WGA screenwriting credit system

In the United States, writing credit for motion pictures and television programs written under the jurisdiction of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) is determined by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which is composed of members of the WGAE and the WGAW. Since 1941, the WGA has been the final arbiter of who receives credit for writing a theatrical, television or new media motion picture written under the WGA's jurisdiction. A production company that signs the WGA Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement ("MBA") must comply with the WGA rules on writing credits.

The system affects reputation, union membership, and income.

It affects reputation since some sources list only WGAE or WGAW determined writing credits. John Howard Lawson, the first president of the Screen Writers Guild (the WGAW's former name) said, "A writer's name is his most cherished possession. It is his creative personality, the symbol of the whole body of his ideas and experience."

The credit system can affect eligibility for membership in the union, as one way in which a person becomes a member of the WGAW is by accruing points which are awarded based on the individual's writing credit. Membership points are also accrued through employment by, or sale or option to, a company that is signatory to the MBA.

It can also affect income. While all writers are paid when they work, some contracts limit contingent compensation to writers if they are not officially credited. Additionally, only credited writers typically receive residual income from future exploitation of a film on video, pay-per-view, broadcast television, etc.

On completion of a film or television motion picture, the producer submits to the WGA and to all eligible "participating writers" a Notice of Tentative Writing Credits (NTWC) which sets forth the proposed writing credits for the project and circulates the final shooting script to all participating writers employed on the script. A "participating writer" is a writer who was either 1) employed by the Company to perform writing services on the project or who 2) sold literary material to the Company and is a "professional writer" as that term is defined in the MBA.

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