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shadowkatJust when I started envying the tv writers and thinking it would be cool -- along comes a moral writing dilemma that I honestly have no clue how I'd resolve.
You are a writer - for a film or tv show. The show and/or film has been cast. Everyone is perfect for the parts. If a tv show you are in your third season and doing rather swimmingly. Your cast is hot. You are getting critical acclaim. Everyone likes you. Heck you've won awards. If you are a film, it's a triology, you've aired the first two films to huge acclaim. People eagerly are anticipating the next installment.
Everything's going great right? Writer's getting along. Fans seem to love the characters.
You've been told that you've got a deal for another film after this one, or say another season of the tv show, possibly two. And get this, you got a deal for other projects. Cool!
Here's the problem - one of your actors has gotten into public fracas with another actor and on set, called the actor something really nasty and offensive. So offensive that the people on the set are complaining about it in the press. This becomes public.
The actor instead of making things better, makes them worse by denying he did it.
Or:
Say your actors got arrested for drunken driving, made a fool of themselves, offended some minority groups and this hit the press? Or they've held up production on the set and are making other actors uncomfortable - so uncomfortable the other actors are starting to threaten to quit. Or they arrive drunk to the set each day?
Do you just fire them? Hold on a sec -
The actor who is doing all of this is one of your major players - you have a huge arc planned around them. If they leave the show it will cost you storywise, it could foul it up completely. Because you can't recast the character - people have identified the actor with the part and this is not a daytime soap opera (where they can get away with such things). No, if the actor leaves so does the character. The character might as well be dead.
What do you do??? What if the actor is the lead? What if they are main part of the show or film? Do you ignore what they've done? Can you ignore it and hope the public will eventually forget it and still watch? Give the actor a warning? Find a way to punish them without firing them? Or fire them and try to write around it? Here's an exercise - pick your favorite show and write an episode in which the lead or a major character has to leave the show permanently. Can you do it?
1. Angel The Series - Charisma Carpenter was causing lengthy delays, making the workplace hostile for the crew, and costing time and money in production time. Unfortunately it was not enough to fire her under her contract, so when the contract was up they let her go. This did however present a problem - she was a lead character and a fan favorite - how to handle it?
Glenn Quinn was using drugs and addicted. Came on the set drunk most of the time. Costing the producers money. He was a lead character in the series - what to do?
2. Lost - three actors had DUI's or got into trouble with the police in Hawaii. Two actors were having troubles with the other actors on set, causing delays, and making work difficult.
But one of the three was a fan favorite and one of the few minority characters on the show.
What to do?
3. Grey's Anatomy - an actor calls another actor a derogatory term concerning his sexual orientation. He denies doing it to the press. Yet has allegedly done it twice with witnesses.
The whole thing has become public. Both actors are lead players in an ensemble cast and are important to the show. What to do?
4. The West Wing - one of the lead actors was upset that another one was making more money and in more scenes than he was. He threatened to quit if he didn't get the same amount. The character was written out and the actor let go, they could not afford to pay him as much as the lead. This wasn't a moral dilemma thank god. And most situations regarding actors are like this one.
Some days, I'm very happy that I'm not employed as a television writer or filmmaker.
You are a writer - for a film or tv show. The show and/or film has been cast. Everyone is perfect for the parts. If a tv show you are in your third season and doing rather swimmingly. Your cast is hot. You are getting critical acclaim. Everyone likes you. Heck you've won awards. If you are a film, it's a triology, you've aired the first two films to huge acclaim. People eagerly are anticipating the next installment.
Everything's going great right? Writer's getting along. Fans seem to love the characters.
You've been told that you've got a deal for another film after this one, or say another season of the tv show, possibly two. And get this, you got a deal for other projects. Cool!
Here's the problem - one of your actors has gotten into public fracas with another actor and on set, called the actor something really nasty and offensive. So offensive that the people on the set are complaining about it in the press. This becomes public.
The actor instead of making things better, makes them worse by denying he did it.
Or:
Say your actors got arrested for drunken driving, made a fool of themselves, offended some minority groups and this hit the press? Or they've held up production on the set and are making other actors uncomfortable - so uncomfortable the other actors are starting to threaten to quit. Or they arrive drunk to the set each day?
Do you just fire them? Hold on a sec -
The actor who is doing all of this is one of your major players - you have a huge arc planned around them. If they leave the show it will cost you storywise, it could foul it up completely. Because you can't recast the character - people have identified the actor with the part and this is not a daytime soap opera (where they can get away with such things). No, if the actor leaves so does the character. The character might as well be dead.
What do you do??? What if the actor is the lead? What if they are main part of the show or film? Do you ignore what they've done? Can you ignore it and hope the public will eventually forget it and still watch? Give the actor a warning? Find a way to punish them without firing them? Or fire them and try to write around it? Here's an exercise - pick your favorite show and write an episode in which the lead or a major character has to leave the show permanently. Can you do it?
1. Angel The Series - Charisma Carpenter was causing lengthy delays, making the workplace hostile for the crew, and costing time and money in production time. Unfortunately it was not enough to fire her under her contract, so when the contract was up they let her go. This did however present a problem - she was a lead character and a fan favorite - how to handle it?
Glenn Quinn was using drugs and addicted. Came on the set drunk most of the time. Costing the producers money. He was a lead character in the series - what to do?
2. Lost - three actors had DUI's or got into trouble with the police in Hawaii. Two actors were having troubles with the other actors on set, causing delays, and making work difficult.
But one of the three was a fan favorite and one of the few minority characters on the show.
What to do?
3. Grey's Anatomy - an actor calls another actor a derogatory term concerning his sexual orientation. He denies doing it to the press. Yet has allegedly done it twice with witnesses.
The whole thing has become public. Both actors are lead players in an ensemble cast and are important to the show. What to do?
4. The West Wing - one of the lead actors was upset that another one was making more money and in more scenes than he was. He threatened to quit if he didn't get the same amount. The character was written out and the actor let go, they could not afford to pay him as much as the lead. This wasn't a moral dilemma thank god. And most situations regarding actors are like this one.
Some days, I'm very happy that I'm not employed as a television writer or filmmaker.
