By
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Hollywood screenwriters and producers recessed contract talks Saturday and will resume today in hopes of preventing a potentially devastating strike, spokespersons for both sides said.
Talks continued even though writers had set Friday as the deadline to discontinue discussions unless they had a contract.
Writers Guild of America spokeswoman Cheryl Rhoden declined to say if the extension indicated progress had been made.
The contract for the WGA's 11,000 members expires May 1. Face-to-face negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers began two weeks ago. Alliance spokesman Barry Liden refused to give details on the negotiations.
The writers are demanding increased television and movie residual payments and creative rights intended to give them more prestige and control of projects.
Both sides have acknowledged that a prolonged strike could be devastating. Besides driving film production to Canada, industry observers estimate it could cost Los Angeles County as much as $2 billion a month in lost business.
A WGA strike in 1988 lasted 22 weeks and delayed that year's fall television season.
