Australians love to complain about the low quality of their nation’s movie industry. But screenwriter Steve Kearney says that if Australia wants better films, it needs to learn to pay the people who make them a living wage. “If we think we aren’t competing in the world market, then that’s the crappy films we are going to make. Low-budget, with minimally developed scripts about battlers who live in dingy houses. These stories emerge because that’s where writers come from. No smart person would become a screenwriter on purpose because you don’t get paid… But at least I’m not bitter. Hold on, yes I am. Hey, that’s why I write.”