A newly-minted deal heading off a strike by Hollywood writers has given movie industry officials hope of success in upcoming negotiations with unionized actors and directors.
The looming writers' strike had threatened to interrupt production of scores of movies and popular television programming, the impact of the actors could be just as great. The actors and directors will have the writers' agreement to refer as a template in their negotiations: Hollywood writers yesterday reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract, avoiding a strike that could have cost the entertainment industry billions of dollars.
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) announced the deal after months of negotiations, and after agreeing to continue bargaining past the May 2 expiration of the old contract.
"This is one of the most difficult negotiations we have had in many years," AMPTP Nicholas Counter said at a news conference announcing the deal.
The studios had unanimously accepted the agreement, as did the writers' negotiating committee. The guild's 11,500 members are expected to vote to approve the new contract.
Guild secretary treasurer Michael Mahern called the deal - which gives members a 41-million-dollar increase over three years - "the best economic package for writers since 1977."
Writers will receive increased payments from video and DVD sales, and residuals when their work is rerun on cable television and in foreign markets, Mr Mahern said.
"This will increase foreign residuals by 1.3 million (dollars) over the term of the 2001 contract and will continue to grow over time," he told reporters.
Fox Television will also be considered a "network" for the first time, along with the "big three" - CBS, NBC and ABC - meaning it will pay writers 50 per cent more than it currently does when it airs reruns.
Writers will also be allowed to visit sets, attend movie premieres and productions.
Representatives for both sides smiled and appeared relaxed as they emerged from negotiating rooms to announce the happy end to their marathon bargaining session that began April 17.
They were joined by top studio executives, including DreamWork's Jeffrey Katzenberg, Barry Meyer of Warner Brothers, Bob Iger of Walt Disney and Leslie Moonves of CBS television.
Both sides had faced growing pressure to settle as the talks dragged on. Over 185,000 people, or five per cent of the workforce, earn their livelihoods directly from Los Angeles' entertainment industry.
Last week Mayor Richard Riordan released a study predicting that 81,900 jobs and 6.9 billion dollars could be lost in the Los Angeles area to a prolonged Hollywood strike.
AFP