Screen writers avoid strike as talks go on

Hollywood writers have resumed negotiations with producers and studio heads, hours after their contract for movie and TV work expired.

Fears of a walkout have gripped the industry for months, but the writers’ guild has yet to call for a strike authorisation vote from its members.

A work stoppage would delay the fall TV season, reduce the number of movies produced and could cost the Los Angeles area economy nearly £4.8bn in lost revenue.

‘‘We are still talking,’’ said Cheryl Rhoden, spokeswoman for the Writers Guild of America, four hours after negotiating resumed yesterday.

‘‘Still talking,’’ added Barry Liden, spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents most studios and TV networks.

By late yesterday, two high-profile studio executives - Jeffrey Katzenberg of DreamWorks SKG and Universal motion picture chairwoman Stacey Snider - arrived at the guild headquarters for a briefing from negotiators.

Studio heads had not participated in the late-night talks leading up to the contract deadline yesterday morning.

Warner Bros president Alan Horn and CBS president Les Moonves were also among the executives attending the meeting.

Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America had a 17-hour bargaining session on Tuesday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents all the major networks and studios.

Progress has been difficult to gauge because both sides have maintained a strict news blackout since negotiations resumed April 17. Before then, the sides had yet to bridge a £70m gap between their respective demands.

The last writers’ strike occurred in 1988 and lasted 22 weeks, stretching from mid-March to early August. Afterwards, both sides said they weren’t sure the damage it caused was worth the gains they made.