ScreenplayWire believes that we can responsibly give back to other professionals by offering counsel on how to make sure that the financial rewards of screenwriting match the intellectual and spiritual rewards. Therefore we present the following manifesto:

ScreenplayWire
Guide to Fees & Other Forms of Compensation for Script Writers.

The fees a scriptwriter charges are assigned based on a Six Part Matrix of variables - three of which are determined by the kind of client, and three by the type of work performed.

Identifying and cross-indexing these parameters will produce a fee schedule that reflects industry moral standards for remuneration (such as they are).  Leave us not at this point talk about unions, as that will only devolve into a discussion of class societies, the struggle of the oppressed worker, thugs and scabs, and more scabs, with visions of playgrounds, tricycles, scraped knees and iodine, and empty promises of "this will only sting a bit." But we digress.

To use the matrix, find the "client" in the first row, the "task" in the second row, then reference the level indicators to their corresponding values in the Fee Table.

Matrix 1 - Who is the Client?

Level A Major Studio Deep pockets, accustomed to big dollars. Beware of back-end "points" and "royalties", which are about as real as winged monkeys who don't fling poop.	Level B Venture Capitalist Often anxious, inexperienced, and likely to believe the script costs as much as the actors. Build in lots of rewrites and parts for relatives.	Level C Independent Producer This title is just a devious way of saying there probably isn't enough money to pay for the script, let alone the cast and production costs.

Matrix 2 - What is the Task?

Level I Original Script * Plagiarism aside, this is the most difficult of jobs, requiring much time and research. If the project is a musical, double it and add 30%.

Level II Adaptation (Novel or Comic) Capturing the essence of the original work will be the cornerstone of your efforts, at least for the first two days. Plan for headaches.

Level III Re-write of Another Author Knowing you've been hired to correct another writer's failure is flattering and fun, unless the other writer is still alive. Then get an unlisted number.

*I hope you aren't drinking a glass of milk, as the word "original" next to "script" always makes the milk come out my nose.

Fee Table	Matrix 1, Level A	Matrix 1, Level B	Matrix 1, Level C
Matrix 2 Level I	$200 per hour or $200,000 (whichever you can get)	$200 per hour plus 4 Season Tickets (Red Sox or Lakers)	$150 per hour plus $5000 up front and free Ho-Hos
Matrix 2 Level II	$150 per hour ($200 if it requires butt-kissing a 22 year old comic book author)	10¢ per word (12¢ for adjectives 15¢ for adverbs 25¢ for swear words)	$80 per hour plus $200 and free Ho (get the Ho in writing)
Matrix 2 Level III	$125 per hour plus an introduction to Famke Janssen or Josh Hartnett	$100 per hour plus an introduction to Stephen King or Harriet Beecher Stowe	$25 per hour plus case of Heineken and a goat (get the goat in advance)