Strike continues to take toll

"We have worked very hard to come up with solutions — such as implementing reduced work schedules — to minimize layoffs," a Warner Bros. company spokesperson said. "Because of these measures, fewer than three dozen positions were affected this week. We will continue to explore alternatives to layoffs, including redeployment to other areas of our businesses."

Gary Olson, president and chief executive of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, praised the studio’s attempt to layoff less than 1% of the warned employees, while he tried to keep the focus on the thousands who are out of work.

"I commend them and their actions in keeping as many people working as possible," he said. "Everyone is talking about [those] who lost their jobs, but what about the 15,000?"

The snowballing economic and professional losses have led Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos to send a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to lead a collective effort with the mayors from Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles and Pasadena to bring both sides toward a resolution.

"I find the need to further advocate for a resolution becoming more and more urgent," she wrote on Jan. 15. "I believe that with your leadership and the collective support of the mayors of the five cities whose economies are greatly driven by the entertainment industry, we may be able to encourage the striking parties to return to the negotiating table."

Despite the grim news, some are seeing a ray of hope in Thursday’s announcement that the Directors Guild of America has agreed to a tentative, three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

"This is good news," Olson said. "The hope is that this will prompt the writers to move forward."

That optimism was exemplified by a joint statement from the director’s guild and the producers, who have not held formal negotiations with the writers’ guild since Dec. 7.

"We hope that this agreement with the [director’s guild] will signal the beginning of the end of this extremely difficult period for our industry," the statement read. "Today, we invite the Writers Guild of America to engage with us in a series of informal discussions similar to the productive process that led us to a deal with the [director’s guild] to determine whether there is a reasonable basis for returning to formal bargaining."

The writer’s guild has not formally respond to the agreement.

But the announcement of the deal between the directors and the producers has some hoping that the Academy Awards does not have the same fate as the recently canceled Golden Globes.

If Hollywood’s biggest annual awards show is canceled, Los Angeles could lose $130 million in revenue the event is expected to deliver from the ceremony, said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

The cancellation of the Globes cost Los Angeles $60 million, he said.

"The goal is that the writer’s portion of it will be settled before the Academy Awards," Olson said. "If they dig in their heels, the speculation is that [the strike] could go on until April."