WGA STRIKE UPDATE: No Waiver for Academy Awards

Writers Guild of America West President Verrone: Only a WGA-AMPTP Deal Will Prompt Waiver for Oscars

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/15/2008 5:32:00 PM

In the wake of the cancellation of the traditional Golden Globe Awards ceremony, Writers Guild of America West president Patric Verrone reiterated Tuesday that he does not anticipate granting the Academy Awards a waiver unless the striking writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reach a deal.

Without a waiver, it remains to be seen whether the Screen Actors Guild membership would skip the Oscars as it did for the Globes, not wanting to cross a picket line. That combination played a large role in the trimming of the ceremony to a brief press conference.

The WGA already turned down a request to use clips for the Academy Awards, and the WGA board of directors also voted in December to deny any future request for writers to script the ceremony.

Verrone said that while that request has not yet been made, the plan is still to deny it unless the WGA and AMPTP come to terms on a contract before the show. “[A deal] is certainly the most likely thing to make a difference,” he added.

Verrone also said the WGA had received a similar waiver request Tuesday for the Grammy Awards, but he offered little information other than to say that the board will vote on the request at a time yet to be determined.

For full coverage of the strike, click here.