UPDATE: ICM's Settlement paperwork will be filed Tuesday.
EXCLUSIVE: Slowly but surely, a group of over age-40 TV writers alleging age discrimination by Hollywood networks, studios, production companies and talent agencies have been winning their lawsuits. Their latest victory took place last Thursday when the California Court Of Appeals issued a ruling on discovery in their favor. As a result, one of the defendants has now decided to become the first to settle with the writers. I'm told it's ICM, and I understand that the other big Hollywood talent agencies are none too happy about the tenpercentery breaking ranks and "going rogue", in the words of one rival agency owner. (Won't that be a fun session at the next meeting of the Association of Talent Agents?) Insiders inform me that ICM's settlement amount is $4.5 million and will be covered by the agency's insurance. The deal is done, and all that's left to finish is the paperwork, I hear. Now that ICM has taken this seriously, look for the other agencies -- at least those with insurance -- to get in line to settle, too.
About two dozen class action lawsuits were originally filed 8 years ago in federal court in Los Angeles by 150+ older writers claiming pervasive age discrimination since the early 1980s. The allegations included violations of the federal Age Discrimination In Employment Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Targeted were the then six television networks, including CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox; studios including Walt Disney Co, Fox Entertainment, Universal and Paramount; 12 production companies; and 11 talent agencies, including William Morris, CAA, ICM and Endeavor. 
Among those taking up the writers' cause has been the AARP which joined the class action specialist Sprenger + Lang law firm. Since 2000, the cases have wound their way through California state and federal lower courts and appeals courts with some setbacks but also much success for the writers. Ultimately, the outcome of these cases could affect thousands of unemployed or underemployed older writers and help change the way TV deals are done in Hollywood and elsewhere.
An industry in which the longer you’ve been at your craft (i.e. the better you get at it), the less desirable you become.
Instead go for the [novice] young, semi-illiterate, just-getting-their-feet-wet “writer,” with both barrels blazing.
The stupidity boggles the mind.
Comment by Ella — August 17, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
But there is pop culture generational gap. I’m in my twenties and I know that I certainly don’t share the same sense of humor with most people in there 60’s. The milieu of both comedy and drama change as time goes by. Hiring younger writers is simply a good way to keep current with what the audience wants to see and what it relates too.
Comment by Adam — August 17, 2008 @ 9:49 pm
This discrimination has nothing to do with age rather money.
It just so happens that the older — and more experienced — you become, the more your value increases and the more you can be paid. And today’s Hollywood does not currently value quality just quantity at the cheapest price. This is because Hollywood is owned by six sigma GE-type companies with no accountability other than the bottom line — the arts, fairness, being ethical, social responsibility … none of this is part of the bottom line.
And, the more illiterate becomes the general public in terms of being feed reality shows and other crap TV, then the less they can discern in terms of quality, creative art. So Hollywood producers will actually try to dumb down their audience over a generation so that their programming can become cheaper while they still make even more money — especially more now that the Internet will give them yet another distribution channel.
Combine all this with a reduce in arts education and classical literature throughout the U.S., you have a hip-hop young generation who could care less.
Comment by Working Actor — August 17, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
As a features writer (and one not really interested in TV), and one slightly past the age of 40, I’ve never personally experienced ageism. I’ve heard it said time and time again that TV is a young person’s game. Good on those guys (and gals) for fighting the stigma. I hope this is the first of many wins against narrow-mindedness and stupidity.
Comment by Hmmmmm...? — August 17, 2008 @ 10:29 pm
Welcome to Hollywood, Ella. That’s why the trash of Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg exist, and why those commercials for “Disaster Movie” are sadly ubiquitous.
Comment by Rory L. Aronsky — August 17, 2008 @ 10:31 pm
I work in TV - and the people who stop working are the people who suck. Years go by, they get more and more bitter, and they start suing.
Just what the TV business, already reeling from the strike, needs.
Quit whining and write better.
Comment by Brophy — August 17, 2008 @ 10:55 pm
Yes, it’s also self defeating.
Demographic REALITY: there just are not that many young people. The Birth Dearth means that seniors outnumber youth vote 17-26 by 8 million!
We won’t get any more young people, unless they come from Mexico, and THEY will be watching Univision and Telemundo. Not American networks.
