Jay Leno and David Letterman will go dark tonight as last-ditch talks failed and the first strike by movie and TV writers since 1988 began at midnight.

Aside from late-night talk shows, which would feel the first effects by going into repeats immediately, soap operas, sitcoms and dramas would shut down by February, once they've exhausted the supply of episodes and already written scripts. Meanwhile, picket lines are scheduled for today.

Writers and studios are at odds over royalties for movies and TV shows offered on the Internet and sold on DVD, now just pennies a disc.

Last-minute negotiations with a federal mediator were held at a Hollywood hotel on Sunday, but they finished at 9:30 p.m. PT, a half-hour after New York-based guild members officially went on strike. The strike marks the first major Hollywood labor disruption since a 22-week walkout by actors and writers in 1988.

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