Phil Alden Robinson

After reaching the outlines of an agreement a week ago, Writers Guild of America leaders and the major studios were working Friday evening to finalize a contract that was expected to be presented to striking writers today in bicoastal membership meetings. At the Shrine Auditorium near downtown Los Angeles and the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, guild negotiators were scheduled to brief thousands of rank-and-file writers on details of the proposed agreement.

The West Coast board of the Writers Guild of America has reacted favorably to the outlines of a pending agreement reached between guild negotiators and Hollywood studios. But the board is holding off on giving its blessing until it sees the exact language in the contract, according to people familiar with the situation. The 19-member board was briefed Monday by union leaders on the major points in a tentative deal reached Friday.

Not all Los Angeles Film Festival activities involve watching movies. Here are some of the festival's more offbeat highlights: * Party! "The Transformers" premieres in multiple theaters in Westwood Village on Wednesday, followed by an outdoor block party. Tickets, $25. * Show up and sing. One of the most popular episodes of Joss Whedon's cult favorite show, "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer," was a musical episode titled "Once More With Feeling."

The Scene: Wednesday's West Coast benefit premiere of MGM's "Six Degrees of Separation" at the L.A. County Museum of Art. An elegant party followed in the courtyard. Talk about the perfect locale: One of the film's themes is social climbing, and LACMA is nothing if not a shrine to that.

2pm: Staged Reading Jennifer Paz, of "Miss Saigon" fame, heads the cast in a staged reading of "Fabric," a new play by Henry Ong based on the true story of Thai garment workers enslaved here in the Southland. * "Fabric," Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, 5th and Flower streets. Free. (323) 664-1674.

If the stories of battered women and AIDS sufferers can be made into compelling Hollywood dramas that propel some people to action, couldn't the same expectation be had for those involving the plight of starving children in Somalia or prisoners in Serbian-run concentration camps? That's what the Geneva-based United Nations commissioner for refugees hopes. The agency has taken the unprecedented step of asking a select number of Writers Guild of America members to travel under U.N.

"Blinking back tears, Ray hurries to pick up a ball and glove lying on the field. He swallows hard and throws. John smiles tenderly. . . . Their smiles grow wider as they throw the ball easily back and forth. . . . Light floods the field as father and son continue to toss the ball." The emotional conclusion to "Field of Dreams" would be lost to those who are blind or visually impaired.