HOLLYWOOD STRIKERS REACH DEAL

A "tentative deal" has been reached between striking Hollywood writers and film studios.

The Writers' Guild of America's (WGA) eastern and western presidents Michael Winship and Patric Verrone announced the agreement in an email to union members sent out today.

If accepted the deal could mean the 2008 Academy Awards will go ahead, avoiding the fate of this year's Golden Globes ceremony.

Writers have been taking on the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) since November last year in a struggle which has seen movies and television programmes forced to shut down production.

Now, after indications of optimism earlier in the week, the WGA has announced it is satisfied with a deal which sets the internet as "the primary means of both content creation and delivery". A lack of compensation for new media revenues derived from their work lies at the heart of the dispute.

With a deal based on the "when they get paid, we get paid" principle, the WGA appears ready to finally end the industry-damaging strike.

"An ongoing struggle against seven, multinational media conglomerates, no matter how successful, is exhausting, taking an enormous personal toll on our members and countless others," today's email statement from Mr Winship and Mr Verrone said.

"As such, we believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike."

The strike is the WGA's biggest since its 22-week 1988 industrial action, which cost the United States' film industry an estimated $500 million (£238 million).


09/02/2008 18:04:10