khaosworks | It's over... for now

Hollywood writers to end strike

US film and television writers have voted to end a three-month long strike and return to work on Wednesday.

The back-to-work order was approved by 92.5% of the 3,775 Writers Guild of America (WGA) members, after a deal was struck by union leaders at the weekend.

Industrial action was sparked by a dispute over additional pay for work used on DVD or over the internet.

The strike has crippled TV and film production and led to the cancellation of the Golden Globe awards ceremony.

"The strike is over. Our members have voted. Writers can go back to work," said WGA spokesman Patric Verrone, following the ballots held in New York and Los Angeles.

Union leaders agreed a deal on Sunday that gives writers an increased share of the profits from TV shows and films offered over the internet and other new media.

"At the end of the day, everybody won. It was a fair deal... and it recognises the large contribution that writers have made to the industry," said the head of the CBS television network, Leslie Moonves.

The deal should guarantee the Academy Awards ceremony will take place as planned on 24 February.

Comebacks

The strike, which lasted 14 weeks, was the most damaging period of industrial action to hit Hollywood in 20 years.

Some 10,500 writers stopped work on 5 November, a few days after their old contract with studios ended.

If writers return to work on Wednesday, the thousands of production staff who were put of out of work as scripts dried up will take weeks to mobilise while new material is prepared.

The strike is said to have cost Los Angeles' film and TV industry at least $650m (£330m) in lost wages, with the wider economy losing over $1bn (£508m).

Studio executives say it will take about two months for new TV programmes to emerge.

Studios will have to decide which of the 65 affected series will come back, with hits House, CSI, Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives likely to get priority.

Films have been less severely affected because they have longer production times.