CW is fading fast, it may even be canceled as a network next year. Because there’s just not enough young women.
The Youth culture has been dead for some time, probably since the early 1990’s. Not just the legal issues but the economic reality that America is far older than Entertainment execs think, is going to change how TV (and movies) do business. People are just starting to notice actual reality.
Comment by whiskey — August 17, 2008 @ 10:59 pm
Listen, the age discrimination has nothing to do with actual age.
It’s far easier to screw younger writers who are eager for breaks and completely ignorant of their rights and financial worth.
Dealing with writers who are experienced is a “headache.” You know, they might actually want to get paid and stuff.
Comment by Jeff — August 17, 2008 @ 11:10 pm
Adam: Your point is well taken, but what you’re talking about isn’t so much sense of humor as frame of reference. It seems to me that TV writing staffs should have a balance: seasoned writers who have mastered the craft, as well as young novices who keep current on pop culture but still have much to learn about writing. The basics of good writing actually DON’T change much over time.
Comment by Jay — August 18, 2008 @ 12:15 am
It also seems a little hypocritical. I just flipped through the title pages of a bunch of scripts (pdfs) i have on my G-drive and writers, even the older ones, have no problem writing loads of crap with a glaring lack of roles for anyone who isn’t male, white and under 25.
a year ago i was involved in a study that gathered data on the number of roles for males and females as well as the age and ethnicity of roles listed in the breakdowns over a period of months. Results: surprise- not exactly equal opportunity.
My girlfriend who was a regular on a prime time network show (a drama) was told by several agents and execs that if she didn’t book a half-hour comedy by the time she turned thirty she would be removed from the network’s lists, “and that’s just the facts darlin’.”
no wonder people get shit injected in their faces and lie about their age. It’s not vanity, it’s survival.
that said, i think suing will result in jack-shit as far as progress is concerned.
Comment by Keven with an "e" — August 18, 2008 @ 12:25 am
Indeed Ella, and many of these new recruits are undoubtedly the product of personal favors or nepotism. The chance that high-quality talent will come from such a pool is fairly slim. I’d wager every talented writer that overcomes the industry’s entry barriers is accompanied by a mediocre writer that bypassed them altogether, on a 1:1 basis.
The industry is afraid of the unfamiliar, obsessed with milking fresh success until it grows stale, addicted to penny-pinching (whenever the money isn’t dropping into nearby pockets), and dedicated to a bureaucrat’s fantasy of unwavering policies. All of this serves to stifle the creative process, and a perceived decline in the quality of the storytelling has led to much of the contempt for “Hollywood” that exists among the viewing public today.
Somebody has to be sacrificed to clear the way for favors and nepotism. Established writers would seem to be perfect candidates for sacrifice. They’re likely to command greater pay, and that’s unacceptable to the penny-pinching conglomerates. Some discrimination also exists against writers that aren’t tech-savvy; especially if it interferes with anyone’s precious policies or preferences.
I’m not intimately familiar with the case. I’m curious what theories are being presented, and how much they overlap with what I’ve said here.
Comment by Captain Obvious — August 18, 2008 @ 1:14 am
It’s easy to pigeonhole 20 something writers who are still learning their craft as hacks; it’s much harder to look in the mirror and ask, how is YOUR craft going?
Comment by Witt — August 18, 2008 @ 1:41 am
Adam, that simply is not true, and easily disproven.
Go to the US Census Bureau:
HERE
BTW, you can also download it as an Excel file, if you want.
From 2006 (for the time pressed):
Under 5 years 20,417,636
5 to 9 years 19,709,887
10 to 14 years 20,627,397
15 to 19 years 21,324,186
20 to 24 years 21,111,240
25 to 34 years 40,415,979
35 to 44 years 43,666,950
45 to 54 years 43,278,174
55 to 59 years 18,224,445
60 to 64 years 13,362,238
65 to 74 years 18,916,844
75 to 84 years 13,046,691
85 years and over 5,296,817
Check it yourself, don’t take my word for it. Look at the shape and distribution of the age ranges. There are NOT THAT MANY YOUNG PEOPLE. Every Anglo 22-26 year old in the US has already been born. We can import people from other countries, but they won’t be watching American TV.
