Negotiations between Hollywood studio executives and producers, and the union representing striking film and television writers are on hold after four days of talks.

Film and television writers picket outside NBC Studios in Burbank, California, 29 Nov 2007

More than 10,000 members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike for more than three weeks. They are demanding a greater share of the proceeds from sales of digital reproductions of television shows and films, as well as programs shown on the Internet and other digital outlets.

The Writers Guild rejected a three-year deal offered by the producers on Thursday. The producers say the writers would make $130 million above the more than $1 billion they currently earn.

The union says the writers would only make $250 from a year's re-use of an hour-long show on the Internet - a fraction of what they make for a network rerun.

The Writers Guild offered a counter-proposal they say would cost the industry $151 million over three years, which amounts to a three-percent increase in writer's pay.

The writers' strike - the first in nearly 20 years - has shut down production on scores of weekly and daily television shows, and has begun to affect work on big-screen feature films.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.