LayarHijau.com—The Chinese drama "Filter," starring Tan Jianci and Li Landi, premiered on WeTV on February 24. However, during its debut, a screenwriter named Wu Nian Gu accused the drama team of violating her rights.
She posted a lengthy statement on Weibo to advocate for recognition of her work on the script. Wu asserted that she had been involved in writing the screenplay for the drama.
She also pointed out that the trailer for the drama clearly utilized the plot she created. However, she did not receive written notification regarding her credit as a screenwriter.
"After the show airs, I will detail the plots that used my work. I do not want my three years of writing to be overlooked, filmed, and viewed by the audience, while my existence is deliberately omitted," she stated, as reported by Sohu.
Here is the full excerpt from Wu Nian Gu's statement:
1. "Hello everyone, I am screenwriter Wu Nian Gu. I joined Xinglian Films on July 3, 2019, and began participating in the 'Filter' project. At that time, 'Filter' was still in the planning stage. I was involved from the development of the story outline to the character biographies.
The struggle to defend my rights is difficult, and the voice of a screenwriter should never be silenced by a so-called notification letter.
2. The creation process of 'Filter' officially began, edited by Teacher Tong Hua and co-created with screenwriter Luo Xiaoting, myself, and other writers. From July 2019 to August 2022, over three years, I contributed to the story outline, character biographies, 26 episodes, and the dialogue scripts for the first 12 episodes.
3. I initially joined as a screenwriter assistant. While taking notes at every meeting and proofreading scripts, I also independently created each version of episodes 1 to 14 and submitted them on time to a designated email address and the 'Filter' project work group. Although I was an assistant writer, the editor-in-chief Tong Hua reviewed every submitted script, provided revision suggestions, and selected usable plots.
In the 15-episode segment, due to the large number of my frameworks and plots being selected, Xinglian Film and Television signed an exclusive contract with me on May 24, 2021, making me a contracted screenwriter at Xinglian.
On June 10, 2021, the creation contract for 30 episodes of 'Filter Life' (number of episodes and name are tentative) was officially signed.
4. When I left the company in September 2022, all royalties for the 'Filter' segment had been settled to me, but I was not informed in writing that I did not have the right to be credited as the screenwriter.
On December 24, 'Filter' released a promotional trailer. My plot was clearly used in that trailer. Therefore, I attempted to request screenwriter credit from Xinglian but was unsuccessful.
After the show airs, I will detail the plots that I created and were used. I do not want my three years of writing to be adopted, filmed, and viewed by the audience while my existence is deliberately ignored.
Now that 'Filter' has officially launched, I also have the right to prove to the audience that I participated in this project.
All the statements above are factual and contain no false information."
This controversy highlights an important issue regarding the recognition of copyright for screenwriters in the film industry, which often goes overlooked.