If I can get a potential audience of 86 million ages 37-56, vs. 21 million ages 22-26, that’s a no brainer (add two years to account for data from 2006).
Big surprise, Nielsen reports all the networks are getting much older in viewers, IIRC around 50 years old median age which is “duh” if you look at the Census Bureau reporting. In a recession, you’re not getting a bunch of hip, trendy, free-spending 24 year olds in sufficient numbers to beat your competitor who picks up a big chunk of 86 million potential viewers. Who will probably have more money anyway.
I’ve blogged about it, so too have others. Hollywood still has not adjusted it’s thinking. Heck UPN and WB had to merge in part because the audience was just too small, and it’s probably too small for CW even with all the buzz/hype over Gossip Girl. But too many execs don’t get it — the network to watch is CBS. Moonves may not be my cup of tea, but he can recognize Demographic reality. The older skewing, plus-40 leading man “team” formula of the crime-time, CSI-en and so on has been successful for them. NBC is still floundering around wondering why it’s not the 1990’s any more and why Seinfeld-type comedies don’t click [Because that audience is just too few in number now.]
After all, people from 57-66 are equal in number to 22-26 and the probably have more money. If I’m a sponsor, why wouldn’t I want them instead of younger viewers? If I’m a network, why wouldn’t I want older writers to appeal to a wealthier demo, than a twenty-something who’ll be unable to reach them? Univision and Telemundo excepted, naturally. Those networks are the “youngest” in median viewer age IIRC. And their stuff all comes from Mexico. No American writers wanted or needed.
I would not be shocked to see ICM management realizing that settling, and selling older writers to appeal to where the viewers are, could comprise a large advantage.
Comment by whiskey — August 18, 2008 @ 1:42 am
Have you actually taken the time to actually look at what other people are writing? It’s easy to be in a ivory tower about your own work if you don’t look at the craft that some people have - it’s humbling how talented some people are…
Comment by Witt — August 18, 2008 @ 2:04 am
@Comment by whiskey — August 17, 2008 @ 10:59 pm
There has actually been a HUGE boom in births in the US over the last 3 years or so. They think the numbers will end up coming close to the baby boom. So while the rate did fall, it has been flying back up lately as it always does around times of extended conflicts. (I read it on AOL News about 3 weeks ago but am too lazy to find the direct link but you can find it there)
It’s no shock they are winning. Hollywood is a serial offender of every labor law imaginable. I have no doubt many of those writers are still more than capable but since someone’s nephew wanted a shot, they get pushed aside. There are times it’s really disgusting to be working in this industry.
Comment by manny — August 18, 2008 @ 2:20 am
And the ironic thing is that while the young writers may be able to “speak the language of youth” they don’t seem able to sell the young much, judging by the poor performance of the majority of “youth” oriented programming.
My philosophy is to go with what the audience likes, and since no one outside of the industry actually bothers to dig up the birth certificate of TV writers age really shouldn’t matter as long as the work sells. That’s my 2 cents, I guess.
Comment by Furious D — August 18, 2008 @ 4:06 am
Age is only one component of Hollywood missing the mark in its television approach.
Yes, a huge number of us out here are older but we also do not share the dominate Hollywood cultural or political values, AT ALL. That is why we have turned off the crap shown on our televisions.
There is, and has to be, a secret society of conservative actors, producers and others of like mind who meet quietly in Hollywood because of leftist Hollywood’s hateful bias against their politics and cherished beliefs.
Hollywood is completely missing the mark in marketing entertainment to a huge part of this country because of its inbred hubris and sense of condescension toward millions of us who still believe and pursue vastly different values and goals in our daily lives.
Hollywood’s power structure is notoriously insular toward middle America and now wrings hands, gnashes teeth and cries, “Why won’t these viewers watch our shows?”
Comment by outhere — August 18, 2008 @ 4:19 am
Just wondering? Does anybody know if there is a class action lawsuit for aging SAG/AFTRA actors? I would like to sign up. I’ve been in the business for 20 years and the moment I turned 40 my career virtually stopped.
