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Sunday, February 3, 2008

Hope for the Oscars

posted by on February 3 at 17:12 PM

According to an email sent by the Writer’s Guild of America to its members today, writers are supposed to return to the picket lines tomorrow. But Hollywood is buzzing with speculation that there’s an imminent agreement in the works between the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the strike, by paying writers royalties for new-media sales and addressing other concerns. If the they don’t reach agreement in time for the Oscars on February 24, writers have threatened to picket the awards ceremony and the Screen Actors Guild has vowed to boycott the event in solidarity—resulting in a television debacle more shameful than the People’s Choice Awards.

“Things have been leaked that suggest they have passed every major hurdle and we can get to a final resolution,” says my brother David, a sit-com writer in LA and picketing member of the guild. But the email from the guild, sent to my brother this afternoon, says to ignore those rumors and continue to show resolve. Even guild members have been denied details on negotiations, as the committees from both sides agreed to a media blackout.

Once the two sides reach a non-binding agreement, the 10,500 guild members will by notified by email, the letter says. They will have to convene in the Los Angeles Convention Center to consider the conditions and vote to ratify the proposal. “I think we could hear something this week,” David says. “If it’s done at breakneck speed, we might be able to get it done before the Academy Awards.”

RSS icon Comments

1

can we just cancel all the stupid award shows while we're at it?

Posted by high and bi | February 3, 2008 7:44 PM
2

seriously, i second that high and bi

Posted by vooodooo84 | February 3, 2008 10:41 PM
3

now maybe we can still get the other 8 episodes of this Lost season back into production, never mind the last season of Battlestar Galactica

Posted by never mind the fucking oscars | February 4, 2008 12:39 AM
4

Who is this Oscar, of whom you speak?

Posted by NapoleonXIV | February 4, 2008 7:33 AM
5

@ 1 / 2: As in "Clockwork Orange" - is someone pinning your eyelids open so that you are forced to watch award shows? I hate peas - does that mean all restaurants should take them off their menus?

Posted by BELMONT PLACE | February 4, 2008 11:11 AM
6

I'm still not daring to hope that we can do our sexy dress-up awards show party this year.

Posted by Greg | February 4, 2008 11:15 AM
7

As far as I know... Battlestar Galactica is moving ahead just fine because they film in Canada, and most of the writers (and crews) up there are not part of the U.S. guilds (although some of the major writers, actors, etc. obviously are).

Many sci-fi shows are thus moving along just fine. For example, Stargate Atlantis is working on Season 5 already.

Posted by Mickymse | February 4, 2008 11:30 AM
8

@5
The peas shall be removed post-haste.

(:=

Posted by subwlf | February 4, 2008 12:15 PM
9

I love the Academy Awards show. So sue me. If you don't like it, geez, is your TV stuck on one channel, or did the dog eat the remote, or what? I don't like local news, so I don't watch it, but that doesn't mean I want it banned from the airwaves forthwith.

I am, however, thoroughly pissed at the Academy for their LAME LAME LAME choices for Original Song. Barf. No Eddie Vedder and three, count 'em, THREE, songs from Happy Disney Princess Fantasy Marketing Opportunity, or whatever the hell the name of it is this year.

Posted by Geni | February 4, 2008 2:56 PM

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