Tuesday, December 18, 2007

WGA Rejects Waivers for Globes, Oscars Telecasts

By LillyKat
PTR Staff Writer


From United Hollywood

LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild has notified the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and dick clark productions that their requests for an agreement to allow writers to prepare material for the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards show have been denied.

The Guild has also denied a request from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a waiver in connection with the use of clips from motion pictures and past Academy Awards shows for use during the annual Academy Awards presentation.

In letters to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, WGAW President Patric M. Verrone described the Guild’s respect and admiration for both organizations, explaining that:

“Writers are engaged in a crucial struggle to achieve a collective bargaining agreement that will protect their compensation and intellectual property rights now and in the future. We must do everything we can to bring our negotiations to a swift and fair conclusion for the benefit of writers and all those who are being harmed by the companies’ failure to engage in serious negotiations.”

The signatories producing the Golden Globes and the Oscars are West Coast signatories. The WGAW’s Board of Directors concluded, reluctantly, that granting exceptions for the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards would not advance that goal.

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So folks, unless we have a strike settlement before either awards telecast (Globes in January; Oscars in February), the networks are going to have to get pretty creative on how they broadcast either ceremony. This would also need to include figuring out how to deal with the very real possibility that many of the top talents nominated for these awards will boycott both shows as a sign of solidarity with striking writers.

Stay tuned for more As The Strike World Turns.

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