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The fiscal story line was grim for Hollywood's screenwriters in 2010. Feature writers belonging to the Writers Guild of America, West reported earnings of $393 million last year, down 10% from the prior year and 25% below 2007, according to an annual financial report the guild released Friday. The decline underscored the fact that there are fewer writers working at a time when studios have scaled back the number of feature films they are releasing. Writers have complained about various cost-cutting practices adopted by studios that have eroded their income, such as paying writers only for the first draft of a script in so-called "one-step deals," as opposed to the customary pattern of paying a fee for first drafts and subsequent drafts.

Woody Allen earned his 20th nomination Thursday for a Writers Guild of America Award for his original screenplay for "Midnight in Paris. " Allen, 76, received his first nomination from the WGA 46 years ago for "What's New Pussycat?" and won for 1977's "Annie Hall," 1984's "Broadway Danny Rose," 1986's "Hannah and Her Sisters" and 1989's "Crimes and Misdemeanors. " Comedies made a strong showing among the nominees this year. Joining Allen in the original screenplay category are Will Reiser for "50/50"; Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig for "Bridesmaids"; " Diablo Cody for "Young Adult"; and Tom McCarthy for "Win Win" (McCarthy shares story credit on the film with Joe Tiboni)

On Aug. 25 The Times published a letter from Charlton Heston containing the inaccurate assertion that the Writers Guild strike of 1988 "collapsed" within weeks of a Supreme Court decision ruling upon the dues required from workers who elect "financial core non-membership" status instead of membership in a union. The Writers Guild strike did not "collapse." The court's Beck (vs. Communications Workers of America) decision had no impact on the Writers Guild strike. The strike came to a conclusion when the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers negotiated an agreement that both sides could accept.

"Bring It On: The Musical," which begins performances at the Ahmanson Theatre on Oct. 30, promises flashy dance numbers and high-flying acrobatics as rival high school cheerleading squads battle for first place at the national championships. Off stage, a different sort of battle is shaping up between the producers of the musical and the screenwriter of the 2000 motion picture "Bring It On," who is arguing that the show is based on the original movie. Jessica Bendinger, the sole credited screenwriter for the film, claims the musical's producers never acquired or received permission to use her exclusive rights, according to a request for arbitration filed by the Writers Guild of America.

As a 20-year member of the Writers Guild of America, Jonathan Prince was startled to learn that his union was accusing him of being a scab during the writers strike. But he was even more stunned when he learned that the guild had been relying on a secret informant, code-named Clyde, who he and his attorney said had gained unauthorized access to his private e-mails. Prince, executive producer of recent TV dramas "Cane" and "The Cleaner," was among a dozen writers who were investigated for picking up their pens and working -- or failing to report those who did -- during the 100-day writers strike that began in November 2007.

To pen a living as a Hollywood screenwriter has always required fortitude and patience. Given the ratio between number of writers and available work, the odds of success are long. Now it looks like the odds have become a whole lot longer. Thanks to a recession-driven downturn forcing studios to make fewer movies and TV shows, coupled with a screenwriters strike last year that ground production to a halt, the wordsmiths of Hollywood have seen jobs and income evaporate. That's the bleak take-away from the annual financial report of the Writers Guild of America, West, the union that represents about 8,000 movie and TV screenwriters.

The two branches of the Writers Guild of America are united in their strike against the TV networks and movie studios. When it comes to their award dinner next month, not so much. After the union unveiled nominations Thursday for its annual awards for best script-writing, the West Coast branch said that, although the winners will be announced Feb. 9, the dinner and show at which they are celebrated was being postponed until after the strike is over. The East Coast branch, meanwhile, said Friday that it hadn't decided whether to go ahead with its corresponding event in New York on Feb. 9.

While the West Coast branch of the Writers Guild of America has postponed its annual gala until the strike is settled, the East Coast branch said Friday it planned to hold an informal reception in New York on Feb. 9, when the winners of the union's annual writing awards are announced. "We have chosen to honor the nominees and recipients of our awards in the context of our ongoing strike against the studios and networks," said Michael Winship, president of the WGA East. "This will be a simple event that will rally us together as a union."

Re "Joyful Writers Express Relief Over New Pact," May 5: Screenwriter Deborah Amelon states that "[Writers Guild of America President] John Wells is going to be a hero to writers for many years to come." Huh? What major concessions did the writers truly receive? Certainly not the money (Wells' annual salary alone is close to the $41 million of the writers' three-year deal). And respect? Access to the set? Who's going to decide that? Case in point: "Erin Brockovich." Who would be invited, [screenwriters]

"Bring It On: The Musical," which begins performances at the Ahmanson Theatre on Oct. 30, promises flashy dance numbers and high-flying acrobatics as rival high school cheerleading squads battle for first place at the national championships. Off stage, a different sort of battle is shaping up between the producers of the musical and the screenwriter of the 2000 motion picture "Bring It On," who is arguing that the show is based on the original movie. Jessica Bendinger, the sole credited screenwriter for the film, claims the musical's producers never acquired or received permission to use her exclusive rights, according to a request for arbitration filed by the Writers Guild of America.

