Writers Strike Ends, Now They Must Write

Above: FAMILY MATTERS: Writer Greg Fields lets 3-year-old son Caelan cast his ballot at the Writers Guild of America Theater.

Hollywood writers' brief moment to savor the end of their 100-day strike gave way Wednesday to the cold reality of a blank page and networks and studios eager for new TV episodes."What we're all finding is there's a certain amount of, `OK, what are we going to do now?' said Shane Brennan, writer and executive producer for the CBS drama "NCIS.""You go back to your desk, open your computer, look at the last thing you planned, the last thing you wrote," Brennan said, "and figure out how to go from there."Cheryl Heuton, executive producer for CBS' "Numb3rs," has been making a flurry of calls to muster crew members, writers and others connected with the drama.
"We're just gathering everybody. The offices are pretty dark and lonely and will be for a couple more days," said Heuton.Members of the Writers Guild of America members voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to lift the union's strike order, allowing the industry to jump-start stalled production of numerous TV sitcoms and dramas.For the Feb. 24 Academy Awards, the vote by East and West Coast guild members ended the threat of a boycott by writers and actors that would have robbed the ceremony of its celebrity luster.Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which stages the Oscars, responded effusively."I am ecstatic that the 80th Academy Awards presentation can now proceed full steam ahead," he said, and without "hesitation or discomfort" for the nominees.The writers' decided overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike: 3,492 said yes, with only 283 voting to stay off the job. The number of guild members involved in the strike was 10,500, with countless other industry workers forced into unemployment because of the walkout.Writers did not vote on the tentative contract agreement that already has won approval from the union's board of directors. The contract ratification vote will be conducted by mail and at meetings and will conclude Feb. 25.Approval is expected, given Tuesday's lopsided decision and the enthusiasm for the proposed contract expressed at guild meetings held last weekend in New York and Los Angeles."At the end of the day, everybody won. It was a fair deal and one that the companies can live with, and it recognizes the large contribution that writers have made to the industry," Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp., told The Associated Press on Tuesday.Under the tentative agreement, writers would get a maximum flat fee of about $1,200 for programs streamed on the Internet in the deal's first two years and then get 2 percent of a distributor's gross in year three — a key union demand.Other provisions include increased residual payments for movies and TV programs downloaded from the Internet."These advances now give us a foothold in the digital age," said Patric Verrone, president of the West Coast guild. "Rather than being shut out of the future of content creation and delivery, writers will lead the way as television migrates to the Internet."