This year's awards season, barely a month old now, has not been a good one for Hollywood. First, the Golden Globes ceremony was reduced to an Access Hollywood special after members of the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild boycotted the show. Now, it looks like the Grammy Awards ceremony may also be in trouble.
It is being reported that the striking guild will probably bar its members from working on the February 10th Grammys telecast. Grammy organizers have yet to ask for a waiver allowing for writers to work on the show. However, according to a WGA spokesperson, a waiver grant would be unlikely. There is no word if the WGA will picket the ceremony. If it does, then SAG members will not cross the picket line. This potentially means another exciting 1-hour infotainment special.
I'm sure members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are sweating a bit now.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-15-2008 @ 6:14PM
Jake said...
You're missing a very important point, Richard. Unlike the Oscars or Golden Globes, the Grammys' biggest draw is the performances of nominated songs. The writers can do nothing to stop these and the recording industry is so far removed from the WGA contract issues, I doubt that enough artists could be kept away to diminish the show in any important respect. You'd still have a very strong three-hour show. The only thing you'd lose are a few lame jokes.
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1-16-2008 @ 5:36PM
kevjohn said...
Those were my thoughts exactly! Heck, if they cut out the banter and the skits, this could be the best Grammys ever. More (and longer) musical performances, more variety, more of everything good. They might even have time to throw in a Jethro Tull vs. Metallica showdown! Of course that'll mean fewer stoned rock/rap stars struggling to read a telepromptr, but I can live with that.
1-15-2008 @ 6:41PM
Elf said...
Uhh, Jake, if you think some of what's written for the presenters is lame, wait until you they try to ad-the lib introductions...
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1-15-2008 @ 6:52PM
Jake said...
"And now, Alicia Keys."
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1-15-2008 @ 7:14PM
BStu said...
I don't quite understand the tragedy for the awards shows. I get that they are more engaging with writers, but its not like these are sitcoms. Essentially, they are just announcing stuff. Why not just do that without the prattle? Maybe some extra montages or something. Hey, maybe the Oscars will actually end on time.
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1-15-2008 @ 7:27PM
JDub said...
I think this writers' guild strike is a good thing. More people will actually turn off the television and find something a bit more productive to do. All of the award shows are a waste of time anyway. I just read the list of winners in the newspaper, and save a lot of time in doing so.
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1-15-2008 @ 8:43PM
Discosis said...
Can we have the 1 hour infotainment special with Larry King's stream-of-consciousness ramblings over it?
Pleeeeease? :)
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1-15-2008 @ 9:14PM
KayDee said...
I don't care about and never watch award shows, but still must ask what the Grammys have to do with the writers strike? None of those striking TV and film writers wrote for these well-deserving singers and songwriters. And merely coordinating an event on paper does not constitute "writing." While I think the writers should get every penny of their well-deserved online and alternate viewing dollars, their strike-team management needs some lessons in negotiating tactics. I'm loosing all sympathy for these bumbling "leaders" and am out of patience with the situation all around.
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1-15-2008 @ 10:32PM
Fred said...
It's very hard to negotiate when the opposing side (in this case the AMPTP) refuses to do so as well.
The issue here, with the Grammys, isn't so much the striking writers and the fear that organizers will have to ad-lib all their prattle. It's that SAG members may refuse to cross picket lines to attend the show. Maybe that's not as big a concern as with the Golden Globes, but I'd be surprised if it didn't affect attendance in some way.
Still, maybe they can get frequent host Ellen Degeneres to return. She's already show a willingness to cross the picket line...
Oh, and I don't know that the Globes were "reduced to an Access Hollywood special." I think they've always been an AH special; this year they were just a poorly attended one.
1-17-2008 @ 12:27PM
Gordy said...
Nope, I think the Grammy awards will be better...double the entertainers and none of the lame openings, introductions, and award banter.
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