Inside Out
by Rebecca Schechter, President, Writers Guild of Canada
Don't Sell the House...Yet
For five years running, the National Forum (the WGC’s annual meeting) has had many more wrist-slitting moments than side-splitting ones. I’m happy to report that although this year wasn’t exactly a laugh riot, it was the most optimistic I’ve seen us, as a group, since the crash of 1999.
Why?
To begin with, there was good news from the guild. WGC revenues didn’t take the dive we expected them to last year, which leaves us with a small surplus going into 2005. That saves us from further cutbacks to what I referred to in my October column as the “fun stuff”–this magazine and the Canadian Screenwriting Awards. It also gives us room to replace some of the staff we’ve lost. Another bit of good news: after years of enduring painful cuts to our health insurance plan, our sacrifices have finally resulted in insurance premium decreases at ACTRA Fraternal. We also settled a difficult arbitration with the CFTPA so that we can go into bargaining in October with a clean slate.
The good news from the WGC, however, was surpassed by the meetings we had with network executives from CTV, CBC and CanWest Global.
Bill Mustos, CTV’s senior VP for dramatic programming, was impressive and credible in his commitment to indigenous drama. It’s clear that he loves commissioning Canadian drama and he hurts when it fails to get an audience. His most promising news is that Corner Gas is going to break even for CTV. That’s good for writers because it means there is a business model for Canadian dramas–when they find an audience. And that gives networks a financial incentive to make our shows, to schedule them well and to promote them so they’ll be hits.
CBC’s new executive VP for English television, Richard Stursberg, and executive director of arts and entertainment Debbie Bernstein pitched us their re-branding of the CBC as the Canadian drama channel. There are strings attached: they want to be guaranteed half of the Canadian Television Fund in order to make twice as much drama as they’re making now. But their heart is in the right place again. (It’s only a wish list, but just think: twice as many hours of drama!)
The biggest surprise was Global. Their new VP of programming and production, Barbara Williams, assured us that Global wants to make more indigenous drama. MOWs, hour-long series and half hours–they’re looking for all of them. Their most favoured target audience is 18-34-year-olds, so they’re looking for sexy, fast-paced material. The point is, after talking to Williams and Anne Marie Varner (head of original production), we all got the feeling that a network that was once pretty much off the map for writers is back on it again.
Even the good news isn’t all good though. At least some of the enthusiasm the private broadcasters are showing for indigenous programming may have to do with their imminent (2007-2008) licence renewal hearings at the CRTC. Last time, they told the CRTC they loved producing Canadian drama so much they no longer needed to be required to do it in their conditions of licence. The result was the disastrous 1999 TV policy which, as we all know, promptly triggered the crash of 1999.
If the broadcasters are going to fight to keep the 1999 policy in place (and you can bet your mortgage they are) then they have to show the CRTC that they really do love making Canadian drama. So if there is more drama over the next two or three years but the CRTC doesn’t reverse the 1999 policy (which we are strenuously lobbying them to do), then the revival could turn out to be a flash in the pan.
Still, three years of belt-expanding, breathing-a-sigh-of-relief, not-having-to-sell-your-house work is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. But it’s not enough. We need a stable, growing, popular, indigenous industry that fully exploits all the writing talent we have. Let’s hope the CRTC won’t fall under the broadcasters’ spell in 2008. In the meantime, write up those pitches and enjoy the work!
