TV Production Frenzy as Strike Ends

(LOS ANGELES) — Lights, camera, action — but first, here come the writers. Members of the Writers Guild of America were planning a return to work Wednesday after voting to end their strike on its 100th day, thus allowing Hollywood to jump-start stalled production of numerous TV sitcoms and dramas. "It will be all hands on deck for the writing staff," said Chris Mundy, co-executive producer of the CBS drama Criminal Minds. Actual production won't begin, however, until scripts have been completed, which could take days or even weeks. For the Feb. 24 Academy Awards, the vote Tuesday by East and West Coast guild members ended the threat of a boycott by writers and actors that would have robbed the ceremony of its celebrity luster.Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which stages the Oscars, responded effusively."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' decided overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike: 3,492 said yes, with only 283 voting to stay off the job. The number of guild members involved in the strike was 10,500, with countless other industry workers forced into unemployment because of the walkout. SOURCE OF THIS STORY