Striking writers hit Globes and Oscars

Dec 18, 2007 by Ian Evans

The striking Writers Guild of America will not be granting a waiver to the Golden Globe Awards, meaning the show will go on without writers.

The Oscars have been told that permission had not been given to use any clips from films and past telecasts. A message posted on the Academy’s site clarified that, contrary to some reports, they had only been denied the use of clips. It said:

“Some reports in the press have stated that the Academy had been denied a waiver by the WGA that would have allowed Guild writers to work on the telecast of the 80th Annual Academy Awards. In fact, the Academy has not requested such a waiver, nor has the Guild told the Academy whether such a request would or wouldn’t be viewed favorably.

As it does each year, the Academy recently requested from the WGA a waiver in connection with any film clips and excerpts from past Oscar telecasts that might be shown on the upcoming Academy Awards telecast. The Academy was informed last night that the Guild would not grant that waiver, stating that to do so would not advance the Guild’s goals in its current efforts to achieve a collective bargaining agreement. This decision affects only the conditions under which we may use such material, not our ability to do so.”