Writers, Studios to Give Contract Talks Another Try

After breaking off talks March 1, representatives of the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will meet Tuesday in an effort to reach a new contract before the current one expires May 2 at 12:01 a.m. Writers and studios are at odds largely over the payments that writers receive when their work is rerun on cable TV, in foreign markets, on the Fox network and when it is sold on video or DVD. Writers last went on strike in 1988 for 22 weeks. Studios also must negotiate a new deal with actors, whose contract expires July 1. (James Bates)