Striking Hollywood writers, studios to resume talks

LOS ANGELES – Striking US screenwriters and major film and TV studios agreed on Friday to resume formal contract talks on November 26 as the most serious Hollywood labour confrontation in 20 years dragged into its 12th day.

Word that the two sides would return to the bargaining table for the first time since the strike began came in identical brief statements from the Writers Guild of America and the industry’s negotiating arm, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. No further details were released.But a Writers Guild spokesman confirmed the strike by the union’s 12 000 members remained in effect.He said picketing would resume next week as planned and that the union was going ahead with a rally and march down Hollywood Boulevard set for tomorrow.Studio representatives had indicated at the outset of the strike they expected the writers to suspend their walkout before contract talks could resume but had backed off that condition in more recent statements.Both sides had said in recent days they were waiting for a sign the other was serious about making a deal.The announcement that negotiations would resume came hours after the strike claimed its first big-screen casualty, with production of a highly anticipated follow-up to the box-office hit ‘The Da Vinci Code’ starring Tom Hanks put on hold.The Writers Guild went on strike on November 5 after negotiations on a new contract with the movie and TV studios reached an impasse over the union’s demands for a greater share of revenues from filmed entertainment delivered via the Internet.The strike immediately threw the television industry into disarray, as several late-night talk shows like ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ and ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ were forced into reruns.Production also has ground to a halt on numerous prime-time comedies and dramas.But the studios’ film release schedule had remained unscathed until Columbia Pictures announced late on Friday it indefinitely delayed production on the ‘Da Vinci Code’ prequel ‘Angels & Demons’, to be directed by Ron Howard.The studio said the script, by Oscar-winning screenwriter and WGA member Akiva Goldman, needed further work.Nampa-ReutersNo further details were released.But a Writers Guild spokesman confirmed the strike by the union’s 12 000 members remained in effect.He said picketing would resume next week as planned and that the union was going ahead with a rally and march down Hollywood Boulevard set for tomorrow.Studio representatives had indicated at the outset of the strike they expected the writers to suspend their walkout before contract talks could resume but had backed off that condition in more recent statements.Both sides had said in recent days they were waiting for a sign the other was serious about making a deal.The announcement that negotiations would resume came hours after the strike claimed its first big-screen casualty, with production of a highly anticipated follow-up to the box-office hit ‘The Da Vinci Code’ starring Tom Hanks put on hold.The Writers Guild went on strike on November 5 after negotiations on a new contract with the movie and TV studios reached an impasse over the union’s demands for a greater share of revenues from filmed entertainment delivered via the Internet.The strike immediately threw the television industry into disarray, as several late-night talk shows like ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ and ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ were forced into reruns.Production also has ground to a halt on numerous prime-time comedies and dramas.But the studios’ film release schedule had remained unscathed until Columbia Pictures announced late on Friday it indefinitely delayed production on the ‘Da Vinci Code’ prequel ‘Angels & Demons’, to be directed by Ron Howard.The studio said the script, by Oscar-winning screenwriter and WGA member Akiva Goldman, needed further work.Nampa-Reuters