Writers/Stars Hook Up to Protect Creative Vision

A dozen screenwriters have formed a cooperative venture that will target the passion projects of major stars in an effort to give both scribes and thesps more control over the creative process. The new company, dubbed 1.3.9, will marry those projects to their writers, who'll generate spec scripts that will benefit from notes provided by the other member scribes. The writer will own the project when it is shopped to studios with the actor attached, and 1.3.9 will be involved as a producer. ,,, Effort marks the second time this year that prominent scribes have banded together to improve their place at the creative table. In March, the Writers Co-Op was formed by John Wells and 19 writers including Scott Frank, Ed Solomon, David Benioff and Richard LaGravanese. ... "Wells' group is reducing the cost of developing commercial material for a studio, while we're developing more personal projects for actors who can't get them made themselves," McQuarrie told Daily Variety. "Every actor I ever met has a dream project. They're frustrated, because they have rich development deals at studios and the power to make what they want to make, so long as they never make the movies they really want to make... The existing system is designed to keep the writer and the star apart; there is always interference from the studio and the producer," McQuarrie said. "This creates a personal level of involvement for both parties."  Link: Variety.com - McQuarrie starts up writing venture.