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There WAS a reliable source that said filming had resumed. Ryan in Hawaii even had pictures of the filming...he asked if it was for Lost ...and they confirmed it was. BUT....it appears the filming was actually for a Lifetime project. Why the crew lied to him...who knows? they must have thought they were being funny. Ha ha. But the good new is this:

>>The L.A. Times has more details about the WGA-AMPTP deal that would end the writers' strike. Because there is a press blackout, no one is speaking on the record, but inside sources say that the deal will be finalized by Friday and presented to the WGA Board of Directors. If the board approves it, the strike ends, even though members still have to ratify it. That means the Oscars are back on and that production on television shows and films can begin immediately.

Hollywood's striking writers and major studios have reached the outlines of a new employment contract, resolving key sticking points over how much writers should be paid for work that is distributed over the Internet, people familiar with the negotiations said Saturday. A final contract could be presented to the Writers Guild of America board as early as Friday, according to three people close to the talks who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

The tentative deal came after two weeks of talks that culminated in a marathon bargaining session Friday that was attended by News Corp. President Peter Chernin, Walt Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger and Writers Guild of America negotiators David Young, Patrick M. Verrone and John F. Bowman. Progress had been made in previous meetings on payment for work sold online, but Friday's session saw a breakthrough on the most contentious issue: compensation for the free streaming of films and TV programs over the Internet.

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Attorneys from the studios and the guild were meeting over the weekend to discuss contract language for the proposed agreement, which would need to be ratified by the union's 10,500 members. Even before a vote by members, the strike would probably be called off if board members strongly endorse the deal.

There are some issues that have yet to be resolved, including defining what qualifies as promotion on the Internet. The debate centers on the extent to which networks can run video clips and other materials on their websites to promote TV programs before paying writers.

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Writers made some important concessions of their own earlier when they dropped demands to unionize work on animated movies and reality TV shows -- both of which had been viewed as non-starters by the studios. The agreement was negotiated on the studio side by Chernin and Iger, who had been designated by the heads of the other studios to negotiate on their behalf.

The WGA negotiators are going to brief the 17-member negotiating committee and board of directors about the proposed deal today. If they like what they hear, things will move forward this week. The sticking point could be what constitutes "promotional" showing of shows on the Internet. How many times can a show (or part of a show) be shown before writers get paid? The AMPTP and the WGA have been very far apart on this issue to date.

Source: Writers Write <<

>>A deal has been struck between the major media companies and the Writers Guild of America to end the writers' strike, former Walt Disney chief executive Michael Eisner revealed on CNBC.

"It's over," Eisner said. "They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general."

Eisner, speaking live on CNBC's "Fast Money," seemed to hesitate initially about whether it was possible that the writers could still reject the agreement, but finally suggested the deal's acceptance was inevitable.

"A deal has been made, and they'll be back to work very soon," Eisner said, adding, "I know a deal's been made. I know it's over."

Eisner did not elaborate on terms of the agreement. He said he expects most of the media companies affected by the strike to have "small" write-downs as a result of the deal. Eisner said the deal was struck last Friday.

As a result of studio cutbacks, however, many of the writers who went on strike are unlikely to return to the same big-money contracts they'd had as individuals with the studios, Eisner said.

Shares of Walt Disney and CBS were both up in extended electronic trading Thursday.

Source: CNBC<<