Almost 800 Writers Sign Statement Vowing To Fire Agents If WGA Gives Order

Some 778 showrunners and screenwriters have signed a statement saying that they will fire their agents if the WGA fails to reach an agreement with the Association of Talent Agents for a new franchise agreement. Signers include a slew of A-listers, including Greg Berlanti, Alfonso Cuaron, James L. Brooks, Aaron Sorkin, Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes, Seth MacFarlane, Mike Schur, Tina Fey, Joss Whedon, Kenya Barris, Peter Farrelly, Oliver Stone, John Wells, Matthew Weiner, Noah Hawley, Vince Gilligan, John Singleton, David Chase, Barry Jenkins, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Colin Trevorrow, Eric Roth, David Shore, David Simon, Shawn Ryan, Lena Waithe, Paul Haggis, Mindy Kaling, Drew Goddard, Jenji Kohan, Carlton Cuse, Howard Gordon, Kurt Sutter, Krista Vernoff, Mara Brock Akil, Danny Strong, Rob McElhenney, Jason Katims, Terence Winter, Peter Lenkov, Michelle and Robert King, Al Jean, Robert Towne, Gloria Calderon Kellett, Kevin Williamson, Darren Star, Rashida Jones, Pamela Adlon, WGA West president David A. Goodman and WGA East president Beau Willimon.

See the full list below and here.

The guild will return to the bargaining table on Tuesday with the ATA, and WGA members will begin voting the next day on a new Agency Code of Conduct that would ban packaging fees and force agencies to sever their ties with affiliated production companies, both of which the guild says are conflicts of interest.

Notably, the statement of support for the guild says that any new agreement should “confront practices that constitute a conflict of interest” – not eliminate them. It’s not clear if this was intended as a sign that there remains some wiggle room in the guild’s steadfast demand that these practices be abolished.

“We are voting YES to support guild implementation of an Agency Code of Conduct after the current AMBA expires on April 6th, if there is no negotiated settlement,” the statement says. “We agree a new agency agreement should:

• Confront practices that constitute a conflict of interest: agency packaging fees and agencies functioning as producers.
• Require the agencies to work with the guild to protect writers’ interests by providing writer contracts, invoices and other information.”

Signers also agreed that in keeping with the guild’s rule that prohibits members from being represented by non-franchised agencies:
• We will only be represented as writers by agencies franchised by the guild.
• We commit to support our fellow guild members following termination of the current agreement.

Notable showrunners who didn’t sign the statement include Dick Wolf, Chuck Lorre, J.J. Abrams, Ryan Murphy, Bill Lawrence, Ava DuVernay, Lee Daniels, Alex Kurtzman, Dan Fogelman, Tom Fontana, Adam Reed, Alan Ball, Marc Cherry, Michael Seitzman, and the Duffer Brothers.

The WGA West has about 10,000 active members, and the WGA East has about half that many. In the upcoming vote on the Code of Conduct, their votes will be combined to either approve or reject it.

Here is the list of those who signed the statement:

