Directors reach deal

Hollywood directors, unlike writers, quickly reached a deal with producers, resolving the same issues the writers are fighting for. This doesn't make the WGA look good to most folks, I suspect.

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood directors reached a tentative contract deal Thursday with studios, a development that could turn up the pressure on striking writers to settle their 2-month-old walkout that has idled production 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.