But you owe me...

Okay, this is the first blog on how the company forgot to pay me for a movie they have finished. The letters in blue are me and my WGC person, same as WGA, both guilds are connected. Names of course have been changed. Starts below:

PART ONE

To Mary WGC (Writers Guild of Canada)

I have just been informed by a friend who spoke to Stan Charley yesterday who stated that Town that Forgot Christmas is or has been filmed. Since I have not been paid for the screenplay this strikes me as very odd. My first call tomorrow is to my lawyer followed by WGC, followed by a call to Hallmark here in Los Angeles to express my concerns.

Since the IPA says writers are paid on or before the first day of principal photography, I find this, if true, reprehensible. If not, Mr. Charley got his movies mixed up.

Jim Makichuk

Jim,

I'm Head of Production for XYZ, and you are right, this is totally egregious. Not intentional at all, but egregious. We are in production on the film (and beginning the second and third film), and it was my understanding and my production accountant's understanding that the writer's fees were being paid out of corporate.  This is how we did it on our last four films for the Syfy Channel (for a variety of reasons), and I have been waiting for a cost report -- where I would have caught that it hadn't been paid.  I didn't catch it, b/c I don't have the cost report yet-- which is simply a function of our accountant overwhelmed between post on the Syfy and production on these three films.  Suffice to say, corporate hadn't done it -- not out of any questionable intent -- they just assumed production had taken care of.  In any case, we are in production, and I will get this taken care first thing tomorrow morning. I or accounting will be in touch with you and your rep tomorrow.  Again, my apologies. Ultimately, it comes down on my head, no matter how it happened, it happened, and I'm getting you paid first thing tomorrow.  I fully understand if you want to call the WGC or the network.  I would feel the same.

Respectfully,

Jack

September 14, 2010  6:41am (cc copy to me)

Hi Jack, 

I spoke to Ella (Accountant). I've sent her Jim's signed contract. She is going to write Jim and explain how she is putting his payment through payroll. She is on it and he will be paid shortly. 

Best, 

Anna
Production Executive
XYZ Productions Inc.

September 14, 2010 6:56am (cc copy to me)

Good, please give me update in an hour. Thank you. This must happen this morning and Jim's lawyer should also be advised-- so Ella should copy him on the email to Jim. I want to know when the check is going to be in Jim's hands or money wired or whatever. Speak in an hour. Thanks.

Jack

September 14, 2010 – 7:13am PST

Hi Jim,

Thanks for bringing this to my attention – they have also just informed me that it’s been in production, but I would have never assumed that they didn’t tell you or pay you. Although given their general level of disorganization I suppose I was giving them far too much of the benefit of the doubt.

At least it seems like they want to remedy the situation.  If you don’t in fact hear anything today regarding payment, please let me know.  All I can do is ask that payment be made today, but it at least appears that that is what they are trying to do anyways.  I will follow up with Robert to make sure he lets me know that you’ve been paid as well so he knows we’re aware of the situation.

All their productions have been completely disorganized, so I’m trying to sort through them so I appreciate you making me aware of this.

I’ll send a follow up to Jack with the hopes this is resolved today, and if not then we’ll just have to move forward and inform them that without payment they don’t actually have the rights to your material.

All the best,

Mary  WGC

From: Jim [mailto:badland@dslextreme.com]
Sent: September 14, 2010 10:15 AM CST
To: Mary
Subject: Fw: Jim Makichuk

Mary

following email was sent to me Tues am. Am sending a following email. I just wonder if any other writers were not paid? Also there is a "contributing writer" credit, someone called DEF, whose credits seem to be assistant director and I wonder if he's WGC?

Anyways, will call you today. Seems like it'll work out.

Jim

September 14, 2010 7:21am PST

Hi Jim,

Where have you seen the “contributing writer” credit?  The credit notice they sent me simply had the writing credit listed as “Written By Jim Makichuk”.  The WGC doesn’t allow a contributing writer credit for MOWs and if it is an assistant director that would mean a credit arbitration.  I’ll also raise this concern with Jack.

I hope it is worked out today.  I still can’t believe they didn’t tell you it was going into production.  And, yes, they need to pay fringes too!

