Scribe Strike May Last Months

The Hollywood writers strike could last for months, says ABC News, because negotiators will have trouble dividing profits that no one can predict.  "You can't slice a pie that isn't baked yet," a consultant tells ABC, referring to new media. "It's really poor timing on the part of the writers. And they're going to do mutual damage to themselves and the industry." Right now, no talks are scheduled between producers and writers.

On both coasts, more than a thousand writers picketed as major talk shows like Leno's, Letterman's and The Daily Show tabled production. Actors Steve Carrell and Ellen DeGeneres refused to work out of solidarity with the scribes. Some Teamsters, risking their jobs, refused to cross picket lines and may have shut down some shows, a union official said. (More Writers Guild of America stories.)