Hollywood writers end strike
- 00:01:52
- ITN
Hollywood writers end strike
The Oscars look set to go ahead as planned after Hollywood writers declared their 14-week strike is over.The Writers' Guild of America (WGA) said its members voted to lift the strike order with a 92.5 per cent endorsement.The writers now have 11 days to produce material for the Academy Awards ceremony on February 24 - a process which usually takes many weeks.Last month, concerns that the Oscars might not go ahead rose when the strike reduced the Golden Globes awards show to a televised press conference with the usual glitz and celebrity stars nowhere to be seen.But Oscars' organisers always insisted the show would go on in one form or another.The walk-out over writers' shares of potential profits from programming on the internet and other new media began on November 5. It was the worst strike to hit Hollywood in 20 years.WGA West president Patric Verrone said: "The strike is over. Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work."This was not a strike we wanted, but one we had to conduct in order to win jurisdiction and establish appropriate residuals for writing in new media and on the internet."Those advances now give us a foothold in the digital age. Rather than being shut out of the future of content creation and delivery, writers will lead the way as TV migrates to the internet and platforms for new media are developed."The seven CEOs who lead the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said they were relieved that everyone could get back to work.In a joint statement, they said: "This is a day of relief and optimism for everyone in the entertainment industry."We can now all get back to work, with the assurance that we have concluded two groundbreaking labour agreements - with our directors and our writers - that establish a partnership through which our business can grow and prosper in the new digital age."© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | February 13, 2008
