A simple majority of the Writers Guild's membership now must ratify the three-year deal with producers.
Investors yawn as writers' strike is averted.
Studios seen as having had little to lose. Talks were conducted amid overhanging issues that made a walkout unpalatable to both sides. Although WGA members gain more money and some creative rights, they fail to get a boost in residuals for reruns on cable or in payments for videos and DVDs. For others, having screen deals go forward was paramount. As with athletes, screenwriters' careers are usually short.