Teen fan-fic writers score top jobs during WGA strike

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By Stephen Phillips

Television networks last week unanimously decided to back out of a contract that would’ve ended the three-month-long Writer’s Guild of America strike.

The decision came as shock for some, but Viacom CEO Philippe P. Dauman said it doesn’t make financial sense to pay WGA members exorbitant amounts of money for work that others will do for next to nothing.

“I’ve found an endless supply of non-union writers who will work for pennies or even for free,” said Dauman at a press conference.

On Tuesday, Feb. 12, Dauman discovered an online database of message boards devoted to fan-fiction – fan-written stories and scripts based on existing popular storylines. The sites collectively boast more than 50,000 active members, allowing networks to be somewhat selective in their hiring process.

“The way I see it, we have the upper hand. We lost around 12,000 writers to the strike, but with 50,000 people on the Internet who write the same stuff that we paid WGA members to write, we can easily pull 12,000 of the best.”

Dauman added that most of the fan-fiction writers have never been paid to write; he predicts networks will save millions of dollars because of the immense eagerness of unpublished writers.

Since Dauman’s discovery, all of the networks have jumped at the opportunity to hire members from the various fan-fiction online communities.

Fox recently hired 18-year-old amateur skater Timothy Billings, who will solely produce scripts for the popular Fox series “House.”

Billings, who describes himself as an entrepreneur of skateboarding outside the mall and writing short stories based on other people’s ideas, has never held a job as a professional writer.

“I am stoked,” said Billings. “I have creative control over ‘House,’ my favorite show.”

Billings said the salary is just “the icing on the cake.”

A spokesperson for Fox said the network will pay writers a one-time flat rate of up to $20 per episode.

“I won’t give away too much, but let’s just say this: I’m bringing the original cast back, and Dr. House and Cuddy will definitely hook up.”

Over at NBC, the hiring process for the sci-fi hit “Heroes” has been a grueling one. More than 20,000 “Heroes” fans have expressed interest in continuing the series, reported the network.

“People have agreed to write for as little as a dollar per episode,” said “Heroes” producer Tim Kring. “Others are willing to do it for free, and some people actually offered us money to let them write the episodes.”

Kring said the network will likely hire more than one writer to trade off episodes, which will “keep things fresh.”

Daniel Schultz, 14, said he feels confident the network will hire him to continue “Heroes.”

“I want Claire and Peter to become a couple just like they are IRL [in real life],” Shultz said. “I know they’re blood relatives, but I plan to put them in an alternate universe where incest is smiled upon.”

Shultz said the Claire-Peter plotline would appeal to dozens of viewers.

Other networks have followed suit, with CBS hiring 42-year-old housewife Martha Manning to continue writing “The Bold and the Beautiful” and ABC hiring seventh-grader Caitlin Morrison to begin scripting episodes of “Kyle XY.”

Apply to write for “Heroes” by sending your resume to Stephen@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 597 - February 20, 2008

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