Hollywood Directors' Studio Deal Raises Hopes Oscars Will Go Ahead

Jan 19, 10:54 PM

The move could put pressure on writers, who have been on strike since November, to follow suit and resolve their dispute.

The two-month strike has crippled the entertainment industry and reduced the Golden Globes awards show to a televised press conference with the usual glitz and stars nowhere to be seen.

Gil Cates, chairman of the Directors Guild of America's negotiations committee, called the deal with studios "groundbreaking and substantial".

"There are no rollbacks of any kind," he said.

Oscar-winner George Clooney was among the Hollywood actors who welcomed the move.

"I'm very pleased with the new agreement and I hope it helps speed up the negotiations with the Writers Guild of America", Clooney said.

He has previously said the strike needs to be resolved to put thousands of people back to work in Hollywood.

The three-year agreement between directors and studios establishes key provisions involving compensation for programmes offered on the internet - the central issue of the writers' strike.

Top executives from eight major companies - Fox, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, CBS, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros, MGM and NBC Universal - urged the writers to restart informal talks following the deal between directors and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios.

In a joint statement, the executives said they hoped the agreement would signal the end of an "extremely difficult period.

(c) 2008 Yorkshire Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. Hollywood Directors' Studio Deal Raises Hopes Oscars Will Go Ahead
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