United Artists films, the moribund studio resurrected by Tom Cruise in 2006, has signed a deal with striking Hollywood screenwriters.

It is the first film studio to reach a deal with the Writers Guild of America, which said it would pursue side deals with individual producers and studios when it was unable to reach an agreement with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

United Artists will be able to hire scriptwriters and resume working while other studios are coping with picket lines and a dearth of new material. 

The deal was announced Monday, but terms were not disclosed.

"United Artists has lived up to its name. UA and the writers guild came together and negotiated seriously. The end result is that we have a deal that will put people back to work," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West.

The major issue in the WGA strike, which began Nov. 5, is compensation for rebroadcast of films and TV shows over the internet or via cellphone or pay TV.

United Artists was founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith.

MGM held the rights to the name, but was not making movies when it struck a deal for Cruise and his producer Paula Wagner to take it over.

The new UA's first movie was Lions for Lambs, followed by Valkyrie, which is still in production.

The "agreement is important, unique and makes good business sense for United Artists," Wagner said Monday.

David Letterman's Worldwide Pants also has struck a deal with the WGA to allow writers to work for Letterman's The Late Show and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.

The WGA is also believed to be in talks with other independent producers.

With files from the Associated Press