Wow, the Writers Guild vs. Talent Agencies feud is getting nasty

[mainer]

I know this is inside baseball stuff, but those of us who deal with Hollywood are watching it play out with mouths agape. The Writers Guild (screenwriters) want to be able to use their own managers and lawyers to find writing gigs and negotiate contracts, and cut out the talent agents, who have been skimming profits from writers for years. (Lawyers are already the ones who do the contracts anyway.) The ATA is now firing back, threatening any lawyers or managers who dare work with writers on this.

Agents are supposed to work on behalf of their clients (the writers.) Instead, it turns out Agents have been using the writers as lowly factory workers while raking in huge profits on behalf of their true secret masters -- venture capitalists.

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/ata-wga-managers-lawyers-legal-fight-1203192938/

[Zoonart]

1. Twas ever thus... glad the screen writers are fighting back.

It seems that only on camera talent is respected.

I am a painter and author. As a painter, when I have a gallery exhibition, The gallery gets 50% and my agent gets 15%, which leaves me 35%. After overhead, my profit is very small.

As an author, I was told a couple of years ago by the regional manager of Barnes and Nobel for NY, that if a new author does not have established name recognition, it is impossible to sell books if they do not have a TV presence. Self-publish and you spend 60% of your time self promoting on social media.

The old saying between artists is: "I have all the respect I can eat."

[mainer]

2. More info on how private equity firms hurt working writers

https://prospect.org/article/how-private-equity-ate-hollywood-and-why-writers-are-fighting-back#.XLlSdQXQSbM.twitter

[TeamPooka]

3. I'm a literary manager in Hollywood and everyone is on the WGA's side here.

They all want the stranglehold on power and profiteering by the agencies, now driven by their Wall St investment masters, no end.

[mainer]

5. I love my Hollywood agent

Yeah, other writers say so too. We may love the individuals, but the system is corrupt.

[mainer]

4. Superb Los Angeles Times piece on this: "INSANE!"

The ATA says the agencies will not be signing any such code because the WGA is not the boss of them and writers actually benefit from packaging, which has been going on for years.

So the WGA instructed its members to fire their agents, which almost all of them have, and announced it is suing the four major talent agencies.

In response, the ATA accused the WGA of trying to throw Hollywood into “predetermined chaos” and instructed its members to keep a list of any writers trying to get work without using an agent because, according to ATA reps, this is illegal.

So just to recap: Writers are unhappy with how major talent agencies have been repping them. When confronted with this, the agents refused to make any changes, so the writers fired them. Now the agencies are saying the writers cannot do this because, according to them, writers are legally bound to be represented by people who they believe are shafting them.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-wga-ata-20190416-story.html