Black Monday for Hollywood

The Writers Guild of America has set Monday morning to start a strike against the major Hollywood studios. The Los Angeles Times reported Friday afternoon the WGA West Board voted unanimously to call a strike. The council of WGA East in New York also approved going on strike. The Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could not come to terms on a new contract. The sticking points are the residuals writers receive from home entertainment DVD sales and new media distribution. The last writers strike took place in 1988 and lasted five months and cost about $500 million to the region’s economy.