A-listers were once D-listers too

In their Op-Ed article, Kevin Morris and Glenn C. Altschuler divide the membership of the entertainment guilds into two distinct categories: first, show-runners, directors and stars, and second, everybody else. In their view, the first group is the only one that matters. They are wrong.

Morris and Altschuler’s dismissal of the majority memberships of the guilds as “rank and file” who “won’t make a million if they live to be, well, 100” is beyond cynical. It’s just the tip of the iceberg of elitism that’s driving the Writers Guild of America negotiations into the ground. The authors are right on one count: the Assn. of Motion Picture and Television Producers is indeed assuming that the “really important” people will eventually break ranks with their guilds and join the only side that matters, the one with the bucks.

But the guilds’ existence and continued well-being is critical for the health of our community both creatively and financially. Popular culture is a roller coaster of change. What works one year is passe the next. Unless one is incredibly lucky, one can be a powerful show-runner or A-list screenwriter or star for only a relatively brief period of time. The Screen Actors Guild has approximately 120,000 members, the WGA about 12,000. Every single one of them has had to work under a union contract to get in a guild. Many, like myself, have worked enough years to be vested in pension and health plans, which makes the guilds an important part of our financial futures. Most of us had to struggle for the right to join the guild. Most have not forgotten that struggle or what their hard-won guild benefits have done for them and their ability to carve out careers.

Certainly there are a few show-runners, directors and stars who will cave in to the lure of short-term financial gain. But the majority will not. The reasons are clear. Creative people are like anyone else. We want to get ahead, live well, take good care of our families. But there is something that separates us from the accountants, lawyers and CEOs who are an admittedly essential part of our business. Most of us didn’t get into this for the money. We got into it because we have a drive to create, to teach or to entertain. The money supports us, but it’s passion and commitment to our crafts and the core ideas we wish to express that drive us. These motives are far stronger than Morris and Altschuler are willing to acknowledge or perhaps even understand. When you strip away the BMWs, the multimillion-dollar homes and the rest of the perks, most show-runners, directors and stars are not merely “freelance independent contractors” as Morris and Altschuler cynically describe them. They are people who know and understand the pain of creation and the necessity for good collaboration and communication with their peers. They know that their core ideas, and audience acceptance of those ideas, have made them rich — not their corporate masters.

Of course, cynics like Morris and Altschuler will dismiss that statement as naive. However, those of us who have made livings in the creative arts understand. The A-listers have walked in our shoes. They will not let us down.

Harold Apter has been a member of the Writers Guild of America for more than 25 years.