Writers may return as early as Wednesday

February 10, 2008

Los Angeles, CA – Writers Guild of America board recommended that members ratifiy the guild's tentative three-year agreement, reached this past week with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television.

During a meeting at the Shrine Auditorium on Saturday, Guild president
Patric Verrone told 3000-plus writers in attendance that the board was prepared to lift the four-month-old strike as early as Tuesday, pending results of that day's membership vote. Over 10,000 television and film writers are expected to approve the new contract over the next 10 days, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Key show runners are reportedly heading back to work Monday, in anticipation of the strike's end, which could put dozens of affected programs and thousands of industry professionals back in business on Wednesday.

Having gripped Hollywood for four months, the strike appears to be drawing to a close just in time to save the Oscars broadcast on Feb. 24 from suffering a scaled-down fate, similar to that which dulled the Golden Globes gala weeks ago.