The fiscal story line was grim for Hollywood's screenwriters in 2010. Feature writers belonging to the Writers Guild of America, West reported earnings of $393 million last year, down 10% from the prior year and 25% below 2007, according to an annual financial report the guild released Friday. The decline underscored the fact that there are fewer writers working at a time when studios have scaled back the number of feature films they are releasing. Writers have complained about various cost-cutting practices adopted by studios that have eroded their income, such as paying writers only for the first draft of a script in so-called "one-step deals," as opposed to the customary pattern of paying a fee for first drafts and subsequent drafts.

The script hasn't changed much for the diversity -- or lack thereof -- of writers in Hollywood. That's the log line from the 2011 Hollywood Writers Report, the latest study by the Writers Guild of America, West on the career status of film and TV writers. The study tracks employment and earnings by ethnicity, gender and age for writers between 2008 and 2009. Among the key findings: Though the share of minorities working in television -- 10% -- rebounded to 2005 levels, the earnings gap between minorities and white writers more than doubled since 2007.

A few surprises made their way into the Writers Guild of America awards nominations Tuesday morning, which included nods for a surreal film about dreams, a comedy- drama about a modern-day family and a drama about the birth of an online social network. Nominations for original screenplay went to the psychological thriller "Black Swan" (screenplay by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin, story by Heinz); boxing biopic "The Fighter" (screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson, story by Keith Dorrington & Tamasy & Johnson)

The labor dispute between the Writers Guild of America, West and Comcast Corp. escalated Wednesday when the guild announced that a majority of writers who work on the cable networks E!, Style and G4 voted to be represented by the union. In an election monitored and certified by Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, the union said writers on "The Soup" "The Dish," "E! News," "Chelsea Lately" and other shows voted 46 to 1 to have the union represent them in contract negotiations.

As a 20-year member of the Writers Guild of America, Jonathan Prince was startled to learn that his union was accusing him of being a scab during the writers strike. But he was even more stunned when he learned that the guild had been relying on a secret informant, code-named Clyde, who he and his attorney said had gained unauthorized access to his private e-mails. Prince, executive producer of recent TV dramas "Cane" and "The Cleaner," was among a dozen writers who were investigated for picking up their pens and working -- or failing to report those who did -- during the 100-day writers strike that began in November 2007.

To pen a living as a Hollywood screenwriter has always required fortitude and patience. Given the ratio between number of writers and available work, the odds of success are long. Now it looks like the odds have become a whole lot longer. Thanks to a recession-driven downturn forcing studios to make fewer movies and TV shows, coupled with a screenwriters strike last year that ground production to a halt, the wordsmiths of Hollywood have seen jobs and income evaporate. That's the bleak take-away from the annual financial report of the Writers Guild of America, West, the union that represents about 8,000 movie and TV screenwriters.

In his March 28 Opinion piece, "Writers Guild Members Aren't on the Same Page," Walter Bernstein insinuates that a combination of greed, cowardice and poverty has led the Writers Guild of America, West, to declare "war" on WGA, East. We are not declaring war on anybody. We are trying to honor, and get them to honor, provisions that are in our constitutions requiring screenwriters who live east of the Mississippi to belong to both guilds and pay 50% of their dues to the WGA, West. Why?

In reference to your articles on the Hollywood blacklist, I personally have become involved in a disturbing situation which suggests that many writers who were around 40 years ago, even some who went in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, have forgotten the lessons of that era. I qualified for and was invited to join the Writers Guild of America. I filled out the application completely until I came to the last page. There the applicant is asked whether he or she worked during the WGA strikes of 1981 and 1985 (even if they were not allowed to join the Guild)

Reality TV producer FremantleMedia North America fired back at the Writers Guild of America, West, dismissing its "American Idol" Truth Tour as nothing more than a caravan of misinformation.

It's tempting to compare the tortured 17-years-in-development backstory of the "Leatherheads" script to the infamous climax of the 1982 Stanford-Cal football game, otherwise known as "The Play. " It has the same number of blocks, laterals and even the triumphant, if controversial, ending. Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly first wrote their gridiron farce in 1990, when they were covering the college football beat for Sports Illustrated and stumbled across the story of John "Blood" McNally.