The Beverly Hilton, where the Golden Globes were scheduled for Sunday, is a ghost town today. There are parking spaces available, only a single news crew's van is parked outside and the only lingering limos belonged to a NAACP Image Awards announcement.
The fear that other awards show venues will be similarly empty is certainly bound to start spreading if there is no settlement to the writers strike within the next two weeks. The Grammy Awards, if staged amidst pickets at Staples Center, would have to do a show with no WGA writing, no actors as presenters and none of musicians with union or Hollywood connections.
Were the strike to have taken place last year - and SAG was refusing to go against the writers - the ceremonies would have lacked the presence of T.I., Ludacris, Reba McEntire, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders, Quentin Tarantino, Luke Wilson, Lewis Black, Nicolas Cage, Terrence Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock and David Spade.
There have been no announcements of performers or presenters for this year's Grammys. Last year, announcements of performers and presneters began during the second week of January, starting with beyonce, Dixie Chicks, Gnarls Barkley and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
If there is still a strike - and this is pure speculation - it's highly unlikely the Feb. 10 will be host to Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, Joni Mitchell, John Fogerty, Lucinda Williams, Jack White, Steve Earle, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, George Lopez, Jay-Z, Timberlake, Tim McGraw or Beyonce. (Grohl and his Foo Fighters are part of a heavily promoted Grammy Awards contest in which an unknown will be performing with the band. They appeared at the announcement, pictured, of the nominations).
Tech workers booked to work on the show are not crossing the picket line to do their jobs. But there are probably countless musicians who would not cross the picket line of fellow artists, a blow to the centerpiece of the Grammys' 50th anniversary.