Strike's still on, but end is in sight

The guild had enjoyed remarkable solidarity in the early weeks of its strike, which began Nov. 5. Most television talk shows went off the air right away, and thanks to the support of the writer-producers of scripted television shows, new episodes of most series disappeared in the following weeks. With the Screen Actors Guild honoring Writers Guild pickets, the writers were able to turn the usually glitzy Golden Globe Awards into a disastrous, star-free news conference. (Today's Grammy Awards received a guild waiver, allowing them to proceed.)

But in recent weeks, the guild's rock-hard unity began to weaken. In mid-January, the Directors Guild of America reached a deal with the television networks and movie studios that caused friction among the writers, with some claiming the Directors Guild pact was worthy while others were deriding it. Soon thereafter, some prominent writers and top TV writer-producers began lobbying guild leaders privately to try to resolve the costly dispute. Estimates of the strike's economic impact have ranged from $380 million to $1.5 billion.

The Writers Guild's negotiating committee is scheduled to meet this morning to endorse the deal before the guild's board, which also is expected to recommend it to members.

"You can decide whether to lift the strike," Verrone told members gathered at the Shrine. "The decision to lift the strike will be yours."

But even if guild members approve the agreement, it does not mean that Hollywood's labor woes are over. Officials of the 120,000-member actors union have sounded increasingly militant ahead of the June expiration of the Screen Actors Guild contract. And the writers' deal came together only when two top industry executives -- News Corp.'s Peter Chernin and the Walt Disney Co.'s Robert Iger -- circumvented formal talks to hammer out a deal on their own.

Under the tentative deal, film and television writers, who previously got nothing for shows and movies streamed over the Internet, will receive a fixed residual payment of $1,200 a year for one-hour shows streamed online in the first two years of the new contract.

In the third year of the deal, however, they would receive something directors will not: residuals equal to 2% of the revenue received by the program's distributor. Productions of certain shows created for the Internet will now be covered by the Writers Guild contract.