Writing a screenplay in Spain: It’s risky business even if you’re successful

They answered this short survey Borja Cobeagadirector of ‘Fe de etarras’, co-author of ‘Ocho apellidos vascos’ and president of DAMA, the association that manages copyrights in audiovisual media; isabel pickRegular screenwriter of Rodrigo Sorogoyen, winner of the Goya award for ‘El reino’ and ‘As bestas’; coral crossscreenwriter of ‘Morir’ and ‘Incerta gloria’ and creator and writer of LGTB drama ‘To be or not to be’; freedom of marthawho was in the script team of the children’s series ‘Los Lunnis’ and wrote ‘The Europeans’ and ‘Oswald: The Forger’; Fernando NavarroScreenwriter of ‘Toro’, ‘Verónica’ and ‘Bajo cero’ and Aitor GabilondoFounder of the production company ALEA MEDIA and creator of the successful HBO Europe series ‘Patria’.

ADVERT

legitimate rights

For the latter, “screenwriters are legitimately claiming their rights and demanding a fairer distribution of benefits from the industry, in addition to regulating the use of AI in the creation of scripts. Traditionally, what happens in the US industry repeats itself here and in other countries after a while, so we must be wary of these demands.“. Cobeaga adds other elements: “Those in the United States usually arrive late here. Now, we’re more bogged down with problems such as producers hijacking credits “created” by screenwriters.” For Cobeaga, “one of the outstanding screenwriters’ demands is regarding residual income from screenwriting from platforms. We don’t have “remnants” here, we have copyrights, but the contradiction is the same: with “flow,” screenwriters earn less and our work becomes more precarious”.

The screenwriter of ‘As bestas’ is skeptical about the impact this strike could have here.. “It’s hard for me to imagine that, because I don’t think we have the same power as American screenwriters—says Peña—And first of all, we’re not that well organized.” For Coral Cruz, “Although the demands of our American colleagues are pretty much the same as ours, I don’t see a strike of this scale possible in Spain. The audiovisual sector is not as strong and our writers unions are not as strong as our WGA”. The screenwriter of ‘Incerta gloria’ continues: “I think we’ll never look for it because we realize we don’t have the ability to paralyze an entire industry.”

Libertad speaks to the conscience of the industry: “I think even though there are very good screenwriters unions in Spain, for this to happen, a greater commitment to the industry must be added to a greater awareness of it. I’m not quite there. I’m sure it’s possible to paralyze the industry as it is there. Of course, strike out.” “We have many reasons for this. We also have precedents who will know that what happened there will eventually reach our country.”

Navarro says for himself: notable differences between one industry and another: “I can’t think of two things more different than American industry and Spanish industry. Especially when it comes to money: the cost of the films, the amount involved, the amount created. Our industry is so small Intentional and unstable, and therefore undecided even on hypothetical claims”. “Having said that—the scriptwriter of ‘Bajo cero’ continues, I am somewhat envious of the sense of unity they carry”.

The American writers’ strike may have consequences elsewhere. For example, Netflix produces in many countries. “Without the country-by-country fight, I don’t think a platform as powerful as Netflix would be willing to hire more writers for projects or give those writers more time to work,” says Peña. “But if their American counterparts get Netflix to disclose their viewer data, maybe that could be extended and come here. This transparency would be very good news for a number of reasons, and not just to definitively resolve the rights issue,” says the author.

“North American industry is the locomotive in this industry and everything is interconnected,” explains Gabilondo. “What we shouldn’t be thinking about is that we Europeans will replace American screenwriters, or that more dramas will be shot here to keep the catalog full. It’s not supportive, it’s also not possible.” Navarro quotes Kiko Veneno: “Most of our movies are made or distributed there. As Kiko Veneno said, ‘heaven is the land of the Gypsies God’s and great and free Spain is for the Americans’. This strike is one more chapter in the long ‘current’ war. Platforms are rethinking their strategy. And there aren’t a few articles in the business papers, not just of nostalgic cinephilia, but questioning the model and perhaps advocating a return to the previous model.

Marta Libertad does not believe that the Spaniards will participate in this strike, although she accepts the demands of the USA. And he adds: “Ignoring the exact strategy of the platforms, what is possible is that with this market paralyzed, more local projects are launched to make up for the lack of content.” Cruz sees some changes: “Depending on what they get, can set important precedents for international law such as demands for greater transparency in replication data across platforms or regulation of artificial intelligence entry into the industry. One of its main demands is to ban this tool for rewriting works created by human writers.” And he is clear on the position of ALMA, the screenwriters’ union he is a member of: “We fully support this WGA strike and advocate for none of it. Percentage of our members should not accept any job offers from the US while negotiations are ongoing.”

Cobeaga lays the cards on the table: “Whatever WGA achieves, we will try to make it ours. Another thing is their exploitation of guilds with ‘mini rooms’, scenario rooms that reduce people and time. ‘milk’ ideas Many screenwriters don’t charge for their ideas, but only do so. buys when the idea is sold, produced or published… Incredible as it may seem, being offered a job is still not welcome and you want the money.“.