Author: Sereen Suleiman

We all have our favorite movies, television shows, and video games. But why are they memorable to us? Is it the characters? The genre? The plot? All those traits are integral to making a spectacular entertainment feature. However, what I and many other people truly believe contributes to a movie or television series’ success is the screenplay, the written script. Making a screenplay is no easy feat, and sometimes, it can be challenging to avoid those cheesy one-liners. This is where teams of brilliant screenwriters come into play to bring characters to life in genuine, meaningful ways. Without them, Hollywood would not be recognized as the “entertainment capital of the world.” Therefore, it only seems fit to preserve these writings, so the writers can receive the recognition they deserve. Of course, there are also collectors and film researchers intrigued by screenwriters, as well as average citizens who simply want to dive more into their favorite characters’ worlds by examining scripts. Institutions such as the Writers’ Guild Foundation (WGF) exist for this very purpose, which brings us to the topic of our event.

On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, the SAASC team proudly hosted Writers’ Guild Foundation archivist and writer, Hilary Swett, who happens to be an SJSU iSchool alum. During her speech, she explains more about the foundation’s origins, its purpose, all the scripts it contains, and the repository’s procedures. 

About WGF

They are a nonprofit founded by a prestigious group of screen and television writers. The WGF staff work closely with, but are not a part of the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA). The library consists of over 40,000 cataloged, produced scripts: 32,000 episodes, 5,800 films, 1,300 radio scripts, and dozens of web series and video game scripts. Additionally, there are 3,000 books on writing, writers, and the entertainment industry, and 1,400 recorded programs and seminars.

Pilot scripts are also available and are commonly used for historical research, because early drafts of scripts show how ideas and characters evolved over time. When it comes to writers, Billy Wilder is one of their treasures. For those who don’t know, he wrote the screenplays for the films Sunset Boulevard and Some Like it Hot.

To keep the collection relevant, they track what people read. Breaking Bad is still pretty popular as well as Game of Thrones. Classic, well-written scripts maintain their popularity. And yes, there are Marvel movie scripts. However, it is important to keep in mind that the foundation must ask for scripts, so they don’t have everything.

Who uses the library?

Here is a general list of some of WGF’s frequent visitors:

• WGAW Members
• Journalists
• Historians and biographers
• Students
• Academic researchers
• Upcoming TV/film writers

Services

The WGF is open to the public five days a week from Tuesdays-Saturdays. However, it is a non-circulating library, meaning they are only involved as special collections and archives. Their items cannot be given out nor accessed online due to copyright from studios. Therefore, if you wish to read any of their scripts, you can only do so in-person at the foundation which is in Los Angeles. That being said, the library is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and we are unsure when they will reopen.

For more information about the WGF, please visit their website. For anyone who lives in Los Angeles, hopefully the drive is not too far away. The WGF is the ideal place for librarians and archivists who are fascinated with the entertainment industry!