January
25 WGA agrees to interim deal with Marvel

Marvel and Lionsgate are the most recent studios to sign interim agreements with the WGA. The deal lets Marvel, which is now financing its own productions, get back to work on developing its various superhero pics, which Chairman David Maisel tells Variety includes "Captain America," "Thor," "Ant-Man" and "The Avengers."

The move sparked the usual round of PR releases, with the WGA heralding Marvel's commitment to paying its writers fairly (and I'm sure there's plenty of comics scribes out there who'd get a laugh out of that) and the AMPTP saying in the Variety article that the deal means nothing because the companies only have to live with it until a final deal settles the strike.

For Marvel Studios, keeping going is definitely worth it. Company has "Iron Man" out in May and "The Incredible Hulk" in June as the first two pics Marvel is financing and producing itself. While these pics look good, no further pics have yet been finalized — something that needs to change quickly for Marvel to get pics in the pipeline for 2009 and 2010.

Deal comes just weeks after strike issues forced Warner Bros. to put its planned DC Comics pic "Justice League of America" on hold.