Deal lethargy is perplexing but has gradually become the status quo. I remember the days of a quick CofA and payment within a week. These days it takes half a year, with signature drafts sometimes never coming. The screenplay is often completed before the long form contract. There doesn’t seem to be any urgency in business affairs anymore to do their job. I had a deal at one studio that never came to fruition as a result. I looked up the apathetic business affairs council and discovered that he was a former divorce attorney, which explained everything.

I was told by my business manager that backend participation usually never comes, and that only if the film is wildly successful that you'll be rewarded with another job, and to then consider that your backend. Shifty lame business Hollywood is, run by ex-divorce lawyers.

@AVARY you and your daughter should make a film together. A film where the lead actress reminds me of your daughter.

@AVARY So how do they benefit from extending the process? Does it just give them more time to screw over the writers or back out of deals? Is that the whole point of dragging out the process?

@AVARY Just had a deal take a full calendar year to get closed.

@AVARY Had multiple issues with this!!!! One deal was verbally agreed, standard contract, did 9 months of free work while business affairs worked it out and then it collapsed leaving me high and dry!

@AVARY I worked on a few shows where top talent didn’t receive their money for weeks. B.A. was either asleep at the wheel or it was deliberate. It got to the point where talent was confronting the Line Producer and calling their reps.

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@AVARY Just closed a deal that took six months just for the MOA on a straight forward WGA spec deal.

@AVARY I went broke between drafts of a script I sold because payment took so long. Agents were no help.

@AVARY A serious problem, I went off at the BFI years ago about this to no effect, as it also has the side effect of gatekeeping to keep the working class out. I know a few who've spent decades hanging on that teat. Deliberating is not moviemaking!

@AVARY That’s a shame. There are hungry artists ready to work.

I think the theory is that it gives the studio more leverage, in case they want to change the deal midway through, demand extra free rewrites, or even drop it later. But the net effect of this over decades is that they have destroyed the professional class of real feature writers. Because no decent writer is willing to put up with the BS for more than a deal or two. So they all quickly shift into producing or directing so they have some control. Those who become producers and directors can't generate as many scripts, since they're doing other work. The net quality of feature writing in general on studio films has suffered since they have to either hire new untested talent, or writers who don't have the talent to do much else.

@AVARY This is so real… have seen great projects die simply because lawyers refused to talk to each other. The system does all it can to crush those dreams!

@AVARY Slow play. sad slick move youtu.be/27C6_1HT4GY

@AVARY Spot on. 🙄