Hollywood writers and studios resume contract talks

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Striking screenwriters resumed contract talks with the major studios on Monday for the first time since trading pens for picket signs three weeks ago in the worst Hollywood labor dispute in two decades.

Imposing a media blackout on negotiations for the first time since talks began in July, the parties returned to the bargaining table at about 10 a.m. at an undisclosed, neutral location in Los Angeles, a studio spokesman confirmed.

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) also renewed picketing outside about nine studios around town after a five-day break in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The renewed talks offered the biggest glimmer of hope yet for resolving the dispute, which has centered on the question of how much money film and TV writers should earn when their work is distributed via the Internet.

The last major Hollywood strike, a 1988 walkout by the WGA, dragged on for 22 weeks and cost the entertainment industry at least $500 million. Economists have said that figure could double if today's strike lasts as long.

"Both sides realized that unless they sit down and start talking to each other, this situation is going to get a lot worse," said longtime media lawyer Howard Fabrick, a veteran of numerous Hollywood labor talks.

The parties reported making progress during their last 12-hour session three weeks ago and could probably clinch a deal with another week of serious bargaining, Fabrick said. But he cautioned that negotiators would need some time to regain that momentum.

"When you have that cooling-off period, both sides rethink things that they've said and positions they've taken," he said. "It's not starting over again from scratch, but it's not starting off from where you left off, either."