Directors, Hollywood studios reach deal

Hollywood directors have reached a tentative contract deal with studios after five days of negotiations, the directors union said Thursday. The agreement puts pressure on striking writers to end their walkout that has lasted more than two months and idled work on dozens of TV shows.
“Two words describe this agreement – groundbreaking and substantial,” said Gil Cates, chairman of the Directors Guild of America’s negotiations committee. “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, the guild said.
It also set residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Internet.
Payment for programs offered on the Internet is a key sticking point between the studios and striking writers.
The rapidly concluded directors’ contract could serve as an industry template for the central issue of new media compensation among other unions in Hollywood.