John Aboud
Isaac Adamson
Justin Adler
Pamela Adlon
Jon Aibel
Mara Brock Akil
Mike Alber
Chris Alberghini
Scott Alexander
Lucy Alibar
Gabrielle Allan-Greenberg
Fede Alvarez
J.D. Amato
Arash Amel
Sheryl J. Anderson
Dave Andron
Nick Antosca
Rich Appel
David Arata
Daniel Arkin
Adam Armus
Michael Arndt
David Auburn
John August
Benjamin August
Meredith Averill
Brett Baer
Neal Baer
Byron Balasco
Rene Balcer
Frank Baldwin
Andrew Baldwin
Jenna Bans
Carol Barbee
Ike Barinholtz
Andrew Barrer
Alfredo Barrios
Kenya Barris
Simon Barry
Tony Basgallop
Jay Basu
Aseem Batra
Julie Bean
Stuart Beattie
Jay Beattie
Simon Beaufoy
Bryan Behar
Monica Beletsky
Alice Bell
Roberto Benabib
Alec Berg
Amy Berg
Greg Berlanti
Andrea Berloff
Josh Berman
Shari Springer Berman
Carlo Bernard
Ed Bernero
Nat Bernstein
Matt Berry
Jenny Bicks
Kevin Biegel
Carter Blanchard
Rachel Bloom
Mark Boal
Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Jon Bokencamp
Max Borenstein
Chris Borrelli
Max Botkin
Loren Bouchard
Brannon Braga
Monica Breen
Ian Brennan
Shane Brennan
Craig Brewer
Corinne Brinkerhoff
Jeremy Bronson
James L. Brooks
Adam Brooks
Scott Buck
Boyce Bugliari
Devin Bunje
Jack Burditt
Tom Burkhard
Tara Butters
Jordan Cahan
Jason Cahill
Dana Calvo
Alessandro Camon
Matthew Carnahan
Kay Cannon
Christopher Cantwell
Sarah Carbiener
Frank Cardea
Erin Cardillo
Robert Carlock
Matthew Carlson
Joe Carnahan
Bridget Carpenter
Nkechi Okoro Carroll
Jeremy Carver
Alex Cary
Daniel Casey
David Caspe
Shaun Cassidy
Benjamin Cavell
Tucker Cawley
Natalie Chaidez
Ilene Chaiken
JC Chandor
Matthew Charman
Eric Charmelo
David Chase
Dave Chernin
John Chernin
Mike Chessler
Pete Chiarelli
Laura Chin
Joel Church-Cooper
Tripper Clancy
Eliza Clark-Whedon
Allen Clary
Harlan Coben
Diablo Cody
Etan Cohen
Joel Cohen
Joe Robert Cole
Bill Collage
Chris Collins
Laurie Collyer
Michael Colton
Michael Connelly
Adam Conover
Greg Coolidge
Akela Cooper
Andrew Cosby
Juan Carlos Coto
Manny Coto
Carter Covington
Adam Cozad
Charlie Craig
Chad Creasey
Jennifer Crittenden
Shauna Cross
Sean Crouch
Alfonso Cuaron
Jonas Cuaron
Mark Cullen
Sean Cunningham
Alexandra Cunningham
Carlton Cuse
Rebecca Cutter
Andrew Dabb
Mike Daniels
Evan Daugherty
Ken Daurio
Jim Dauterive
Hayes Davenport
Marjorie David
Luke Davies
Paul Davies
Will Davies
Steven Davis
Charlie Day
Steven S. De Knight
Michelle Dean
Matt Dearborn
Ed Decter
Meg DeLoatch
Jamie Denbo
Katie Dippold
Jeremy Doner
Garrett Donovan
Karey Dornetto
Tim Doyle
Dan Dworkin
Marc Dworkin
Jay Dyer
Ben Edlund
Kerry Ehrin
Richard Eid
Russell Eida
Lee Eisenberg
John Eisendrath
John Enbom
Diane English
Kevin Etten
Brad Falchuk
Eric Falconer
Stephen Falk
Peter Farrelly
Gina Fattore
Michele Fazekas
Chris Fedak
Matthew Federman
Michael Feldman
Miles Orion Feldsott
