ARTICLE A6 - SPECULATIVE WRITING, SAMPLE PAGES AND UNSOLICITED SCRIPTS
ARTICLE A6 - SPECULATIVE WRITING, SAMPLE PAGES AND UNSOLICITED SCRIPTS
A601
There shall be no speculative writing and therefore no Producer may require a Writer to submit Script Material without a written contract.
A602
The Producer and the Guild recognize that there may be an area where the proper and constructive exchange of ideas and criticism between a Writer and a Producer may be claimed by the Guild to be speculative writing. Whenever the Guild feels that speculative writing has occurred, the case will be referred to the grievance procedure and the Producer's intent as determined by the facts shall be an important factor in the consideration. In this connection, nothing in this Article shall limit the submission of original stories or prevent the Producer from discussing with any Writer any ideas suggested by such Writer, or discussing with any Writer any ideas or any material suggested by the Producer in order to determine the Writer's thoughts and reactions with respect to any such idea or other material to determine the Writer's suitability for an assignment, provided, however, that any such discussion relating to an assignment shall be subject to the provisions of Article A603.
A603
A Writer's initial interview with the Producer concerning engagement in connection with an assignment may only be with:
- a person authorized to make a commitment to the Writer; or
- a person designated by the Producer to interview Writers with regard to the particular project under consideration.
A604
When a Producer is considering engaging a Writer in the category of drama or Documentary and the Writer has no credits or written sample of his/her work for the appropriate category, the Producer may request the Writer to write sample pages which shall not be directly related to the prospective engagement provided that:
- the sample pages will be a maximum of ten standard form pages; and
- all rights remain with the Writer.
A605
Subject to Article A602, should a Producer wish revisions to an unsolicited Script, a contract for the Script must be entered into with the Writer before a contract for revisions is negotiated.