Hollywood writers begin strike today

Hollywood writers will go on strike today after last-ditch talks called by a US government mediator failed.

Writers and studios broke off talks after east coast members of the writers union declared they were officially on strike, the group representing producers said.

Last-ditch negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended after about 11 hours.

The battle against TV networks and film studios over writers' share of profits from DVDs and the internet has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business - whatever deal is struck by the Writers Guild of America will probably be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.

"We'll get what they get," Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg said.

Writers had set the strike to begin at 12.01am today local time.

The writers guild had announced sweeping plans to picket every major studio in Los Angeles, along with the Rockefeller Centre in New York, the headquarters of broadcaster NBC.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has called a writers' strike "precipitous and irresponsible".

Producers believe progress can be made on other issues but "it makes absolutely no sense to increase the burden of this additional compensation," said Nicholas Counter, the producers' chief negotiator.

The guilds have been preparing for these negotiations for years, hiring staff with extensive union experience and developing joint strategies and a harder line than producers have seen in decades.

"We haven't shown particular resolve in past negotiations," said John Bowman, the WGA's chief negotiator. "The sea change is that this is an enormously galvanising issue, and two, that the new regime at the guild actually has a plan, has an organisation and a structure to respond to something."

The writers are the first union to bargain for a new deal this year. Their contract expired last Wednesday.

In past years, actors have almost always gone first, although the Directors Guild of America, which is seen as the least aggressive of the three guilds, has sometimes taken the lead. Whatever deal was struck first was usually accepted by the others.

The guilds are aware that if writers fail to win concessions involving DVDs and the internet, actors may have to take up the fight.

"This is an issue that touches every member of this guild and every member of the Screen Actors Guild as well," said Carlton Cuse, executive producer of the ABC drama Lost.

Consumers are expected to spend £8.2bn (€5.66bn) on DVDs this year, according to Adams Media Research. By contrast, studios could generate only £79m (€54.56m) from selling movies online and about £97m (€67m) from selling TV shows over the web, although those numbers are expected to skyrocket in coming years.

Studios argue that it is too early to know how much money they can make from offering entertainment on the internet, mobile phones, iPods and other devices.

Hollywood unions have long regretted a decision made in 1984 to accept a small percentage of home video sales because studios said the technology was untested and that costs were high. Writers get only about 3c on a typical DVD retailing for $20.

Producers said writers refused a request to "stop the clock" on the planned strike while talks continued.

"It is unfortunate that they choose to take this irresponsible action," producers said in a statement.

They said writers were not willing to compromise on their major demands.

The writers union confirmed that talks had ended and that members would strike, but did not have any further comment.