Oscar producer Gil Cates and all the rest of the behind-the-camera Academy Awards people are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Finally, after 14 weeks of striking, writers are returning to work. Members of the Writers Guild of America overwhelmingly approved a new contract that, according to analysts who specialize in crunching numbers, could quite possibly be the best deal the WGA leaders have hammered out in decades.

Writers are now free to return to work which means all's well in Oscar land! The strike, which began on November 5, 2007, had threatened to shut down this year's ceremony as actors and directors promised they'd stand by their writing buddies and not cross any union picket lines. Actors, and not just those nominated for Academy Awards, had also been keeping a close eye on the strike's progress because the Screen Actors Guild's contract with the studios expires this summer. SAG leaders are hoping to get a contract pounded out that's agreeable to their members without having to force a work stoppage. The WGA deal, which was approved by a whopping 92% of WGA members, should help pave the way for a similarly satisfactory agreement between actors and studio heads.

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