Hollywood has always been a difficult town to break into-but this year's writers' strike could make finding a job a whole new ordeal.
With the Writers Guild of America strike crippling production in the entertainment industry-in particular television-those hoping for entry-level jobs are dealing with an even more competitive playing field.
The writers' strike began on Nov. 5 and is affecting over 12,000 writers in the industry. Having already caused significant problems for those looking for production desk jobs, the strike is taking a heavy toll on young people either holding or seeking starter positions. With production in most late-night and scripted television shows halted during the strike, several studios and agencies have instituted mass layoffs among lower-level employees.
No one better understands the hardship of trying to get a job today in the entertainment industry more than recent Duke graduates who have seen and experienced the effects of the strike in television and film up close. Having graduated from Trinity in May, Jacob McCafferty now works at New Regency Productions in Los Angeles. While many production companies have been laying off workers, he was able to get his job during the strike and attributes a lot of it to luck and timing. Interested in becoming a screenwriter, McCafferty acknowledges that most other young people looking for work have not been as successful.
"It's grinded to a halt around here," McCafferty said. "There are a few projects going on that were already in production, other than that we've stopped getting submissions for the most part."
Although many studios can revert back to some scripts they bought before the strike, many projects have been put on hold with directors and actors dropping out and Hollywood's pace of production slowing down dramatically. The process of getting scripts read by influential people was already very difficult before the strike began.
"You need to be constantly meeting people and getting your scripts out there," McCafferty said. "Rules during this strike say I can't even have dinner with friends of mine who are writers."
Billy Kennedy, another '07 Duke graduate working in Los Angeles, has also had first-hand experience with the strike. When Kennedy looked for a job in October, nobody was hiring as most knew the strike was imminent, but he was recently able to secure a position at Media Rights Capital, a film finance group. Not every one else has been so fortunate. Kennedy, hoping to be a screenwriter himself, says the impact on Hollywood has been "enormous."
"Durham might not be seeing it, but picketers are out at the studios every day," he said. "Agencies have cut overtime pay for all assistants, which is a big deal 'cause you don't make much money, so you have to work a lot of overtime as is the nature of the job."
In an industry where scripts are constantly being bought, sold and traded, the halt has had serious repercussions at many entry-level positions.
"I'm trying to be a writer but I can't submit anything anywhere," Kennedy said. "WGA [Writers Guild of America] put out a memorandum and ads and made it clear if you write as a scab, you will never be admitted into the Writers Guild."
Meanwhile, talent agencies have been hit hard as most make the vast majority of their money from writers and directors.
"Every one thinks talent agents are huge cash cows, but most revenue comes from writers," Kennedy noted.
Screenwriter Katherine Ruppe, Trinity '85, is a member of the Independent Writers Caucus. She has participated in large strikes with over 4,000 protestors in Hollywood. Ruppe and her agent had planned on taking her feature film screenplay to the marketplace, but the strike has prevented her from doing so and forced her to cease all screenwriting-related work. Ruppe believes graduating seniors will find it increasingly difficult to obtain jobs in Hollywood if the strike continues well into next year.
Richard Walter, co-chairman of screenwriting at University of California Los Angeles, where Ruppe graduated from in 2004, wrote a letter to all students in the school's writing program, advising them to "respect the rules of the guild they hope one day to join" by not taking on scab work during the strike. Walter noted that all faculty members in the screenwriting program are members of the WGA.
Cameo Voltz, an Assistant Director at the Career Center, believes the biggest problem for graduating seniors is the sense of uncertainty the strike has created in the job search.
"Because people cannot plan, and do want to hope for the best-case scenario, it is hard to make concrete suggestions about what may be next," Voltz wrote in an e-mail. However, Voltz added that an end to the strike will not necessarily bring everything back to normal, as possible salary changes will likely cause a ripple effect throughout the industry.
"Perhaps by this summer, the impact will be little noticed for someone conducting a job search," Voltz said. "However, a drawn-out strike does have implications for future hiring."
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