MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
The New Zealand Writers Guild (NZWG) today expressed support for American screenwriters and their strike for improved
conditions.
Executive Director of the NZ Guild, Steven Gannaway, drew attention to the plight of writers generally. "In what is
often perceived as a glamour industry," he said, "those who are primary producers of the product are often the least
rewarded."
Gannaway expressed understanding for the action of American film and television writers walking off the job. He
emphasised that the writers share of profits in the lucrative international DVD and internet sales had remained
miniscule after years of negotiation.
This is not a problem unique to American writers, he argued. "Many New Zealanders would be surprised to learn that most
writers' rates for the local screen industry have not increased significantly for the last twenty years, despite the
high profile of their medium."
"New Zealand writers are generally not in a position individually to exert influence on those who hold the purse
strings," he said. "The New Zealand Writers Guild is a union of writers which seeks to advance their cause and represent
them in the industry."
"As such our sympathies are very much with the action of the Writers Guild of America, and we wish them well in their
cause."
ENDS