The Writers Guild of America announced that it has agreed to begin new talks on November 26 with Hollywood producers to end their two-week strike. No further details were released by either side. For example, there is no mention on whether the writers are to put their strike on hold before contract talks could resume, or while the talks will be actually underway.

"I have been in constant communication with the parties and have been urging both sides to resume face-to-face negotiations," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "I applaud their decision to get back to the table. The film and television industry is a pillar of our economy." Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also tried to intervene to break the deadlock between the two sides.

Hollywood screenwriters from the Writers Guild of America went on strike Nov. 5 for the first time in 20 years, picketing studios in New York and Los Angeles in a bid to disrupt production of TV shows and movies in the world capitals of the entertainment industry. The strike began at one minute after midnight after representatives for the 12,000 members of the WGA failed to reach an agreement with TV and film producers on a new contract.

The WGA are pushing for more residuals from new media distribution (such films or TV shows sold online), while producers reject the guild's demands as unworkable and too expensive. In 1988, a 22-week walkout by the WGA delayed the start of that year's fall television season and cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million. This time, billions may be lost, according to some estimates. It's enough to note that the motion picture and TV industry generates $30 billion in annual economic activity for Los Angeles County alone.

"It's in everybody's best interest to get this thing over," one top studio executive said Friday to LA Times. "There is a significant amount of work to be done but you can't resolve anything if you're not talking."