Jan 17, 2008 2:25 pm US/Pacific
Directors Guild, Studios Reach Tentative Agreement
Deal Places Pressure On Striking Writers
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
Hollywood directors have reached a tentative contract deal with studios after five days of negotiations.
Thursday's agreement puts pressure on striking writers to end their walkout that has lasted more than two months and idled work on dozens of television shows.
Gil Cates of the Directors Guild of America's negotiation committee describes the agreement as "groundbreaking and substantial."
He reports "there are no rollbacks of any kind."
Among other things, the agreement increases both wages and residuals for each year of the contract. It also establishes guild jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet and sets a new residuals formula for paid Internet downloads that essentially doubles the rate currently paid by employers.
It also establishes residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Internet.
Payment for programs offered on the Internet are a key sticking point between the studios and striking writers.
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