Some Optimism–Maybe?

This year has been especially tough for emerging as well as established screenwriters. TV in particular has taken a massive hit as the bottom has finally fallen out of streaming, with 40% fewer writers working in TV than at this time last year. Yikes.

Theatrical features have suffered as well, with many “sure thing” movies underperforming (Marvel, hello); the industry overall has still not recovered from the strike. As well, indie filmmaking is also being squeezed hard by the loss of DVD/BluRay revenue streams and ever-shrinking foreign sales. No one makes their money back at 4 cents a click on Amazon. Worse, ever-escalating union fees and cross-union agreements have made it increasingly difficult to shoot a $3-5M movie with names in the US.

Yet despite all this doom and gloom, something very interesting is occurring – optimism for original content, such that we haven’t seen in years. Apparently it took everything cratering for the industry to realize they can’t be riding the coattails of sequels and remakes forever. For the first time in a long time, there is demand for great, original feature stories, well-told. The excitement from our reps is palpable. When the mandate from the industry is: find us some killer original stories, well, that’s music to an agent or manager’s ears.

From the ashes rises the phoenix, and it’s wonderful to see a bit of spring in the town’s step once again. So let’s all knuckle down, create something great, and make sure we get ours.