Talks Restarted At CAA Agent Bryan Lourd’s Home After Weeks Of Quiet Backchannel; WGA’s Verrone & Young Met There With Moguls Iger & Chernin

Is this the best surprise announcement ever since the strike started?!

The date they return to the bargaining table is November 26th. I picked up rumors about this breakthrough about two hours ago, and I’ve just confirmed it from a WGA source. Now the Writers Guild of America has just issued a statement: “Leaders from the WGA and the AMPTP have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26. No other details or press statements will be issued.” The exact same statement was issued moments later by the Alliance Of Motion Picture And Television Producers, whose president Nick Counter earlier this week quietly dropped a demand that his side wouldn’t go back into negotiations until the writers strike was stopped or at least suspended for a few days while talks proceeded. But tonight’s statements from both sides indicate the strike continues.

Shortly after tonight’s announcement, WGA president Patric Verrone emailed WGA members calling the breakthrough “a direct result of the hours you have spent on the picket lines, the days you’ve spent educating friends and colleagues, the boundless energy you’ve put into engaging with not only the Hollywood talent community, but people all over the country and the world.”

He also claimed ”a powerful strike means a short strike…”

Verrone added, “We have proven that bad news won’t slow us down. It is equally important that we now prove that good news won’t slow us down, either. We must remember that returning to the bargaining table is only a start. Our work is not done until we achieve a good contract and that is by no means assured. Accordingly, what we achieve in negotiations will be a direct result of how successfully we can keep up our determination and resolve.”

Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.