Mark Fergus
Gabriel Ferrari
Tina Fey
Glenn Ficarra
Hannah Fidell
Nathan Fielder
Jackie Filgo
Jeff Filgo
Michael Finch
Dave Finkel
Marc Firek
Mark Fish
Debra J. Fisher
Micah Fitzerman-Blue
Ron Fitzgerald
Jennifer Flackett
R. Lee Fleming
Ayanna Floyd Davis
Jake Fogelnest
Maya Forbes
Christopher Ford
Brent Forrester
Dana Fox
Scott Frank
Jeff Franklin
F. Scott Frazier
Breen Frazier
Anna Fricke
Josh Friedman
Eric Friedman
Liz Friedman
Diane Frolov
Neil Gaiman
Karl Gajdusek
Sera Gamble
Alex Gansa
Robert Ben Garant
Greg Garcia
Liz Garcia
Linda Gase
John Gatins
Henry Gayden
Scott Gemmill
Terry George
Martin Gero
Leila Gerstein
Michael Gilio
Vince Gilligan
Tony Gilroy
Dan Gilroy
Scott M. Gimple
Ilana Glazer
Tony Glazer
Will Gluck
Drew Goddard
Andrew Goldberg
Ian Goldberg
Jessica Goldberg
Neil Goldman
Jill Goldsmith
Jonathan Goldstein
Oliver Goldstick
David A. Goodman
Dan Goor
Howard Gordon
Jill Gordon
Howard Michael Gould
Peter Gould
Dana Gould
David Goyer
David Grae
Seth Grahame-Smith
Susannah Grant
David Gordon Green
Misha Green
Lauren Greenfield
David Greenwalt
Devon Greggory
Dan Gregor
Ted Griffin
Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Jonathan Groff
Peter Grosz
Eric Guggenheim
Marc Guggenheim
Aaron Guzikowski
Paul Haggis
Barbara Hall
Justin Halpern
Joe Halpin
John Hamburg
Elizabeth Hannah
Hart Hanson
Dante Harper
Noah Harpster
Amy B. Harris
Dee Harris-Lawrence
Jim Hart
Todd Harthan
Jon Hartmere
Josh Harto
Alexi Hawley
Noah Hawley
Phil Hay
Peter Hedges
Eric Heisserer
Elizabeth Heldens
Marielle Heller
David Hemingson
Kevin Hench
Joe Henderson
Felicia D. Henderson
Jonathan Herman
Tara Herrmann
Mark Heyman
Al Higgins
Lauren Hissrich
Chad Hodge
Christina Hodson
Erich Hoeber
Jon Hoeber
David Holden
David Hollander
Chris Hollier
Davey Holmes
David Holstein
Winnie Holzman
Adam Horowitz
Gillian Horvath
Jason Horwitch
Melinda Hsu-Taylor
Matt Hubbard
Rob Huebel
Randy Huggins
Soo Hugh
Ted Humphrey
Darlene Hunt
Matt Ingebreston
Lauren Iungerich
Sean Jablonski
Peter Jackson
Abbi Jacobson
Rick Jaffa
Al Jean
Barry Jenkins
Tamara Jenkins
Chip Johannessen
David Leslie Johnson
Dee Johnson
Brett Johnson
Philip Johnston
Amy Holden Jones
Ben Corey Jones
Rashida Jones
Rolin Jones
Lisa Joy
Barry Julien
Doug Jung
Alexa Junge
Dave Kajganich
Mindy Kaling
Robert Kamen
Angela Kang
Tom Kapinos
Emily Kapnek
Larry Karaszewski
Ben Karlin
Jensen Karp
Jason Katims
Mitchel Katlin
Richard Keith
Jason Keller
Gloria Calderon Kellett
Mike Kelley
Chris Kelly
Thomas Kelly
Chris Keyser
Callie Khouri
Albert Kim
Simon Kinberg
Damian Kindler
Anthony King
Michelle King
Robert King
Karey Kirkpatrick
Edward Kitsis
Julie Klausner
Dana Klein
Phil Klemmer
Erica Kodish
David Koepp
Jay Kogen
Jenji Kohan
Todd Komarnicki
Terri Kopp
Brian Koppelman
Natalie Krinsky
