One of Australia's most successful international screenwriters has injected $1 million of his own money into a project to launch home-grown screenwriters into a new era of success.
Screenwriter and producer Shane Brennan (who has achieved success working for US television shows including CSI, NCIS, and One Tree Hill) has launched the not-for-profit project Scripted Ink.
The joint venture with Australian Writers' Guild will recognise and reward the central role of the writer, helping to identify and develop scripts and get them to market.
Brennan told ABC's PM program he decided to bankroll the project himself to "put my money where my mouth is".
"I've been very successful over there [United States] and I couldn't come back and not try.
"If trying meant putting in some of my own money then that's what I am doing, that's what I need to do."
'On demand' services hungry for content
With the global rise of on demand television and content services Brennan said "the only place it's not coming out of is Australia."
He said not much has changed in the way screenwriters are funded in Australia despite these huge changes to the industry.
"Because of the way that audiences get their entertainment these days there's been an absolute explosion in the demand for content," Brennan said.
"We're not doing very much with the industry in this country to take advantage of that need for content."
He insists the talent is there in Australia, able to produce quality content able to compete with these existing markets.
In recent years he has been approached by many writers, directors, and actors, "all trying to get to the US to take advantage of this change in the paradigm".
"And I'm thinking 'why aren't we doing this in Australia?' We've got this brain drain — let's start making shows in Australia that we can sell to the world."
"Stop thinking local and start thinking global. We have the people here, let's do it, let's take on the world."
'One simple way' to improve Australian television
Brennan added there is also "one simple way" to improve Australian-made content further.
"We make some really good programs here but they can be better," he said.
"Put the writers in charge. If the writer got the chance to follow their vision right through production, were in control of it, you would get better programs.
"The moment you take the writer away from that you've got someone else interpreting it and it starts to go off the rails."
This is where Scripted Ink will step in, facilitating scripts through to project development.
In terms of measuring the success of the project, Brennan it would have been successful if "in four years we are still operating, because I'll fund it for three," he laughed.
"The funding bodies need to jump on board, and the broadcasters too.
"We need to show them over the next three years that it works — that this is the best way for the industry to go and hopefully the funding bodies will step up and it will become a line item on their budget."