Hollywood writers clinch deal with producers

Members of the Writer's Guild of America explained the details of the agreement on Friday     ON THE NEWS Sherri Sylvester: Hollywood writers' contract gains

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The script is in: Hollywood writers and studio executives reached a tentative agreement Friday on new contracts for writers, avoiding a strike that could have cost Los Angeles billions of dollars.

Michael Mahern, a negotiator for the Writers Guild of America, said he was extremely pleased with the outcome.

"I see the headlines tomorrow right now: 'Writers reach agreement, studios avert bankruptcy,' " he told reporters.

Under the deal, writers gain $41 million over the three-year term of the contract in what Mahern called the "best economic package that the Writers Guild has achieved since 1977."

Just as important, he said, writers will now get a greater say in story development. Mahern said the deal would "change the culture of filmmaking and enhance the collaborative process for writers, directors and all the artists who contribute to the craft of the final film."

MESSAGE BOARD Writers' strike?

"For writers, the creative issues have always been of equal importance," Mahern said.

Nicholas Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, described the talks as extremely tough.

"This is one of the most difficult negotiations that we've had in many years because of the complexity of the issues facing the industry today, both for writers and producers," Counter said.

But he said the deal was unanimously accepted by the companies.

The deal won't be final until the 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America vote on the issue, but Mahern said the new agreement includes "groundbreaking improvements."

They include giving Fox the status of a television network, which will double writers' residuals for its shows. Also, residuals for international programing will be uncapped and paid in perpetuity and writers will get a share of those profits for the first time.

Writers will also share in profits from video on demand, covering all studio libraries back to July 1971 and all new productions.

Both sides agreed to continue negotiations on some unsettled issues, including downloads of shows.

"We have succeeded in bringing the rapidly evolving marketplace for programs written directly for the Internet into the contract for the first time, allowing the guild and companies to cover on a project-by-project basis, the employment of writers to write material for the Internet with guaranteed pension and health benefits," Mahern said.

Counter said the deal was "unanimously accepted" by the companies

When producers were asked about earlier claims that the writers' demands would bankrupt the movie companies, they laughed and refused to address that claim.

Negotiations, which began four months ago, intensified over the past two days after the writers' contract expired Wednesday.

The residual effect of a Hollywood strike could have harmed other industries, including caterers, costume rentals and even transportation providers. A recent study released by the city of Los Angeles estimated the possible long-term impact of a strike at $6.9 billion.

The most immediate impact of a strike would been to talk shows like the "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," because these shows are produced on a daily basis.

Soap operas had completed new segments for a couple of weeks, but a prolonged strike would eventually affect them, according to Soap Opera Digest editor Lynn Leahey. During the writers strike of 1988, actors and managers stepped in to write scripts to keep soaps on the air.

Prime-time programming has wrapped up for the season and most summer motion picture production had been completed.

Hollywood writers, studios keep talking; no strike yet
May 2, 2001
Industry, writers in 11th hour contract talks
May 2, 2001
Writers, actors unions gird for strike
April 12, 2001

Writers Guild of America
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
Screen Actors Guild

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