"The bucket symbolizes our persecution!"
You’ve all been thinking it. And now the LA Times went ahead and wrote about it (re: “Screenwriters find work is dwindling“, published on July 3, 2010).
I’m sure Richard Verrier, the writer of this article, is well aware that you could easily replace every appearance of the word “screenwriter” with “journalist” (just a hunch). Part of me actually thinks the mid-level screenwriters of Hollywood have paid for this article; the more discouraged newbies, the more work for the pros, right?
I don’t think anyone is surprised to hear that work is thinning out for writers in the film and TV biz. The weird thing is that I’m actually heartened by this article. While I hate the idea that the Western world’s entertainment industry is in jeopardy, I’m glad to hear the slowdown is reaching those higher up on the food chain. That will inevitably lead to more writers looking for different ways to get their work out there.
And the more people there are trying to find alternate routes to get work produced, the more “legit” those alternate routes will become. Case in point: web series. 10 years ago they would’ve been a total waste of time, money, and talent. Now they’re one of the more reliable ways to prove to broadcasters that your show can attract a following.
The real difference seems to be the amount of work you have to do to get something on the air or in theatres. The indie ethic isn’t an underground thing anymore; it’s a way of survival in today’s industry. Any writers holding their breath for that one big break, the kind that made all of us want to get into screenwriting in the first place, might as well let it out now.
What we’re all still waiting to figure out is where the money is going to come from to make movies in this new world. I can’t imagine the cash cow investors of yesteryear are still going to be interested in dumping the millions they made on pork stocks (or whatever it is millionaires invest in) into an indie flick that’s headed towards the festival circuit. Where’s the flash and sizzle in that?
On the plus side, the film industry might be purged of its douchebags. 
Basically, I think if a story is good, it’s good. And good projects will always get made somehow — especially if enough people believe in it and everyone’s willing to compromise a little.
Technical capabilities aside, if the struggling screenwriters the LA Times talked to for this article could write a screenplay as tight as Toy Story 3, they could probably still buy that beach house and fake nose they’ve always wanted.
