Joyful Writers Express Relief Over New Pact

By CORIE BROWN

May 5, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Writers throughout Hollywood were toasting one another and their union Friday evening as news of the contract settlement spread. Many were relieved at the prospect of achieving three years of labor peace.

The will to strike, they acknowledged, had been minimal.

“There might not have been a single strikable issue in this negotiation,” said Clay Frohman, whose screenwriter credits include “Under Fire.”

Though they had yet to learn the details of the agreement, many members of the Writers Guild of America said they were thrilled, certain that even a minimal gain was better than a strike.

“I applaud both sides. Any other outcome but a settlement would have been unconscionable,” said Jeffrey Richman, a writer-producer on “Frasier.” He worried that a strike would doom chances of CBS picking up his pilot, “Say Uncle,” for the fall season.

“With a strike, the networks wouldn’t have picked up any scripted material,” Richman said. “For me, both sides are heroes. We got enough, and they gave enough. . . . We’re not eating it to settle. They are averting a devastation.”

Diane Wilk, executive producer of “The Nanny,” said: “I’m glad it’s over. Sometimes the parties don’t realize how many people are affected in an industry town. Egos get all blown out of shape.”

Rob Long, writer-producer of “Cheers,” said, “I take back all those terrible things I said about the writers guild.”

Gains on the creative issues were extremely meaningful to many screenwriters.

“We didn’t get everything, but I thought these issues would just get brushed aside and they weren’t,” said Linda Woolverton, whose screenwriting credits include “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “Homeward Bound.” “The guild took a stand for screenwriters.”

Even though guild leaders such as western WGA President John Wells had entered the negotiations with tough talk about the possibility of a strike, writers were content to settle.

“John Wells is going to be a hero to writers for many years to come,” said Deborah Amelon, whose credits include the feature “Exit to Eden.”

As a screenwriter, Amelon was glad to see that writers will be allowed a presence on sets. “There’s always a feeling of discomfort when you go. Now, we’ve been given a place.”

Other writers echoed her sentiment.

“The creative stuff was more important to me than the financial stuff,” said Mark Perez, who has two movies in production at Disney: “The Country Bears” and “Frank McKlusky, C.I.” “I had signed on to do another script, so I wasn’t so worried about [a strike] myself, but when I realized how many people it would affect, I am very happy it was settled.”

Cynthia Cidre, who wrote the TNT feature “Politician’s Wife,” said, “It’s better to be working than not working. I’m happy as long as progress has been made regarding writers and respect--that was more of an emotional issue for me. It’s hard to be involved in a movie for years and then someone comes along and changes everything.”

At least one writer was grateful to hear the Fox network agreed to pay the same residual rates as the other major broadcast networks within two years.

“My grandmother will be very happy because she was disappointed that my new show isn’t on a network,” quipped Judd Apatow, executive producer of the forthcoming Fox comedy “Undeclared.”

Apatow, whose screenwriting credits include “The Cable Guy,” said this year’s rush to jam movies into production will prove an interesting study in the value of the traditional development process.

“We are about to find out if the long, slow process of getting [script] notes from the studio actually makes movies better or worse. What if all of these movies are great?”

Young writers are particularly relieved.

“I finally hit my stride after a chunk of time of not making a living as a writer,” said screenwriter Jeff Stockwell, whose “The Dangerous Life of Altar Boys” starring Jodie Foster is set for release this fall. “I’m in the zone between lukewarm and hot. To let everything cool for six months, what would happen after that? It’s a psychological relief that this has been settled.”

Stockwell said that, though he supported the guild, none of the issues was worth striking for. “There weren’t any particular issues that were screaming at me. The strike for me was mostly a looming sense of anxiety.”

At “Saturday Night Live,” the show’s writers were busy Friday night writing jokes for the show’s “Weekend Update” segment when news came of a settlement.

“I think everyone’s relieved there’s no strike,” said Steve Higgins, a writer-producer on the late-night NBC show. “But I didn’t think there was going to be one. Mostly because the stock market went down.”

Frohman credits the guild’s news blackout with helping to keep an emotional group of writers from turning on one another and derailing the settlement.

“This would have been my fourth strike. I was hoping that it wouldn’t divide the guild, which is what happened before. Television against film. It didn’t happen this time. I don’t know who to thank, but I’m thankful.”

Times staff writers Paul Brownfield, Rachel Abramowitz, Lorenza Munoz and Robert W. Welkos contributed to this report.