John Wells, president of Writers Guild's western faction, is one of the most high-profile and successful, with such shows as E.R., The West Wing and Third Watch. In contrast, screenwriters complain they historically are treated as second-class citizens to film directors, easily replaced, rewritten and frequently ignored. Movie writers do want more money when their work is sold on video and DVD, but that is of little concern to most TV writers. About the only money issue they share is how they will be paid when their work eventually is distributed via the Internet or via new broadband technologies that companies such as Walt Disney Co. and Sony Corp. are working on. Among writers, generational gulfs also exist.
Guild officials note that the goals of younger members can vary from older ones.
While older members worry about the stream of residual payments they get and such issues as pension and health benefits, younger ones are concerned about such issues as how their work will be distributed using new technologies. Older writers are concerned about constant income from what they do. Younger writers ought to be as well. You can't leave any writers behind, said David Rintels, president of the Writers Guild in the mid-1970s. SAG's ranks have swelled to nearly 100,000, in part by a decision in the early 1990s to absorb screen extras.