Strike UPDATE!

With the writers' strike entering its second week yesterday, television and film producers have responded to the writers' demands in full-page ads in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, said writers are compensated when TV shows and films are downloaded or rented online. Writers have sought more revenue from downloads, as well as payment for shows that stream on ad-supported sites, including network websites such as ABC.com. The AMPTP said in its ads that there had been an offer on the table to pay writers for such streaming before negotiations ended earlier this month.

In response to the ads, the Writers Guild of America said yesterday that the producers' proposals would have, quote, "decimated writers' incomes."

Several actors have supported the writers since they began their strike early last week. JASON BATEMAN, who stars in the upcoming film Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, says the AMPTP views Internet streaming as a promotional tool rather than a distribution entity, which he claims is unfair. He says, quote, "It's insulting and quite frankly it's embarrassing being in the same business with people that can justify making statements like that." DUSTIN HOFFMAN, who plays Mr. Magorium himself, agrees with his co-star, saying quote, "If the big stars are pocketing and the producers are pocketing then the writers should be pocketing too, period."