Best,

Mary WGC

Cc: @gmail.com>

Subject: Re: Jim Makichuk

Jack

Thanks for your reply, understand what happened, although it's almost the old stereotype, writers not getting paid (every writer has that story).

Again, appreciate your timely action

Jim: Thanks for your understanding. I know it is a cliche, and I know there are instances in the biz-- cashflow problems, whatever-- but this was an honest mistake. Anyway, thanks, and you and your lawyer will soon get email from accounting re wire I believe it is.
It's a great script by the way. I think you will be pleased with the movie.

Best,
Jack

From: Jim [mailto:badland@dslextreme.com]
Sent: September 14, 2010 10:30 AM CST
To: Mary
Subject: Re: Jim Makichuk

Mary

if you go to imdb, someone called Jonathan Wright has credit as a "contributing writer", and I think this is a guy who has a script with Chesler and did some cheap or no pay rewrites.

Jim

September 14, 2010 – 7:33am PST

OK, thanks – I’ve let Jack know that this is not a credit the WGC allows, especially seeing as they submitted a credit notice to us indicating that the only writing credit is “Written By Jim Makichuk”.  If they want to give a subsidiary writing credit to Jonathan, they need to file a contract and fringes with us at WGC scale, and if he’s also a director then we have to run a credit arbitration.  Hopefully that will make them remedy the situation…

I’ll let you know what I hear, but if you do receive confirmation of payment let me know!

Best,

Mary WGC

September 14, 2010 – 7:41am PST

Hi Jim,

Here is Jack’s response to my email.  Hope that takes care of everything….but we should check in on IMDB in the near future again just in case.  The WGC can petition to have changes as well, but it’s always easier if it comes from the production company….

Best,

Mary

  

From: jack@gmail.com [mailto:@gmail.com]
Sent: September 14, 2010 10:37 AM
To: Mary
Subject: Re: Town That Christmas Forgot

Wire is going today, and no one is getting contributing writing credit. My AD-co-producer consolidated ouple locations and adjusted day and nights-- which isn't writing-- put that on IMDB. The actors did some line changes on day to make more organic to them, but there is only one writer on this and I will correct IMDB. Jim is the sole writer. It is hard to control people sometimes. My apologies. I will have Roberta advise you when Jim's been paid. Today. Thanks. 

This is the first part of how I got paid. More Monday. I'm fiddling with the pasting so I have big gaps on this first one.

 

Delayed

I was ready to start the "You didn't pay me" today but now am tied up with taxes and some other film issues so I'll start the payment blog Saturday (Tomorrow).

The death of the TV movie is back

 

Having killed off the TV movies something finally happened. It was a guy who slipped DVDs into envelopes and sent them to me. Actually to a million people. And more.

It was netflix.

Just as movies for tv were gone, netflix continued sending me movies, some of which they even started to make themselves. And other guys started to do this too. Hulu and Crackle and more and more.

And suddenly there were more movies being made.

And that led to a race, but not just made for TV movies. They began doing something that started a long time ago. I mentioned that before, where networks did 4 or 5 episodes of "one- off. as they say.

Right now I'm watching one of them, Davis and Crawford, two 40's stars who, if you don't know, were big in their time. And I can tell now, that there's gonna be a lot more of this. 

Another one is Sun Records, which I think is really good, it's about black music finding a home to white singers like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis and a whole new rock and roll sound.

Ironically, about five years after, some other bands changed it again. This time the biggest change in music history ever. They also took black singers music and changed it to their liking.

They were The Beatles. 

The biggest change in music ever. Even beyond hip-hop.

You know how I know?

Because even my parents knew who the Beatles were. And my grandparents.

But the change in all of these programs weren't help for the feature movies being made now.  For example, the last Academy Award was a sleeper for the most part. A bunch of sad white guys trying to compare with Gene Kelly and a really good movie about the space race with African-American women part of it.

Walter Hill, who made one of the best b-movies around, The Warriors said that a lot of movies now are about nothing and not filmic. And I agree. If you want to see great movies about L.A., see Welcome to L.A. and of course Rebel Without A Cause and West Side Story.

Of course, I don't like Ryan Gosling even though he's Canadian too.

So, as we speak I have, once again, someone interested in a screenplay of mine and of course, it will probably go away next week just because I said it.

But it is probably the strangest movie I've ever written and I still don't think I wrote it. In fact I'm sure someone else wrote it. 

