Writers Guild Of America

The strike is over. Hollywood's costly 100-day walkout came to a widely welcomed end Tuesday after members of the Writers Guild of America voted overwhelmingly to go back to work. More than 90% of the 3,775 writers who cast ballots in Los Angeles and New York voted to immediately end the work stoppage, capping the entertainment industry's most contentious labor dispute in recent history.

The strike by the Writers Guild of America ended not a moment too soon for Jay Leno. After 100 days, the guests were wearing thin. Larry the Cable Guy made his fourth appearance just this week on NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." Animal ambassador Joan Embery -- the sixth animal act in as many weeks -- dropped by with another passel of critters.

With the strike over, the salvage operation begins. Hollywood lurched back into gear this week, reviving projects sidelined by the three-month labor dispute with its writers. For broadcast television, which felt the brunt of the work stoppage, the most pressing issues center on the prospects for next season. Studios are now rushing to piece together a truncated pilot season. Even with a limited pool of new shows to choose from, the networks plan to roll out some kind of fall season.

With ratification of a hard-fought contract imminent, the Writers Guild of America has shifted its fight with movie and television studios to a new front: the state Legislature. The guild and two labor allies, the Screen Actors Guild and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, on Monday announced that they were sponsoring a bill that could boost their share of revenues when programs are licensed to be shown on affiliated cable networks or stations.

Writers Guild of America members overwhelmingly approved a new three-year contract Tuesday, officially ending a labor dispute that resulted in Hollywood's biggest strike in two decades. More than 90% of the 4,060 members who cast ballots in Los Angeles and New York voted in favor of ratifying the contract, a show of support that was widely anticipated after guild leaders touted the pact as a landmark agreement. "This contract is a new beginning for writers in the digital age," said Patric M.

The writers strike ended two months ago. But many in Hollywood remain on the brink. Some are at risk of losing their homes. Some can't afford groceries. Others have filed for bankruptcy. Still others struggle to work enough hours to hold on to their health insurance. Across Los Angeles, many crew members who work behind the scenes and on the sets of television shows and movies are still quaking from the temblor of the 100-day writers strike that shut down scripted TV production.

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.

No one really had any idea how many Native American writers there were in Hollywood. But when the Writers Guild of America West sent out the call for qualified writers to form their own diversity committee, only three turned out for the first meeting. Fewer than a dozen working professionals eventually signed up. "It was shocking to find out how few of us there actually were," said Micah Wright, the chair of the new WGAW American Indian Writers Caucus.

Woman-in-jeopardy thrillers have long been a popular staple of cinema. The terror the audience experiences while watching a vulnerable woman suffer through a horrible situation -- "Wait Until Dark," "Alien," "High Tension," Emma Thompson in "Junior" -- provides just the kind of visceral (and often perverse) pleasure we want from the movies.

As Borat might say, "\o7Niiiiiiice!"\f7 The raucous mockumentary with a mouthful for a title -- "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" -- was one of the 10 screenplays nominated Thursday by the Writers Guild of America awards. In all, five of the 10 films nominated were comedies, including "Thank You for Smoking," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Stranger Than Fiction" and "The Devil Wears Prada."