect to the writer."

Tang En smiled, "I understand the situation in Korea, and it is indeed the case. However, it is only a temporary situation. As the cooperation with Hollywood deepens, Korean movies will definitely learn the production model of Hollywood, and the status of screenwriters will become lower and lower. However, your words have indeed reminded me that TV series and movies should be treated differently."

Driven by the core system of screenwriters, Korean movies are not qualified now, the story is very good, the film language, special effects production and market judgment are not enough. However, the TV series market has already unified Asia.

"Dae Jang Geum" aired last year has become the hottest phenomenon-level TV series in Asia's history. Not to mention Japan and China's mass market, even Iran, which is closed to the country, has introduced broadcasts, and has also created a shocking scene with thousands of people missing.

Movies, especially commercial movies, need to constantly impact the audience's attention in a limited time, and through wave after wave, they will firmly grasp the audience's hearts.

Here, there are many methods that can be used, such as wonderful stories, stunning special effects, large-scale shots, close-ups of big stars, superb acting performances, and interesting visual compositions...

TV series are different. TV series lasts longer and can express more content. Due to the hardware limitations of the TV and the atmosphere of home viewing conditions, it is difficult for TV series to continuously secrete hormones like movies.

This gives screenwriters enough living environment and development space. They don’t need to rack their brains to explore the audience’s ideas like filmmakers, but just focus all their energy on their stories.

As long as there is a good story, TV series will usually have a very good result.

Starz TV's three popular American dramas, "Six Foot Under", "The Walking Dead" and "Vice President", are typical examples.

Tang En started writing about what he recorded, and said seriously: "I won't mention the film market, but the TV series market is indeed necessary to improve the status of the screenwriter. The behavior of arbitrary script modification should be controlled."

Jonathan Nolan looked surprised.

Although New Global is not the company that produces the most TV programs, it is definitely the company with the highest quality and highest profits!

No matter what the outside world is, if New Global can take the lead and enhance the status of screenwriters from the production of TV series, then New Global's influence can gradually radiate out.

This is a good thing!

"Also, it's the issue of treatment."

“Welfare guarantee?”

Tang En's lips curled up, and he felt a little sarcastic, "It is appropriate for the company to provide its employees with benefits such as medical insurance and pension insurance, but how many screenwriters from the Screenwriters Association work in film companies? Because they have participated in the writing of several movies or TV series, they want to get huge benefits from the film company. This is unrealistic. The target of welfare benefits is the Screenwriters Association, not the film company."

Jonathan Nolan shook his head and said, "Only those screenwriters who have no jobs will fight for benefits without regard to the consequences. I am talking about normal screenwriters' rewards."

"Oh? Tell me!"

"If a project, whether it is a movie or a TV series, if the filming is not started, the screenwriter will not be paid after tax remuneration, which is equivalent to a disguised arrears of royalties."

Tang En raised his eyebrows, "Don't you pay one-third in advance?"

Jonathan Nolan shook his head, "No!"

Tang En frowned deeply.

This is indeed wrong!

Installment payment is a major way for Hollywood to avoid risks.

For example, the basic salary of producers, directors, and actors is paid in three times.

Sign a contract and pay the first one-third of the remuneration;

When the movie starts, the second one-third of the reward is paid;

The movie is finished and the remaining rewards are settled.

If an accident occurs during the project establishment or during the shooting process, resulting in a miscarriage of the movie, the distribution of remaining remuneration can be terminated to reduce the producer's losses.

However, the screenwriter's status is too low and there is no treatment from producers, directors and actors.

Jonathan Nolan continued: "If it is a TV series, the salary of the screenwriter is calculated based on episodes, and 10 episodes must be signed exclusively. If a series lasts for several months, the screenwriter must also be bound to the series for several months, which will result in a 60% drop in the screenwriter's salary. If the TV series is cut during the broadcast, it will lose 70%-80% of the salary."

Tang En is a professional and you can understand it as soon as you hear it.
To be continued...