HOLLYWOOD Writers reach tentative contract with studios, networks through '07

A Writers Guild official said writers made major concessions.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hollywood writers reached a tentative agreement this week on a new three-year, $58 million contract with studios, producers and television networks that will keep scribes churning out movies and television programs through 2007.
The deal is nearly double what the producers offered nearly five months ago, when the previous contract expired, said Daniel Petrie Jr., president of the western chapter of the Writers Guild of America.
The new agreement will fully address the needs of the guild's health plan, Petrie said, and the studios also agreed to an increase in pensions.
However, Herb Sargent, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, said the writers made some major concessions.
"The companies have refused to acknowledge the need for an improvement in our 'abnormally low' residuals formula for DVDs and home video, and the deal includes some rollbacks for TV writers and news writers, and only very minor gains for screenwriters," Sargent said. "Nevertheless, our negotiators believe that this was the best deal possible at this time. Now it's up to our members to decide."
Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represented Hollywood studios and networks, characterized the tentative agreement as "a fair deal that keeps writers working, keeps the town working, and addresses their most crucial concerns."
The proposed contract requires the approval of the guild's rank and file. That vote probably will take place in several weeks, but guild representatives could not confirm a date.