Stormclouds are parting in Hollywood, as Spencer Morgan wrote in this week's Observer, but the 100-day WGA strike's cost is finally being revealed: $2.5 billion. Not so bad, when compared to previous estimates. The Associated Press reports that the figure includes wages lost by writers and other entertainment industry workers when the strike shut down production. Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., previously pegged the cost of the walkout at $3.2 billion. He said the industry typically represents $54 billion of the Los Angeles County economy.

It was probably the little guys, like limo drivers and production assistants who were the most affected by the strike.  read more »

What are those Gossip Girl writers doing now that they can finally return to work? Gossiping, of course! Now that the Writers Guild strike is finally over (rejoice!), and scribes are returning to their crummy offices and barely-there story lines, they're feeling "an emotion akin to what they remembered experiencing on their first day of high school," according to the New York Times' Brooks Barnes. On the Warner Brothers lot, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, the co-creators of Gossip Girl, likened reopening their offices to "starting up a summer camp after the winter."  read more »

Hooray! Writers return to the grindstone today. Official letter from the WGA presidents after the jump.  read more »

Some fashion week models are wearing T-shirts backstage that tout Angelina Jolie's Global Action for Children to attract attention to the cause as they get their pre-show hair and makeup done. [WWD]

Amy Winehouse was denied a US visa to attend the Grammy Awards, but she may appear via satellite. [Us]  read more »

Sweet relief! The Writers Guild of America strike may be ending by sun-up Monday morning. Today, studio moguls and guild leaders are expected to finalize a three-year contract and send it for their writers' review on Saturday before more meetings. The guild board could approve the contract Sunday and encourage writers to return to work the next day, according to The Los Angeles Times.  read more »

Several reports claim that an end to the four-month long Writers Guild of America strike is imminent. The New York Times reports that "a tentative agreement" may come "as early as [this] week." But W.G.A. members and leaders are telling striking writers that they might not want to lay down their picket signs just yet.  read more »

Oh, things are shaking up in the writers' talks! Studios and the Writers Guild of America seemed to be finally making progress in their closed-door negotiation sessions, but Phil Alden Robinson, writer and director of Field of Dreams and a member of the governing board of the Writers Guild of America West, has publicly called for a toughened bargaining position, according to today's New York Times. "I've been doing some hard thinking about the D.G.A. deal," Mr. Robinson wrote in the post (read it here). He is also a member of the D.G.A. “It’s my strong conviction that if an unaltered D.G.A. deal were put before our membership for a vote today, it would fail resoundingly,” he wrote.  read more »

The Writers Guild of America showed mercy on Grammy Awards producers by approving an interim agreement that would allow striking scribes to write a script for the ceremony, which takes place on Feb. 10. Last week, the W.G.A. announced that they would not picket the awards show, which would allow the stars to strut the red carpet in peace. Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America West, acknowledged the music unions in a statement Monday and added, “Professional musicians face many of the same issues that we do concerning fair compensation for the use of their work in new media,” according to the New York Times.

The Writers Guild of America decided not to picket the Grammy Awards telecast, organizers announced yesterday. “This really creates a comfortable environment for everybody to come,” said Neil Portnow, chief executive of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Though it is unclear whether writers guild members will be able to write for the Feb. 10 ceremony, Mr. Portnow said, “we’ve got time” until the program and added that, “with all due respect to the writers, we’re really about the music.”  read more »

As noted yesterday, the Directors Guild of America announced an agreement with studios on a new deal, turning the heat up on the striking writers to negotiate terms. The three-year DGA deal addressed some of the writers' key concerns, including advances in payment for programming on the Internet.  read more »