WGAE Council and WGAW Board Approve Contract

Over the weekend, after 14 weeks of striking, the WGAE Council and WGAW Board unanimously voted to recommend approval of the contract, sending it to their membership for a ratification vote. Showrunners were given the green light to return to producing duties this morning. Film and television screenwriters could return to work as early as this Wednesday. From Nikki Finke’s Deadlinehollywooddaily:

”At the WGA’s news conference today, union leaders declared the new contract is ‘a huge victory for us.’ Trumpeted WGAW President Patric Verrone, ‘This is the first time we actually got a better deal in a new media than previously.’ Verrone credited News Corp. No. 2 Peter Chernin and Disney chief Bob Iger, and also CBS boss Les Moonves, with ‘being instrumental in making this deal happen’ after the WGA spent 3 months ‘getting nowhere’ with the AMPTP negotiators and lawyers.”

So what does that mean for your favorite shows? USA Today’s Gary Levin writes, ”Most prime-time series will need six to eight weeks to write, produce and edit new episodes, but a handful of series (The Office, Two and a Half Men, Desperate Housewives) have one or two scripts nearly ready, which could shorten that time frame.”

(image via people.cornell.com)

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