The WGA East and WGA West have announced a membership referendum on a proposed change in the credits rules, authorizing the use of an “Additional Literary Material” end credit in feature films.
The proposal is the work of the Screen Credits Review Committee (“SCRC”), a standing committee appointed by the Writers Guild West Board of Directors and the Writers Guild East Council to review the rules and procedures for determining credits on theatrical motion pictures. The SCRC, whose members are listed below, is composed of working screenwriters with extensive experience in all facets of the credit determination process.
In this referendum, the SCRC proposes the creation of an “Additional Literary Material” end credit for all participating writers who do not receive writing credit on a theatrical motion picture.
This new credit would denote employment or sale of material, not authorship, and it would alleviate the circumstance where screenwriters who have worked for weeks or months on a project do not receive any on-screen credit and are not listed in online databases, as well as addressing “resume gaps” and empty IMDb pages that may not accurately reflect a screenwriter’s career.
The SCRC has prepared the following materials explaining the background and operation of the proposal, including the textual changes the proposal would make to the Screen Credits Manual:
- Letter from the Screen Credits Review Committee (PDF)
- Screen Credits Explainer and Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
- Summary of Proposed Changes (PDF)
- Proposed Screen Credits Manual Language – Redlined (PDF)
- Proposed Screen Credits Manual Language – Clean (PDF)
- Draft Waiver (PDF)
- Member Pro and Con Statements (PDF)
Timeline
The referendum will culminate with the counting of votes on November 15.
The key dates of the referendum process are as follows:
OCTOBER
- October 12, 2021 (10:30 a.m. PT): WGAW First Informational Meeting (via teleconference)
- October 19, 2021 (7:00 p.m. ET): WGAE Informational Meeting (via teleconference) (RSVP via Zoom (external – opens in a new window))
- October 21, 2021 (6:00 p.m. PT): WGAW Second Informational Meeting (via teleconference)
- October 27, 2021: Deadline for Submission of Pro/Con Statements
Virtual meeting links will be sent to all registered members upon approval of their registration.
NOVEMBER
- November 1, 2021: Pro/Con Statements Available for Review (PDF) on WGAW/WGAE Websites
- November 2, 2021: Online Voting Begins
- November 15, 2021: Online Voting Concludes
Voter Eligibility
Under the Guild’s Constitution, votes concerning revisions to credits manuals are conducted jointly with Writers Guild of America West. In order to be eligible to vote in this type of referendum, WGAE and WGAW members must be Current Active (i.e., not In-Arrears) and have either: (1) MBA earnings of at least $36,060 (excluding residuals) during the past six years; or (2) 15 pension-eligible years (i.e., earned at least $5,000) based on MBA employment. These earnings must be declared for dues purposes prior to Wednesday, November 10 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Pacific Time/3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Members will receive additional notifications about the steps of the ratification process as they occur.
We urge all members to attend one of the informational meetings to inform themselves about this important proposal.
Screen Credits Review Committee
Stephen Schiff, Co-chair
Michele Mulroney, Co-chair
John August
John Brancato
Christopher Kyle
Allison Schroeder