Members of the Writers Guild of America are back on the job today after reaching an agreement to end their strike -- more than three months after it brought Hollywood to a standstill.
"It's a qualified victory... because what they got was a good contract, although perhaps not a great one," entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.
"What they did do was successfully face down six multi-national media conglomerates and achieve a beachhead for themselves on the Internet."
Under the tentative agreement, writers will receive a maximum flat fee of about US$1,200 for shows streamed on the Internet in the deal's first two years.
In year three, writers will receive 2 per cent of a distributor's gross.
The contract also includes higher residual payments for downloaded movies and TV programs.
Handel said it will take time before viewers see their favourite shows back on television.
"Restarting an industry is not as simple as rebooting a writer's laptop," he said. "What we're going to see is a reawakening of the television business."
He said some shows, like '24' and 'Lost,' won't be back until the fall.
The Academy Awards, to be held on Feb. 24, will be a go, said Handel.
Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which stages the Oscars, welcomed news that the strike had ended.
"I am ecstatic that the 80th Academy Awards presentation can now proceed full steam ahead," he said, and without "hesitation or discomfort" for the nominees.
The writers voted overwhelmingly in favour of ending the strike -- 3,492 said yes, with only 283 voting no. Writers did not vote on the tentative contract agreement but it has already won approval from the union's board of directors.
The contract ratification vote will be done by mail and meetings and will be wrapped up by Feb. 25. Approval is widely expected based on the results from the vote to end the strike.
With files from The Associated Press