Comment by be nice — August 18, 2008 @ 7:45 am
Older (50+) feature film writers tell me of entering a room for a pitch meeting and actually seeing the 27-year-old development exec’s face drop when he or she gets a look at them. People in an already tenuous job don’t want to hire their fathers and mothers. While older writers may, indeed, not have the same cultural references as the prime movie-going demographic, what they do have is a level of craft that can work in tandem with the flavor-of-the-month. This is why a producer will buy a neat idea from a new kid, realize one or two drafts later that it doesn’t make a movie, and then hire an older scribe to save both their asses. Only they’ve given the new kid $100,000 versus $1 million and all they have left for the old guy is WGA minimum, and he gets arbitrated out of a credit. Admittedly, TV table writing is different — it IS about socializing as well as skill — but a feature script has no age, only craft. The real problem is the 27-year-old Jasons who can’t read scripts but can read those “how to write a screenplay” books and think life begins with the reveal on page 9. Remember the joke about the guy who sends a script to a friend at a studio and then calls him a week later to ask what he thinks of it. “I don’t know what I think,” the friend says. “I’m the only one here who’s read it.”
Comment by Santayana — August 18, 2008 @ 8:05 am
but hey - let’s all trust the suits and the agents who are in the bag for them, right?
let’s make a deal on the sag contract, right?
then, we’ll just end up suing them in ten years and waiting another ten to settle.
cowards: u4s and aftra and ny sag board
news flash: the suits? are the “bad guys” in our collective movie: writers, directors, actors
Comment by team no — August 18, 2008 @ 9:50 am
Furious D is right…
No one anywhere cares who writes what…so you might as well hire the best writer.
So that’s what I do. And the best writers are all over 50 because writing is freakin difficult and takes a long, long time to learn how to do it well…
And yes, some are very expensive, others are not. But I’d rather have someone good rather than someone who is “hot” and anyone, ANYONE who can turn in a decent first draft is worth every damn penny.
Comment by a suit — August 18, 2008 @ 9:54 am
Proving age discrimination is difficult, which is why these lawsuits have been kicking around since 2000. But for ICM to want to settle must mean that someone has a memo from it saying something to the effect not to hire anyone over 40! It’s possible. As we know with the recent ABC memo telling producers to steal ideas from overseas shows, executives will write the darndest things.
As for what everyone has written here, yeah, it’s all true. Young people may have new ideas, but they’re also cheaper and will “go along to get along.” Execs want to hire someone their own age and not hire pops or gramps who might “tell them a thing or two.”
As writers get older, they’re usually either hired by older producers their own age, or are brought in to punch up a rotten script. It takes longer and longer to sell a script, assignments become fewer and far between, and so forth. Some writers are able to fill in their schedules by writing books about Hollywood or film writing, or teaching writing classes. Some write novels or channel their energies into other fields.
I would be interested in seeing more details about these lawsuits since you have to actually prove there was real age discrimination, rather than the general vague excuses that so-and-so was too expensive, or that “we decided to go in another direction.”
Comment by Dan Zee — August 18, 2008 @ 10:07 am
Dear Santayana:
“Admittedly, TV table writing is different — it IS about socializing as well as skill — but a feature script has no age, only craft.
You are correct, sir.
The Tv writers of age suit results from of actual, verifiable incidents.
My great uncle and father both experienced age discrimination… and then I did, as well.
When it happens to you, you are in a strange place because there is no one or place to go for a ‘Second Opinion’ — Work just plain stops.
Shelly Winters went in to a young network executive (who she’d been briefed about) and when he wanted to see her credits, she pulled two Oscars out of her bag and slammed them on his desk.
Unfortuately, most of us in Tv do not receive Oscars in our lifetime. As Fred Allen said:
“Comedy writers — The echoes of forgotten laughter.”
That is all we have… When Pat McCormack kicked the bucket, some people reminded others of one of his jokes …spoken as he was passing The Braille Institute. Yes it was funny… It was still funny… It had been funny twenty years earlier when Carson was paying him big bucks.
Groucho Marx saved himself from being thrown into elder care by creating a series of jokes on the witness stand in his trial… over the use of his name and money. Real joke writers, storytellers can do that… regardless of age.
This lawsuit has been on-going for almost nine years. Most of the writers attached to it are not working at all. It has nothing to do with lack of talent or insight to ‘Today’s’ highly unusual and complex issues
(insert laugh), but rather because some network suit has made an arbitrary call on the effectivness of an older writer to provide his network with something “new” and “fresh.”
