Industry hails writers' strike end

The television and film industry today hailed the end of the US writers' strike.

The studios on the other side of the dispute, through the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, issued a statement shortly after it was formally stopped.

It had been a tough three months, they said, but they were happy to be returning to production. "This is a day of relief and optimism for everyone in the entertainment industry," said the statement.

"We can now all get back to work, with the assurance that we have concluded two groundbreaking labour agreements - with our directors and our writers - that establish a partnership through which our business can grow and prosper in the new digital age." A recent deal with the Directors Guild of America formed the basis for the writers' contract.

The statement continued: "The strike has been extraordinarily difficult for all of us, but the hardest hit of all have been the many thousands of businesses, workers and families that are economically dependent on our industry.

"We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best (with) writers, directors, actors, production crews and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences."

DGA president Michael Apted congratulated his colleagues: "The DGA applauds the successful conclusion of the AMPTP-WGA negotiations and the end to the strike.

"The last three months have been painful ones for tens of thousands of working people in and around the entertainment industry, and like everyone else our members are now eager to get back to work."

Leslie Moonves, CBS president and chief executive, admitted he had felt "many emotions" during the strike. He added: "But right now, there is right now a great sense of relief and a feeling that we're putting the community back together. And that's a great feeling."

Of the strike's financial impact, Moonves said: "Frankly, revenues were not down a lot, and costs were down a lot. So financially, there wasn't a lot of pain inflicted on CBS Corp. But I believe in this business, and this business is good when we're in full-scale production."

Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said he was delighted its Oscars ceremony would now go ahead in full: "I am ecstatic that the 80th Academy Awards presentation can now proceed full steam ahead with talented writers working on the show, a fantastic array of presenters and performers and, most importantly, the ability for all of our honored nominees to attend without hesitation or discomfort."

> Click here for a Q&A on the strike