How writers deal came together

The NYT's Michael Cieply reports that with zero fanfare, Laeta Kalogridis became an unlikely peacemaker in getting the writers and the media companies together. Who? Kalogridis is a movie and TV writer who is best known these days for starting up United Hollywood, the pro-union Web site. Cieply says that she became a conduit between David Young, the guild's militant executive director, and Peter Chernin, the News Corp. COO who became the moguls' point man in the contract talks. The key breakthrough involved compensation for Web streaming of TV shows after their initial broadcast. In the third year, writers get a residual based on their gross revenue from the Internet. That’s a huge deal.

As is often the case in Hollywood, an agent was an important link. Rick Rosen is a partner at the Endeavor agency, which represents Ms. Kalogridis. Mr. Rosen is also a lifelong friend of Mr. Chernin, who had opened informal talks with the writers — along with Robert A. Iger, chief executive of Walt Disney, and Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS — immediately after the directors announced their agreement on Jan. 17. Before those informal face-to-face meetings, Mr. Chernin had advised the union representatives to hire a seasoned Hollywood lawyer. If this effort did not work, Mr. Chernin and others feared, the stalemate could easily extend into the spring, when the writers’ strike might well merge with one by the Screen Actors Guild, whose contract expires June 30.

Eventually, the guild brought in Alan Wertheimer, who has represented top writers for years and has the respect of both sides.

As the talks resumed, the participants began to compromise. Notably, Mr. Verrone — an architect of the tough stance taken by the guild from the outset — appeared to step back somewhat after the union dropped a pet demand of his, for jurisdiction over animation and reality-television writers. In the meantime, Mr. Bowman, a well-heeled television writer, became more assertive. Mr. Bowman’s emergence as an independent voice had long been sought by company representatives, who surmised even before the strike began that he would be a more flexible bargainer than Mr. Verrone and Mr. Young.