No end in sight for WGA strike

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Anxiety is rippling through the U.S. entertainment industry as it appears the Writers Guild of America strike could stretch into 2008.

Hopes for a fast resolution are wilting as neither the WGA, nor the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television producers has made a clear attempt to revive talks since negotiations broke down Sunday night, Variety.com said Wednesday.

AMPTP chief Nick Counter said the companies won't participate in new talks so long as the WGA is on strike, while WGA West President Patric Verrone has said the guild is no longer committed to taking its DVD residuals proposal off the table -- something it did Sunday in an effort to address the AMPTP's claim the issue was a stumbling block to closing a deal, the entertainment trade paper said.

The Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild of America, whose contracts expire June 30, are expected to start negotiations with the AMPTP in the near future.