We've said it before -- and may yet say it again -- but it appears as if the writers' strike might finally be coming to an end.

The Associated Press reports that a breakthrough has been reached in the informal talks the Writers Guild has been having with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for the past couple of weeks -- talks triggered by the announcement of a deal reached between the AMPTP and the Director Guild, one which takes into account the thorny issue of royalties for online streams and sales.

No details have been given -- in fact, no one on either side of the discussions will speak on the record -- but any breakthrough would presumably be the result of the AMPTP adjusting its previous position on Web royalties, which included demands for a free "promotional" period for streams, followed by a flat $1200 fee.

According to the AP, two anonymous sources have said that "the two sides breached the gap Friday" and that "a deal might be announced within a week."

The big losers in all this progress would seem to be Andre Buckner, Tony Luke, and Stephanie Sinclair, none of whom are likely to see one of their movies pop up in our news reports with this kind of regularity ever again.

Source: Yahoo!