Hollywood & Spine Archive: The Dark Side of The Force

We'll save the context setting for this one after you read the original text! (Originally published 11/19/2020)

Normally Hollywood & Spine would not pester your inbox so frequently this week; however, an issue has come up that feels necessary to amplify.

Yesterday, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made an unprecedented announcement: a writer in the organization was not being paid for their work. That in itself is not the shock, but the parties in question are - and the issue at hand is of major importance to fans of novelizations.

The writer in question is Alan Dean Foster, legendary sci-fi writer and one of the most prominent names in novelization history. He puts forth that The Walt Disney Company has stopped paying him royalties on several of his adaptations of films the corporation recently acquired in the last decade. The titles include the original novelization to Star Wars (published in 1976 ahead of the film's release and credited to series creator George Lucas), the original story Splinter of the Mind's Eye (conceived as a low-budget sequel idea had the film underperformed, and thus the very first entry in a sprawling "Expanded Universe" of Star Wars content), and adaptations of the first three Alien films as released by 20th Century-Fox (which Disney purchased last year).

The revelation that these books - all of which are, unlike many novelizations, still in print - would not yield royalties to Foster is absurd. To make matters worse, he contends that Disney has ignored correspondence from his agent, legal representation and the SFWA, and requested Foster sign a non-disclosure agreement before even agreeing to talk to him. His reasons for speaking publicly are simple, per his statement:

I know this is what gargantuan corporations often do. Ignore requests and inquiries hoping the petitioner will simply go away. Or possibly die. But I'm still here, and I am still entitled to what you owe me. Including not to be ignored, just because I'm only one lone writer. How many other writers and artists out there are you similarly ignoring?

SFWA president Mary Robinette Kowal added more detail in her statement to the body today, noting this is the most a case has escalated beyond the organization's grievance committee in more than a decade (emphasis mine, in bold):

Disney's argument is that they have purchased the rights but not the obligations of the contract. In other words, they believe they have the right to publish work, but are not obligated to pay the writer no matter what the contract says. If we let this stand, it could set precedent to fundamentally alter the way copyright and contracts operate in the United States. All a publisher would have to do to break a contract would be to sell it to a sibling company.

If they are doing this to Alan Dean Foster, one of the great science fiction writers of our time, then what are they doing to the younger writers who do not know that a contract is a contract?

Hollywood & Spine has a limited platform - but a pro-labor one. Those who write must be properly compensated for their work. For Disney to shirk this very simple obligation - possibly altering copyright law more radically and gravely than they already have - is beyond irresponsible. Currently, the only weapons we have (as always) are public opinion, so if you believe in the cause (and if you're a subscriber, I suspect you do): raise your voice and proclaim that #DisneyMustPay.

So, what happened since then?

For something as arcane as inside baseball around movie novelizations, the #DisneyMustPay situation garnered some attention in mainstream publications. Foster's speaking up led authors of other novelizations, including tie-in books to additional Star Wars sequels, the Indiana Jones films, the Alien and Predator franchises and other Disney-acquired properties, to point out discrepancies in their payments as well. A multi-disciplinary task force was set up to help anyone in need of tracking their royalties down, including members of the SFWA, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers and both east and west coast branches of the Writers Guild of America.

Foster's situation - which, it should be reminded, happened while his wife was being treated for cancer - was resolved to his satisfaction (as were similar issues for Donald F. Glut and James Kahn, who wrote the tie-in novels to The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). But it was not without its share of headaches: the situation began with discrepancies over Alien and continued with Star Wars, but Disney would not entertain discussion of the latter without a formal legal claim.

Some writers, too, were caught in additional snares stemming from licenses changing hands. Disney swapped comic book publishing rights to one acquired property (Fox's Buffy The Vampire Slayer) from Dark Horse Comics to Boom! (who Disney partially owns); the latter would not entertain discussions about missing royalties.

As of 2022 - the last time the task force spoke up - several writer requests have presumably not been met. "The active component" of the campaign as levied by SFWA is on hiatus. The Walt Disney Company made over $90 billion in revenue in 2024.