Movies versus Novels

I just saw a rough cut of my movie, Growing the Big One. I still call it "my movie", but at this point, there's not a lot of "me" left.

I may have come up with the story, written the script, and written rewrites of the script, but the final product is far from mine. Lots of people have been involved — actors, directors, producers, and even other writers.

It's a lot different story than I imagined at the start. I might not like all the changes, but it's also a lot more "produced" than it was on my laptop.

I'd always heard that if you want more control, then write novels. It's true. But you say, "I really like to write movies and see my story on a screen." I can't argue that.

Sometimes it's hard to decide. Here's my short Movie Versus Novel list for what it's worth.

	Movie	Novel
Control of story	Maybe some if you direct & product	Quite a bit from start to finish
Money	Better than a book	Not a lot of rich novelists
Ownership	They own it	You own it
Union	WGA	You’re on your own
Respect	Not much – you’re at the bottom of the Hollywood food chain	Quite a bit
Viewing	3D & in living color – very cool	Read it
Breaking In	DAMN HARD	DAMN HARD

It's hardly an exhaustive list, but it covers some of the highlights. If you think I've missed some important ones, please share. Writing is hard work, and it's just a bit easier if you pick the right medium.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

You Knew You Were a Writer When . . .

Every writer has had them . . . those moments when you realize, "I can't believe it. I'm a real writer."

I had one yesterday. I showed up in IMDB for Growing the Big One. The first thing I thought was, "That's me! I'm real writer."

Monumental Moments

It got me thinking about the other moments.

• My first book in 4rd grade.

Of course, it was a book only in the sense that it was a story and it was bound. I wrote the 6-page epic entitled The Silver Knives on notebook paper, drew a cover, and bound it with yarn from a disintegrating sweater. I thought it was pretty dang cool though and I still have it.

• My first sports column in the Eatonville Dispatch.

This was a terrible experience. I didn't know the first thing about journalism — my English teacher just said that writers do this kind of thing, so I applied.

I covered girl's tennis and even though I was on the team, I still managed to spell some of my friends' names wrong. What made this a moment? People came up to me and said, "I didn't know you wrote." That was extremely cool.

• My first rejection letter.

This would be followed by MANY other letters, so many I kept a three-ring binder to catalog my journey of rejection. But that first one was fabulous, because only writers get rejection letters.

• Being a finalist at the Austin Film Festival.

I went to the conference knowing I was a finalist, but for some reason I figured there was loads of them. I had no idea there were only three per category. When people saw my Finalist Badge, they started talking to me like I was a REAL writer. It was incredible.

• Receiving a WGA card. When that card arrived, it looked like a nondescript credit card. To me though, it was tangible, 3D, plastic proof was I was a writer.

What are your moments?

There you go. My big "real writer" moments.

So what are yours? We've all got them!

di

Getting Your Screen Credit

I'd heard about writers having their screen credits arbitrated by the WGA. I imagined it was a last resort between writers and producers, complete with huge drama and big dollars hanging in the balance.

No Drama or Dollars

Now that I challenged my shared credit and started the process to have it reviewed by the WGA, I find out my expectations were WAY off. First of all, there was zero drama. A producer sent around a notice of how they intended to post the credits and I could agree or disagree.

I called the WGA to find out how to contest. A woman there said, "It's easy. Just email me and tell me you want full credit and we'll get the process started." It was all very common place for everyone but me, who was stressing like crazy.

And as far as the big dollars . . . I wish. I know writers where getting sole credit instead of shared credit has meant the difference between receiving residuals in the amount of $500,000 and $250,000, but unfortunately that's not my scenario. If I get enough money down the road to pay for car tabs, I'll be smiling big.

Getting it Right

I just want to get it right. I read the final shooting script and more than 50% of my original script is still there. I'd like full credit, in part because it seems like it may make getting future assignments easier, but mostly because it just seems fair.

Of course, now I'm stressing because I'm going to have to put together writer's statement explaining why I think I deserve full credit. When I asked the woman at the WGA how detailed these statements are, she said she's read anything from two lines to 15 pages. Her advice, "15 pages seems a little long, but some writers are wordy".

I'm sure once I write the statement and turn it in, it will be less eventful than I'm imagining. I'll get a form letter that reads "Received", or something equally as exciting, and all this sweat will be for nothing.

Until then, I've decided that this imagined stress is an excellent reason to go out and buy a nice bottle of wine to sooth my nerves.

Will I Get Credit?

When you write a script you have this fantasy — the fabulous story you're writing will appear on screen with your name alongside the Written By credit.

This may actually happen to some writers, but I haven't met any of them yet. The reality is, you write the script, you rewrite the script based on notes, others are likely to also rewrite the script, and if you're lucky it gets shot (where more changes are made), and when it shows on a screen you, along with others, get writing credit.

Reality Bites

Today got a statement from producers, which shows me who all rewrote my script and who of those will get credit. I also got the dubious pleasure of reading the final shooting script to see if I think more that 50% of my original script is still in there.

For those of you who aren't familiar with how credits are given, here's the abbreviated version. If a writer rewrites more than 50% of your script, then you share credit with them. If they write more than 75-80% (you'd have to check with WGA for the specifics) then you get "story by" and they get the credit.

It's Fair

You may say, "Oh my God, that's not fair! The original writer should get the credit." But actually, it's really fair. If someone asked me to rewrite a script — and it's a lot of work — and over half the material up there was mine, I'd want credit.

The problem arises when you try to figure out what constitutes 50%. 50% of the scenes? 50% of the words? 50% of the story in general?

All I can say is, THANK GOD, the WGA figures that stuff out, because after reading the final shooting script all I can say is "My objectivity is shot!" In some ways I think it's exactly like my script, just a different hue, and at times I'm thinking "What the heck is this?"

What to do?

I'm glad I'm onto other scripts and detached somewhat from this story. Otherwise, I'd be a basket case.

It would be nice if writing scripts was like the fantasy, but it's not. It's a business and a collaborative process. Unless you also produce and direct the movie, you won't have control of your creative work.

If you have to have that control, you might look into writing novels.