Reader Question: Does a “story by” credit get any financial compensation?

An open forum question from Brian:

Do “Story by:” people get any financial compensation? A friend and I hashed out a story and he’s done 90% of the writing with just some tweeks for me. Funny thing is about 90% of the story was my idea. Does only the writer get compensated?

Yes. I’ve never received one, so I don’t have any first-hand information for you, but you can go here to download the “Schedule of Minimums” as part of the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement in 2008, the one that resulted from the strike. If you flip to the page with the numbers for 5/2/10–5/1/11, you’ll see two listings:

Story or Treatment
20,554–31,334

Original Story or Treatment
28,382–47,000

The first number is tied to what I believe are low-budget movies (costing less than $5M) and the second number is for high-budget movies (costing more than $5M).

These are just minimum numbers. If you have representation, they may be able to negotiate higher terms for Story By credit.

Now there’s one other wrinkle: While the production company is responsible to recommend to the WGA the movie’s screenplay credits, including Story By (if there is a Story By credit), that is not necessarily what the final credits will be as the Guild has jurisdiction over credits.

But per your question, it’s my understanding that if you receive a Story By credit, you are due some compensation. If it’s a WGA movie, then your revenue is tied to the above minimums. If it’s a non-WGA movie, those numbers do not pertain, however the production company may well use them as a point of reference to whatever they decide to offer you per the contract. That figure is, of course, negotiable.