Weinstein Company Deal Closed

Here's the press release that just went out:

THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY AND THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA ANNOUNCE INDEPENDENT AGREEMENT

NEW YORK, NY and LOS ANGELES, CA – (January 11, 2008) – The Weinstein Company (TWC) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced today that they have signed a comprehensive independent agreement. While the details are not being disclosed, the deal addresses the issues important to writers, including New Media.

As a result of this agreement, Writers Guild members will now be able to work with The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, the genre division under the TWC banner.

The following is a joint statement from Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company:

“We believe this strike must be resolved now, it’s that simple.”

“Each day more people are losing their jobs because of this strike and a trickle down effect is impacting the entire industry. There seems to be no end in sight and this should be a concern to all of us.”

“While we understand and respect both sides of this issue, this agreement is a catalyst in bringing both sides back to the table so real conversations can begin.”

“We should not forget that this time of year should be a time of celebration for our industry and it won't be until this strike is resolved.”

David Young, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, West and WGA chief negotiator, said: “The Guild is proud to move forward with The Weinstein Company and hopes that other studios will follow its example. The conglomerates walked away from bargaining and have refused to resume negotiations, but this shows we can sign deals that are fair for writers and the companies that employ them.”

The terms of the agreement are similar to the Guild’s recent deals with Worldwide Pants and United Artists. An executive summary of the Worldwide Pants agreement can be found at http://www.wga.org/contract_07/wwp_exec.pdf .