LOS ANGELES  After months of informal talks, Hollywood’s movie and television directors agreed Thursday afternoon to a new contract with production companies. The accord would appear to send a none-too-subtle message to striking screenwriters: This is not the time to get hung up on new media.

The deal could also lead to a resolution of the writers’ dispute that has crippled the entertainment business for almost 11 weeks, shutting down production of television comedies and dramas, forcing movie studios to postpone big-budget movies like “The Da Vinci Code” prequel, “Angels and Demons,” and throwing tens of thousands of people out of work.

But a quick end to the strike will most likely occur only if the writers, who walked out on Nov. 5, are willing to lower their own more aggressive demands, especially concerning compensation for the distribution of their work over the Internet, cellphones and other new-media devices.

Patric M. Verrone, president of the West Coast writers guild, said he planned to thoroughly review the directors’ contract.