But I will have to wait. Writers always wait.

I had a screenplay at Hallmark for three years and nobody touched it. Then, out of the blue, I got a call from a lovely woman who I never met and she said she wanted to make it.

Now.

So I said "okay." And that was it.

But just then, I asked her why someone at Hallmark decided to make it after being on the shelf for three years.

She said this: "You have a teenage girl in your movie..." I waited for more... then... 

"She's just like my daughter."

That was it. My movie was being made because someone liked the teenager in my script. 

This is what happens in movies. It doesn't make sense. 

It got made. But that's even a better story. They contacted me a few times over a couple of months and then nothing.

Then a friend of mine was at the Toronto Film Festival and ran into the producer of my movie and asked about it. The producer said that it was fine, all done.

Only one thing was wrong.

I wasn't paid.

Oh... the teenage girl is to the left. The one that the producer decided on making the movie because of her daughter.

But let's get to the money.  Will push it this week.
 
 

New guy on the block

... at least for me. But first.

As some of you know I came to L.A. around 1990 crossing the border, legally, and into the real world of screenwriting and big-time companies. Before that I was pretty much nothing as I lived in Alberta, not Vancouver or Toronto.

I had made a suspense thriller, Ghostkeeper, and it quickly got lost. But just before that I and my friend Phil Borsos made a short film about a barrel factory. It was about 15 minutes and we figured that we might get it into a festival. 

We did. A handful of festivals including the big fish. We managed one in particular, a finalist in the 1976 Academy Awards. A couple of doors opened. I was writing a bunch of scripts and one in particular.

It was based on my youth, age 12. And the new teacher who came into my life. Along with all the stories about the town, around 500 people. In the middle of nowhere. I took the screenplay and a few others to LA and everything opened up.

Don't leave yet, it gets more interesting.

This was around 1990 and I had my first agent from a director who had heard of me. The agent wasn't the best one, but he took me. It lasted two years with not one sale and few meetings.

Then I ran through a few other agents and ended up with the one I had till we parted a few years ago.

And my little story about me and my teacher and my buddies suddenly was "hot" as they say. In fact, I was getting meetings like crazy. I remember one time when I was working on a series in Canada and flew back to LA for one day and four meetings.

Really.

This was a weird thing for me, studies and networks and more. They liked me. Well, at least they said they liked me. And my script.

Emperor of Mars.

What's EOM? (that was the short way of saying it). I know, sort of smug but what the heck. I remember one producer, Steve Tisch. Maybe you've seen one of his movies, Forrest Gump. I walked into his office with his exec and "Steve" if I may say said "Ah, Mister Emperor Of Mars."

I couldn't believe it. Maybe after I left he'd forget, but for that moment, I was Mister EOM.

And that was the beginning of my screenplay going everywhere in town. I will scan one page for you. Most of the companies are still around, the players change but the company doesn't.

Just one thing.

Nobody wanted to make it.

That was around 1994. It still hasn't been made. Why? 

I don't know.

However it has been optioned six times - 6 times. I still have all the contracts. Around 2003 I was ready to make it, they let me direct and it was ready to go. Until one of the producers wanted more than the others. It was over as fast as it began.

However it got me a stack full of jobs, including around 15 screenplays made and episodic work. It was going all great until the one thing you've heard a few times before.

 The Death of the TV Movie.

Most of my movies were TV movies and that line above does not sound good. I'll repeat it fast as you've heard it before, "Death". 

Here's an example of what was the best agent I had. writing is a little hard to see but it gives you an idea as to how much work agents put into. Lots of phone calls and more calls and emails.

But everything changed after the death of the TV movie.  I'll try to post part 2 this week, probably around Wednesday.

Thanks again.

Changes and lattitude

Here I am again. My Lifetime interest seems to have gone with the wind. But I have a producer working very hard (and that's not often) to get my S.O.B. pilot going. Which is good. And for what I lost the last two weeks, I've gained this week for "Ideas" meaning that all the possible stories they didn't like, I can take somewhere else.

And this leads to Part 2 of my previous blog. Netflix.

Netflix changed everything when you could get a DVD straight to your home. And then Netflix began streaming to make it even easier for those of us who like to watch TV when we want to, not when the networks want us to.

