Neil Gaiman Explains Why He Joined WGA Picket Line: “For Me The Biggest Thing Was Just Wanting There To Be Another Generation Of TV Writers And Showrunners Who Knew What They Were Doing”
John F. Trent
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Novelist Neil Gaiman recently joined the WGA picket line outside NBC Universal Upfront in New York City and explained why he decided to join the strikers.
The Sandman. Writer Neil Gaiman on the set of The Sandman. Cr. Ekua King/Netflix © 2022
Speaking to Deadline, Gaiman said, “Because writers are important. I spent my life as a writer. Right now I’m showrunning three shows, and I’m writing, and we need contracts. These people need contracts.”
He continued, “I want there to be… For me, the biggest thing was just wanting there to be another generation of TV writers and showrunners who knew what they were doing. And I didn’t feel that the current contract offers give us that.”
“These people need contracts… for me, the biggest thing was just wanting there to be another generation of TV writers and showrunners…” Neil Gaiman tells Deadline outside of NBCUniversal Upfront today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/AOb3WZSXcN
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 15, 2023
“I think that the phenomenon that they call the mini room, where you get six or seven writers for six or seven weeks and that is their involvement means that you wind up a generation of writers who are not on set, who do not know how to make TV, who do not know what they are doing,” he elaborated.
“I mean they know what they are doing, but they don’t know how it’s done,” Gaiman corrected. “I think, fundamentally, it’s a flawed system. And we need to fix it.”
“I think the phenomenon they call the mini-rooms… means that you end up with a generation of writers who are not on set… who don’t know how it’s done… it’s a fraud system and we need to fix it,” Neil Gaiman tells Deadline outside of NBCUniversal Upfront today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/ym8QvGnvkc
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 15, 2023
As for the projects Gaiman has in the works. He’s producing and showrunning an upcoming adaptation of his Anansi Boys novel for Amazon Prime Video via Amazon Studios.
At the time of the show’s announcement, Amazon Studios Co-Head of Television Vernon Sanders said, “No one can weave a story of fantasy, humor, and deep emotion quite like Neil Gaiman, and Anansi Boys is a funny, weird, wonderful ride. We’re so happy to have Neil, Lenny, and Douglas bring their vision for Anansi Boys to the screen for our Prime Video customers around the world.”
Neil Gaiman
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Gaiman is also working on an adaptation of his The Graveyard Book for Walt Disney Studios. Deadline reported back in July 2022, Marc Forster was set to direct a film adaptation with David Magee adapting the script.
The novelist is also the co-executive producer on the Netflix series adapting his The Sandman comic book series that was previously published under the now-defunct Vertigo Comics label. He also serves as the executive producer and showrunner for the second season of Good Omens on Prime Video.
Good Omens Creator Neil Gaiman attends New York Comic Con 2018 Photo Credit: Todd WilliamsonNeil
What do you make of Gaiman’s comments about why he joined the picket line for the WGA strike in New York City?
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