LOS ANGELES: After three months of cancelled awards shows, picket lines at the gates of the Hollywood studios, and TV schedules reduced to reality programmes and reruns, striking Hollywood writers appear to be close to a deal with the studios.

Direct talks between the heads of the Fox and Disney studios and representatives of the Writers Guild of America produced a tentative agreement that could be presented to the union’s board at the end of this week. The strike, which began on Nov 3, is thought to be the costliest ever dispute in the film industry, surpassing the estimated $500m cost of the last major dispute, in 1988.

The impetus for an agreement between the two sides was provided by a recent agreement struck between the Directors Guild and the studios, which provided a template for the major area of dispute, payment for digital content. But the possibility of the cancellation of the film industry’s biggest showcase of the year, the Oscars, also helped to focus minds. Production on programmes for the critical autumn television season, scheduled to begin this month, can now also proceed.

The agreement, which is being finessed by lawyers, increases payments for programmes sold online, sets payment levels for content streamed online and allows web-based programmes to be unionised.

The dispute initially centred on the level of reimbursement for DVD sales. But that issue was superseded by the grey area of digital payments. The studios argued that the economic model offered for digital downloads on the web, on mobile phones and mobile devices such as iPods was too unproven for them to be able to commit to the payments the writers were demanding.

Behind-the-scenes workers such as make-up artists, set builders, and agents have all seen their employment dry up as studios have suspended production. Several films were suspended or failed to begin shooting as union rules banning writers’ input to scripts in production took effect.—Dawn/Guardian News Service