Nick Kroll
Ehren Kruger
Elizabeth Kruger
Daniel Kunka
Richard Lagravenese
James LaRosa
Eliot Laurence
Norman Lear
Malcolm Lee
Meg LeFauve
Lauren LeFranc
Dennis Lehane
Peter Lenkov
Thomas Lennon
Gary Lennon
Niall Leonard
David Levien
Jennifer Levin
Mark Levin
Daniel Libman
Matthew Libman
Rob Lieber
Paul Lieberstein
Steven Lilien
Damon Lindelof
Jamie Linden
Riki Lindhome
David Lindsay-Abaire
Chris Lloyd
Ben Lobato
Kenneth Lonergan
Jay Longino
Matt Lopez
Jon Lucas
Jenny Lumet
Thomas W. Lynch
Monica Macer
Seth MacFarlane
Carina Adly MacKenzie
Patrick Macmanus
David Magee
Josh Malmuth
Doug Mand
Dave Mandel
Matthew Manfredi
John Mankiewicz
Michael Mann
Patrick Marber
Brandon Margolis
Justin Marks
Christopher Markus
Andrew Marlowe
Melanie Marnich
Blake Masters
Brett Matthews
Craig Mazin
Glen Mazzara
Laurie McCarthy
Tom McCarthy
Will McCormack
Tarell McCraney
Gigi McCreery
Rob McElhenney
Stephen McFeely
Patrick McKay
Adam McKay
Stacy McKee
Aline Brosh McKenna
Bruce McKenna
Jamie McLaughlin
John McNamara
Jeff Melvoin
Carol Mendelsohn
Wendy Mericle
Liz Meriwether
Erica Messer
Raven Metzner
Seth Meyers
Jason Micallef
Judah Miller
Matt Miller
Terri Miller
Bruce Miller
Rebecca Miller
Tim Minear
Dominic Minghella
Terri Minsky
Doug Miro
Heather Mitchell
Arika Mittman
Jose Molina
Scott Moore
Bobby Moresco
Chris Morgan
Glen Morgan
Oren Moverman
Kieran Mulroney
Michele Mulroney
Peter Murietta
Henry Alonso Myers
Christine Nangle
Gerardo Naranjo
Michael Narducci
Jeffrey Nathanson
Chris Nee
Scott Neustadter
Kim Newton
Jeff Nichols
Jonah Nolan
Christopher Nowak
Pete Nowalk
Annabel Oakes
Rockne S. O’Bannon
Brendan O’Brien
Matt O’Brien
Mike O’Brien
Tom O’Connor
Bob Odenkirk
Sean O’Keefe
Erik Oleson
Tracy Oliver
Lara Olsen
Josh Olson
Mike O’Malley
Andrew Orenstein
Patton Oswalt
Eric Overmyer
Peter Paige
Dan Palladino
Mike Palleschi
Ol Parker
Jonas Pate
Josh Pate
Sallie Patrick
Saladin Patterson
Cinco Paul
JD Payne
Tony Peckham
Zak Penn
Prentice Penny
Nicole Perlman
Jennifer Philbin
Dannah Phirman
Greg Plageman
Julie Plec
Amy Poehler
Gregory Poirier
Jon Pollack
Joe Port
Ashleigh Powell
Dawn Prestwich
Michael Price
Richard Price
Jonathan Prince
Robert Pulcini
Kate Purdy
Daniel Pyne
Tad Quill
Keith Quinn
Simon Racioppa
Issa Rae
Marco A. Ramirez
June Diane Raphael
Robia Rashid
Michael Rauch
Billy Ray
Marissa Read
Theresa Rebeck
Ed Redlich
Andrew Reich
Jason Reich
Elwood Reid
Evan Reilly
Perry Rein
Jason Reitman
John Requa
Shonda Rhimes
John Riggi
Rich Rinaldi
Ian Roberts
Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Kate Robin
Matthew Robinson
Phil Alden Robinson
Howard A. Rodman
Dailyn Rodriguez
John Rogers
Christopher C. Rogers
Graham Roland
Erica Rosbe
Melissa Rosenberg
Phil Rosenthal
Eric Roth
Rodney Rothman
Julie Rottenberg
