Hollywood award season reeling from writers strike

Usually the first two months of the year, dubbed the Hollywood awards season, bring the stars out to red carpet ceremonies to honor the work they've done in TV and movies over the last 12 months. This year, the Hollywood writers strike, which began Nov. 5, is stirring big changes to those festivities.

The first awards show to feel the pinch from the strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) was the People's Choice Awards.

Hosted by rapper/singer/actress Queen Latifah, the traditionally live telecast took a new format that included pre-taped acceptance speeches from celebrities who refused to cross the picket line.

"The thing about the People's Choice Awards that's different from everybody else is it's the People's Choice," Latifah said. "So as much as we actors and writers and everyone are dealing with the writers strike and supporting the Writers Guild, you can't disrespect the people who keep us working, and that's the people. Ten million people logged on and voted for everyone, so out of respect for them, we have to" [present the awards].

Officials at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who put on the Golden Globes Awards, scrapped the show altogether. It was announced that recipients of this year's award would be revealed during an hour-long press conference.

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The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) reached a cooperation agreement with the WGA. The live telecast of the SAG Awards was set to go on as planned for Jan. 27 on the TNT and TBS networks.

The NAACP Image Awards is scheduled to air live on the FOX network on Valentine's Day. According to NAACP publicist Richard J. McIntire, the organization has applied to the guild for a waiver, but has yet to hear whether they will receive it.

The big question is whether or not the Academy Awards, the movie world's biggest night, will move forward with their Feb. 24 ceremony and risk being picketed by the writers.

The loss of money because of the strike has hit the industry hard. With the cancellation of the Golden Globes, many parties and weekend events were canceled, starting the trickledown effect to makeup artists, caterers, limo drivers, event planners and security guards.

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In terms of exposure and red-carpet significance, for example, the Golden Globes is second to only the Oscars, and fashion houses may face setbacks because couture gowns won't be showcased.

Award shows have been the "free" vehicle to raise exposure for a designer's brand and the loss of such elite events causes a financial drain.

Networks and advertisers have felt the money strain from the strike as well. With the truncated Globes gala, which was to air on NBC and regularly reaches about 20 million viewers, the network is reportedly offering some advertisers cash back for the event because of the ratings slump.

The Oscars, perhaps the second-biggest advertising night after the Super Bowl, it reached nearly 40 million viewers last year.

With the fate of the Academy Awards still up in the air, companies that are looking to build on the $1.5 million, 30-second spot they purchased will catch the ripple effect if the show is canceled.

--Combined reports from JET staff

Key Writers Strike Issues

Key Writers Strike Issues: The central issue is compensation for programs, movies and other content streamed or downloaded on the Internet. Writers want a framework for residual payments now, citing what they considered raw deals in the 1980s involving what ultimately became lucrative home-video and DVD markets. Producers say it's too soon to know how much money they can make on the Web or even which formats will work. They're offering limited proposals that would end in three years and be renegotiated.

Key Issues In The Last Writers Strike

Key Issues In The Last Writers Strike: The last Hollywood writers strike occurred in 1988 and lasted 22 weeks over many of the same issues facing negotiators today: larger payments for reruns and foreign distribution. When an agreement was reached, the guild won improvements in creative control over scripts and the reacquisition of original screenplays, but gained little in payments for overseas broadcasts.

--Associated Press

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