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Hollywood Writers Vote to Strike

Studios stockpiling content in preparation for possible walkout

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 20, 2007 6:20 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Hollywood writers are headed for the picket line if they don't reach a deal with the studios by Oct. 31. Members of the film and TV writers' union voted by a 90% margin to authorize a strike if the standoff isn't resolved, the first such strike vote since 1988, the Los Angeles Times reports. At issue is the writers' belief that they are being shortchanged on home video sales and web distribution.

Contract talks between studios and the Writers Guild of America have been unusually contentious. In anticipation of a possible strike, studios have sped production of films and TV shows, stockpiled pilots for next year and lined up reality shows that don't require writers. The last writers' strike, in 1988, cost the entertainment industry $500M.

Mykle Parker holds her 14-month-old son Max, center, as they join pickets supporting a strike by writers for the reality show, America's Next Top Model, in Los Angeles, in this Aug. 4, 2006 file photo. Hollywood studios are speeding production on movies and TV shows, preparing for a possible strike...
Mykle Parker holds her 14-month-old son Max, center, as they join pickets supporting a strike by writers for the reality show, "America's Next Top Model," in Los Angeles, in this Aug. 4, 2006 file photo....   (Associated Press)
Model Ebony Taylor, who appeared on America's Next Top Model, gestures after joining pickets during a strike by writers for that show in Los Angeles, in this Aug. 4, 2006 file photo. Hollywood studios are speeding production on movies and TV shows, preparing for a possible strike by writers and...
Model Ebony Taylor, who appeared on "America's Next Top Model," gestures after joining pickets during a strike by writers for that show in Los Angeles, in this Aug. 4, 2006 file photo. Hollywood studios...   (Associated Press)
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If writers go on strike, viewers can expect more shots of reality
New York Times

Writers give WGA authorization to strike
Hollywood Reporter

Will Hollywood writers strike? A labor drama unfolds
Christian Science Monitor

 
Hollywood • TV shows • film studio • labor strike • Writers Guild of America

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