There ain’t any thing “new” or “fresh;” there are only ‘new’ and ‘fresh’ interpretations of what has gone down as a salable story, and writers if they are any good keep abreast of society and its changes. Therefore, they CAN write about it as well as any kid out of Harvard (the greatest place to graduate… as far as a suit or Lorne Michaels goes) or Yale or Berkeley or whatever’s down the line.
I’m pleased for those older writers who filed this lawsuit. Maybe they’ll be allowed network access… providing, of course, they live that long!
-teddy
Comment by teddy — August 18, 2008 @ 10:30 am
Nikki — I just want to make it clear that this suit was NOT waged by the WGA, but was a voluntary action taken by the writers involved. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the merits, it was not guild-affiliated.
Comment by clarification — August 18, 2008 @ 10:45 am
I run a network drama, and I would cut off my right arm for a great writer, black white old young man woman gay straight. Doesn’t matter.
Without fail, every time I’ve heard a person complain to me that they can’t work because they’re old, I’ve asked for a script and it’s sucked.
The good ones aren’t complaining and suing. They’re working.
Comment by Reality Check — August 18, 2008 @ 11:00 am
Outhere….WHERE IS THAT secret society? It’s not enough to mention it. Let’s get it going. I totally agree with you. You know what I watch? Old movies, silent movies and of course the inestimably wonderful product out there like “Mad Men,” Dexter,” “The Sopranos,” “24″(qualifier-last season wasn’t really that compelling), Ricky Gervais’ “The Office,” and that’s about it. I drive thru Hollywood in awe of the history of brilliant talent of all ages. The American culture really HATES age and it’s upsetting. Last night I watched “Shine A Light,” and was BLOWN away at Scorsese and The Rolling Stones-WHAT wisdom and talent they have. Let’s DO something. Bring back quality across the board. I have nothing against young people. I was young once and I am STILL the person was back then.
Comment by be nice — August 18, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
I am not a party to this lawsuit, but I am an “older” writer. Television’s ageism is rooted in the long outmoded advertising concept that younger viewers are less wedded to brands and have more disposable income than older viewers. In fact many studies have shown that the former was never true, while the latter was true in 1965 when Baby Boomers were coming of age, marrying, buying houses and filling them with acquisitions. Today these boomers still have the most purchasing power and their children and grandchildren make far less money and have far less disposable income. The networks, however, are so invested in the 18-50 mythology that they refuse to admit they could be wrong. By the way, what ever became of the WB network, whose sole and only programming demographic was 18-35?
And: Whomever leaked this “imminent settlement” to the media did no writer a favor. There is no settlement yet, so naming an entity as ready to settle will bring so much pressure to bear on them from those not willing to settle that this may drag on for still more years.
Comment by Marvin — August 18, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
I don’t have any problem with lying.
sometimes, we need to lie to survive.
Comment by kazz falcon — August 18, 2008 @ 3:03 pm
Adam ( post # 2 ) is a writer in his twenties who does not know the difference between ‘there’ & ‘ their’ or ‘too’ and ‘to’ but is apparently working and successful.
Just an observation….
Comment by Peterson — August 18, 2008 @ 3:10 pm
William Friedkin said that Billy Wilder was funnier and sharper in his mid-seventies than most people a quarter of his age, but he couldn’t get a meeting. No one cared about the old dude.
I was dealing with this young wannabe producer a while back. He was intersted in my project and had some connections. We were talking about my script, a paranoid thriller. I mention “Three Days of the Condor” and “Marathon Man” as examples of the tone and thrust of the story. He never heard of either film. When he saw the shock on my face, he justified his ignorance with “who cares about thoses movies?”
Wow.
Needless to say the guy never got anywhere as a producer.
Comment by Kill Bill — August 18, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Peterson’s comment about the second comment posted here by “Adam” is a bullseye!
Comment by EWK — August 18, 2008 @ 5:49 pm
This isn’t even a question of the people in the lawsuit who are over 40. When I got my agent, he came right out and said that he wouldn’t take on a new TV writer in his 30s because it wouldn’t be worth investing in them given the shorter length of their career. I looked younger, and needless to say, I lied about my age. This lawsuit needs to be won, not only for the specific writers in the lawsuit, but to once and for all change the pervasive and perfidious nature of ageism that is just taken for granted in this business.
