Hollywood striking writers are set to get back to work under the terms of a new agreement signed with one of Hollywood’s biggest independent film companies, the Weinstein Co., ran by sibling media moguls Harvey and Bob Weinstein.

According to a statement released Thursday by Harvey Weinstein, the New York-based company had come to terms with the writers guilds on a deal similar to the one reached last week by Tom Cruise’s production company, United Artists, the first independent movie company to reach an interim contract with the writers, who have been on strike since Nov. 5.

"We need to get people back to work," Weinstein was quoted by the New York Times as saying.

He and others who have signed these deals hope the action will help push the studios and writers back to the negotiating table. "It's important for the business to get the ball rolling and get back to work," Weinstein added, "I expect five angry studio heads calling me later."

While terms of the Weinstein deal were not released, a person familiar with the agreement, speaking on condition of anonymity because it had yet to be completed, said it was similar to the interim deal reached by David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants.

Talks between the Hollywood studios and the WGA broke off in December and since then there have been no attempts to resume talks. United Artists inked a deal with WGA on 7 January.

According to a person familiar with the company, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., the largest independent U.S. film studio, may also enter talks with the union.

The company, which made films including "Factory Girl," starring Sienna Miller, and "Stormbreaker," can now re-start work on "Nine," an adaptation of the Federico Fellini classic 8 1/2.