Los Angeles - The Hollywood screenwriters strike entered its
third week Monday with both sides agreeing to resume talks as the
toll of the stoppage continued to grow.
Representatives of the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance
of Motion Picture & TV Producers announced that they are planning to
resume contract negotiations on November 26, despite the producers'
previous demand that all picketing needed to cease before the
alliance would return to the table. The writers guild says it plans
to continue picketing in both Los Angeles and New York until a
settlement is reached.
The sides agreed to the move after intensive back channel contacts
laid the foundation for talks late last week. The dialogue was
facilitated by leading Hollywood talent agent Bryan Lourd, but public
officials like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los
Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have also been involved in the
negotiations.
The strike already has already axed production of many TV series,
including The Office, Desperate Housewives and all the late night
talk shows.
Over the weekend, movie studios also announced delays in film
production. Sony's Columbia Pictures said it was pushing back the
release of Angels & Demons, the prequel to the blockbuster The Da
Vinci Code because the screenplay by Akiva Goldsman is not camera-
ready.
Columbia's Edwin A Salt, a spy thriller with Tom Cruise attached,
has also been pushed back, while Warner Bros has postponed production
of Justice League of America. Another project under threat is Bruno,
Sacha Baron Cohen's follow-up to Borat, which is reliant on constant
updates from writers.
Also put on hold is Oliver Stone's next politically charged
dramatic thriller, Pinkville, starring Bruce Willis and Woody
Harrelson, about the 1968 My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
Your Talkback on this Story