And finally, Netflix broke through.

They made their own movies. And pilots. And that's when it all exploded.

Remember "The End of TV Movies".

It's baa....ck.

Today you have a ton of TV movies coming back, Hallmark of course is the king (Or Queen) of TV movies, always was. But Lifetime was still going too, I was involved in that, actually still involved with Lifetime. My first sold screenplay was for Lifetime way back in 1989.

So there.

Right now we have mini-series (which was the word for TV movies like Rich Man Poor Man) and then "Roots", which was a huge mini-series. 

So they came back, TV movies and what we called mini-series, but now you can watch them all in one night. Most of them anyways.  

Today I can watch Sun Records, Bette and Joan and at least a dozen or so this week. 

And this also gives writers more jobs and is almost as good as the old days of 1980's. 

Why?

Because I was making around $38,000 for every movie I wrote. Rate is more now of course. But there's also Lifetime who gets production companies to get writers for $1500 a script. 

Yes. $1500.

So there you go, more movies, less money. I'm still in WGA and WGC (Canada) but a lot of writers often write a movie or two just for food. We have around 12,000 writers in WGA and consider that around 1500 - 2,500. Nobody really knows except WGA honkies.

And now with a lot of film students filing out of way too many film courses, it's easy to find kids for $1500. Maybe even less.

Gotta say it's still good to be a boomer baby.

Oh, yeah... That camera and projector at the top are mine, and I film with 8mm film (yes, it still is around) and the projector works too. The light comes from the early morning sun.

And neither of them need batteries!!

And drop by my FB too.

 

Sorry Jim... maybe.

Well, my shot at a Lifetime movie from producer "A" looks dead.

I wrote a few ideas into half pages and got reasonable comments but at the last ideas, no answers were returned. Now maybe they lost my ideas or passed them on to someone else.

This isn't really that bad as I can send my ideas around to other producers, as far as I know, probably a dozen more who want to do Lifetime movies for incredibly cheap costs. I've heard some of them are made for $350,000. 

Not WGA wages.

I've even heard a script can be sold for $1500. 

Really.

So where am I?

I'm not really sure if I'm out, but at any rate I can't wait to see my last ideas read. But that's a whole other story. This goes back to 2008 where those of us who made TV movies to anywhere from $3 million up to $8-10 million. 

Those were the days.

But it all crashed in 2008 when Survivor appeared a few years before and showed that networks could make TV shows for far less cost than having to get actors who eventually become very expensive. 

And writers got around $38,000 or so in those hefty days. Even more if they were showrunners.

All of this was thrown into the garbage and we even had two celebrations at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd and where the first Academy Awards occured.

But this time it was known as "the death of the TV movie". 

But thanks to Hallmark and Lifetime.

My last TV movie (to date) was in 2010 and to Hallmark and since then a lot of options from producers who were also trying to get money for anything. 

That "anything" turned out to be digital products and where film finally died (except to Martin Scorcese and a few others). Digital production was and is faster and for that period from 2008 up to 2010 the only TV movies came from Hallmark and Lifetime.

BTW my first script sale was to Lifetime in 1989. It was made in a rush in two weeks, shot in Toronto for scale WGC rates, around $28,000 or so.

But then came Netflix.

But that's a whole other story.
 
 

Sort of a job...

Sorry to not post last week, I was having my niece from Canada and a lot of running around with other stuff of which some is actually a possible deal.

A friend of mine passed me over to a production company who does really low budget movies for Lifetime that he's done a few. So I started a story but unfortunately, one of their movies had pretty much the same plot line.

However, I worked on a "similar" idea which I wrote over the weekend. I'm talking 1 page. I also started a spec screenplay at the same time. It was an idea for a producer who worked with a studio but they passed last year.

I think.

Why do I feel uncertain?

Well, it could be that studio didn't like my script. Or they didn't like the producer.
Or both.

It happens. 

So I changed a few little things in the original 1-page. Actually it's more like a half page. That's not being quite a full page or a stretched out logline. At any rate all anyone wants to see is more than one paragraph and less than three.

So today, I am trying to figure out an idea that isn't quite like the producer's idea but yet is close to the producer's idea.

Fun, huh...

Anyways, I gotta start now. More later.

Yeah, that's me at 5 I think. Always loved them cowboys.