Comment by age liar — August 18, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
I’m an older writer who doesn’t really look my age, but refuses to lie anyway. “Out and proud” is the only way things will change.
That, and the undeniable power of our mad skillz.
Comment by Anonymous — August 18, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
Adam says: I certainly don’t share the same sense of humor with most people in there 60’s. The milieu of both comedy and drama change as time goes by. Hiring younger writers is simply a good way to keep current with what the audience wants to see and what it relates too.
Even a spell checker can’t help you if you don’t have enough experience with words.
Also, just a thought: the younger you are the newer the ideas seem…
Comment by innerealm — August 18, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
I sold my first feature spec just as I hit my very early 30’s. I don’t know if I look my age or not, but when all of the agencies met with me, none of them even hinted at wanting to know how old I was.
When I go into meetings, I generally run into writers who look much older than I do and who I would guess are late 30’s, 40’s, sometimes older.
When I was striking this winter, I definitely thought everyone looked much older than me. I didn’t see very many kids on the lines holding WGA cards. I felt like a baby.
In this day and age, it’s hard to be an under 30 working screenwriter. If you’re pulling it off, you’re lucky and very talented.
If you’re the right writer for the gig, that should be that.
I think in this current generation of 30-something writers, they are still linked to technology and what’s new.
They grew up playing video games and reading comics and they are still doing both of those endeavors in their 30’s. They are more than relevant to the marketplace.
I tried to sell scripts when I was 24 and I wasn’t ready. I was an imitator then. I had nothing interesting to say. I just knew how to riff off my favorite movies.
It was all the years from that point on I cut my teeth as a writer and learned my craft and now when a producer calls me in for a project, I can put together a take/outline/draft that blows them away.
Some people come out of the womb like that, but most of us have to live life, develop a personality and learn our craft before we really have something to say.
I think it’s awful if a 50+ writer gets knocked out for their age. It scares me to the point that I consider trying to find another career before I hit that age and can’t get work.
I hope it’s not the case, but I think in the back of my mind that 50 is the age by which I better have made enough money to support my family for the rest of my life.
I feel like I’m rolling the dice with my future sometimes and it creates a lot of stress, but I love what I do and I want to see all my goals happen.
I can’t imagine how it must feel to be a talented writer who is DQ’d for age reasons. Just thinking about it makes me sick.
Comment by anonymous writer — August 18, 2008 @ 11:20 pm
>>>But there is pop culture generational gap. I’m in my twenties and I know that I certainly don’t share the same sense of humor with most people in there 60’s. The milieu of both comedy and drama change as time goes by. Hiring younger writers is simply a good way to keep current with what the audience wants to see and what it relates too.
Yeah, I mean, like, what the fuck was that guy Seuss doing WRITING FOR CHILDREN? How hip could HE have been, being so much older than his targeted audience?
And kid, if you’re an example of literacy for people in their 20s, you’re a dumb fuck dooming this nation. Enjoy your Chinese masters.
Comment by Mike Cane — August 19, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
Remember that “19 year old” writer who wrote on the tv show Felicity, and it was revealed later that she was really 36. When she was thought to be 19, she was the hottest scribe in town. When the news broke that she lied about her age, she was gone faster than an ice cube in hell. What happened? How do you go from being “so creative” to a hack in a flash?
That just sucks and is unfair. I’m sure the woman is out of the business by now. She saw the worst side of it - ageism. Maybe she shouldn’t lied, but you become desperate after awhile.
Comment by pal joey — August 19, 2008 @ 6:57 pm
This lawsuit is based on solid data, and someone is right, there are a number of statements and memos to the effect that this or that company deliberately hires people under thirty; these directives and memos would sink any company or individual in any other business in the country. It’s all there. The lawsuit is valid, the reason it is taking a long time is that Hollywood - of all the industries in America - gets away with more labor law violations than any of them and they are worried (rightly) that if they break ranks it’s Katy-bar-the-door. All older writers were young once, how do you think we got in the business in the first place?
Comment by ekw — August 20, 2008 @ 6:45 am