Deadline for scriptwriters walkout looms

Hollywood is bracing itself for an all-out strike by scriptwriters as talks on a pay dispute go down to the wire.

Film and television writers will stage an indefinite walk-out if an agreement with studio bosses is not reached by midnight on Tuesday.

The dispute is over the amount of cash writers receive when shows and movies are screened outside the US and as repeats.

A walk-out would paralyse the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, leaving television series with no ending and films without sequels.

And it could be the stage-setter for an even more damaging strike by actors over the same issue.

Hollywood's biggest names will stop work at the end of June if a pay deal cannot be hammered out.

Currently the writers' pay deal is being hampered by a 100 million dollar (£69.4m) gap between what they want and the cash on offer.

Writers claim they earned $1.2bn (£833m) last year and calculate their claim will give them $99.7m (£69.2m) over the next three years.

But the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents bosses, say the demand would equal $227.4m (£168m) over three years.

There seems to be little movement towards compromise in Hollywood.

"It might be the winter season before the public starts seeing a lot of new shows," said Doug Lieblein, a writer and union member.