Article online since: 2007-12-10 01:35:04
Written by: anca axenia
Talks between striking screenwriters and Hollywood producers have broken down in Los Angeles--leaving the future of hit shows 24, Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives at a standstill.
Now in its fifth week, the strike has closed down dozens of popular TV shows and delayed production on movies. And with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over pay, each side is suggesting the other is to blame for a lack of progress.
The dispute centers on how writers should be compensated for their work when it appears on DVD or the Internet.
The employers, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, blamed the breakdown on what it called an ongoing union strategy to delay or derail talks.
But in a letter sent to its members, the Writers Guild of America accused the producers group of dragging its heels in putting new proposals on the table.
The Alliance said that wasn't the case and suggested the union had failed to respond to specific proposals regarding pay for work in new media, such as the Internet.
The increasingly bitter dispute is costing the industry millions of dollars. Many of the biggest late-night talk shows have been off air since day one of the strike.