Mike Royce
Diane Ruggiero-Wright
Marja-Lewis Ryan
Shawn Ryan
Ira Sachs
Michael Saltzman
Danielle Sanchez-Witzel
Ken Sanzel
Tanya Saracho
Stephanie Savage
Stephen Scaia
David Scarpa
Jac Schaeffer
Greg Schaffer
Akiva Schaffer
James Schamus
Alison Schapker
Grant Scharbo
Paul Scheer
George Schenck
Stephen Schiff
Andrew Schneider
Sarah Schneider
Allison Schroeder
Tom Schulman
David Schulner
Patrick Schumacker
Mike Schur
Beth Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
Julie Scully
Mike Scully
David Seidler
Hillary Seitz
Matt Selman
Naren Shankar
Craig Shapiro
Julius Sharpe
Frankie Shaw
Janine Sherman Barrois
Amy Sherman-Palladino
Keto Shimizu
Jordan Shipley
Justin Shipley
David Shore
Robin Shorr
Michael Showalter
Aaron Shure
Amanda Silver
Scott Silveri
David Simon
Derek Simonds
Ben Sinclair
Randi Mayem Singer
John Singleton
David Slack
Jeremy Slater
Patrick Sean Smith
Tom Smuts
Nicole Snyder
Jennie Snyder Urman
Andrew Sodroski
Ed Solomon
Patrick Somerville
Stephen Sommers
Diana Son
Brandon Sonnier
Aaron Sorkin
Jon Spaihts
Christopher Sparling
Nichelle Tramble Spellman
Justin Spitzer
Emily Spivey
Thania St. John
Nick Stanton
Will Staples
Darren Star
David Stassen
Hank Steinberg
Kit Steinkellner
Zack Stentz
John Stephens
Jared Stern
Jonathan Stern
Dana Stevens
Meredith Stiehm
Nick Stoller
Matthew Stone
Oliver Stone
Charlotte Stoudt
Samantha Stratton
Peter Straughan
Wesley Strick
Danny Strong
Victoria Strouse
Gene Stupnitsky
Veena Sud
Alec Sulkin
Stephen Susco
Kurt Sutter
Darren Swimmer
Jorma Taccone
Ted Tally
Anthony Tambakis
Maurissa Tancharoen
Matt Tarses
Jim Taylor
Chris Terrio
Justin Theroux
Aaron Thomas
Rob Thomas
Betsy Thomas
Joel Anderson Thompson
Rawson Thurber
Liz Tigelaar
Donald Todd
Peter Tolan
Tony Tost
Robert Towne
Stacy Traub
Colin Trevorrow
Lawrence Trilling
Sheldon Turner
Brian Turner
Ira Ungerleider
Oren Uziel
Chris Van Dusen
James Vanderbilt
Cat Vasko
Pam Veasey
Mark Verheiden
Krista Vernoff
Linda Videtti Figueiredo
Michael Vukadinovich
Robert Wade
David Wain
Lena Waithe
Andrew Kevin Walker
Eric Wallace
Dahvi Waller
Fran Walsh
Patrick Walsh
Selyna Warren
John Waters
Ben Watkins
Marc Webb
Michael H. Weber
Matthew Weiner
Josh Weinstein
Jake Weisman
Matt Weitzman
John Wells
Richard Wenk
Jed Whedon
Joss Whedon
Tom Wheeler
William Wheeler
Emily Whitesell
Gary Whitta
Marianne Wibberley
Cormac Wibberley
Kevin Williamson
Beau Willimon
Erin Cressida Wilson
David Windsor
Terence Winter
Joe Wiseman
Wally Wolodarsky
James Wong
Alexander Woo
Ken Woodruff
Lydia Woodward
Linda Woolverton
Heather Wordham
Edgar Wright
Rupert Wyatt
Bryan Wynbrandt
Alan Yang
Nicole Yorkin
Graham Yost
Kelvin Yu
David Zabel
Mauricio Zacharias
Christine Zander
Daniel Zelman
Aaron Zelman
Stu Zicherman
Elisa Zuritsky
Lisa Zwerling