On Oct 22, 7:59 am, Carl Hoff <carl.n.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Oct 21, 11:16 pm, "jmsa...@aol.com" <jmsa...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > <starf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Book and movies are very different. Books don't involve talent from
> > > hundreds or thousands of creators.
>
> > This is not a true statement. Books involve publishers, editors,
> > assistant editors, proofreaders, typesetters, publicists, art
> > directors, photographers, and a host of others, all of whom in their
> > way "create" the book being purchased.
>
> > And in TV/film, the actors and directors who create the work are also
> > able to participate in the same kind of royalty as a book writer.
>
> I agree there is other talent involved in publishing a book but are
> editors, assistant editors, proofreaders, typesetters, publicists, art
> directors, photographers, etc. ever in a situation to collect
> royalties? I don't know... but I'd tend to think it would be just the
> author getting royalties. In regards to a movie on DVD I imagine
> there could be dozens entitled to some royalties, actors, directors,
> producers, writers, etc. I agree that getting 4 cents per DVD sounds
> incredibly low but I doubt 12% of the price is realistic either. By
> your own admission, actors and directors get better deals then the
> writers and I just can't see them all getting 12% or better.
>
> And in addition to the actors, directors, producers, and writers, I'm
> wondering about the people behind the sound track. Does John Williams
> collect royalties when a DVD of Star Wars or Jaws is sold? What about
> Queen when a Flash Gordon DVD is sold? In these cases the sound track
> is a very key part of the movie and I personally feel they should be
> entitled to royalties too. However I have no idea if that is the way
> things work or not.
>
> Asked another way, if 12% to 15% of the price of a book goes to
> royalties, do you know what percentage of a DVD price goes into paying
> all royalties, not just the authors? I would agree that amount should
> be at least 12% to 15%, but again I have no idea if that is the case
> or not.
>
> Just curious,
> Carl

The wga isn't asking for 15, 12 or even 10 percent they want to raise
the amount from 4 cents per DVD...to eight cent.