Martinhas no patience with mini-rooms and how they make it impossible for new writers to succeed.
A freelance script; that was how you began back then.
I decided to give it a shot… and Phil and his team liked what I did.
George R.R. Martin, producer of ‘House of the Dragon’L. Carfagno Photography
So much so that within days of delivery, I got an offer to come on staff.
(In the 80s, Staff Writer was the lowest rung on the ladder.
You could tell, because it was the only job with writer in the title).
And not just about dialogue and structure and the language of scriptwriting.
I learned aboutproductionas well.
The moment I arrived, Phil threw me into the deep end.
I did not just write my script, turn it in, and go away.
I sat in on the casting sessions.
I worked with the directors.
I was present at the table reads.
I learned from them too.
Martin goes on to call mini-rooms an abomination.
Before the WGAlaunched its strike, it had proposed minimum staffing for episodic TV writers rooms.
For pre-greenlight rooms, it proposed minimum staff of six writers, including four Writer-Producers.
Example: eight episodes requires seven writers including four Writer-Producers; 10 episodes requires eight writers including five Writer-Producers.
See the WGAs proposalshere.
you might readMartinsentire blog post here.
