The myth is that there are 10,000 people who could do just as good a job. In reality, it’s artisan type work. Highly specialized and only a few peple can do it.
I agree. I just bought a book on screenwriting. I can dream, can’t I?
With a US population of over 300 million and a world population of 6.5 billion, there are many more than 10,000 people who could do just as good a job. Anyone who ever was a stand up comic could take the place of a TV writer. I have friends in the business who tell me there are many out of work actors, writers, directors and producers who could do this kind of work. Just like there are many good performers who will not get there chance to show what they can do. Most of these folks have the job they have because they had a mentor who knew someone with influence as well as being talented. I am not standing with management at all but let's be realistic about this. Every once and a while I watch an old movie on TCM. This experience serves me well. It is a constant reminder as to how bad the writing is on today's state of the art TV soaps, sitcoms and movies. When they are not making remakes, they are making sequels to remakes.