Scribes, Studios Close to Accord

Advance in contract talks may mean tentative deal next week
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 2, 2008 7:13 PM CST
Scribes, Studios Close to Accord
People who work in industry associated with TV and movie production protest the Writers Guild of America strike, which has caused the cancellation of the traditional Golden Globe award presentation, reducing it to a simple news conference, outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday,...   (Associated Press)

Hollywood writers and studios made a breakthrough in contract talks yesterday and may forge an agreement to end the 4-month-old writers strike next week, the New York Times reports. The sides agreed on tricky issues regarding Internet compensation, but still need to work out details and let the guild's 10,000 members vote on the agreement.

Neither side has revealed specifics, but residuals for ad-supported TV shows on the Internet were a known stumbling block. Companies wanted a period without paying and a cap on residuals, but writers stuck to 1.2% of distributors' revenue. Vying priorities within the guild added more difficulties to talks. Pressure to reach an accord has grown as television ratings have plummeted, writers have lost millions of dollars, and Oscar faces the threat of a starless show. (More Hollywood stories.)

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