The Golden Globes May Not Be Televised

Given the remoteness of the possibility that the Writers Guild strike will be resolved before the Golden Globes award show on January 13, word from within the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is that one possible scenario is for the Globes to proceed without the live NBC telecast. That way the show could go on, with celebrities attending and moving on to the all-important after-parties at the Beverly Hilton (which I gather the studios are booking). This scenario does raise certain contractual questions; so far NBC is going forward with plans to telecast the show live. UPDATE: More in the NYT.

In retrospect, it would have been smarter for the HFPA to approach the WGA themselves much earlier and request a waiver (as Film Independent did for the Indie Spirits Awards), rather than going through Dick Clark Productions and NBC. Thus the angry WGA struck back at a major network by withholding the waiver.

If the show is not televised, NBC will lose the revenue it would have generated via advertising (the Globes show earns strong ratings), and the Globes will lose the money they would have been paid. But at this point it is much more important to the HFPA (which has enough cash in its coffers to miss one year's telecast) for the Globes show to go on with celebrities walking down that red carpet (even with no writers to pen the presentation speeches) to present and accept awards than for them to face the possibility that most stars will not cross an active picket line.

Comments

[Sergio]

Actually without the writers I think these awards shows could be better. We woundn't have to hear all that lame banter and awful attempts at humor from actors while handling out awards

[Gabe Videla]

The WGA and its members should get back to work!
A job is precious and whether it's in Hollywood or any other endeavor it's about putting food on the table, which they are not accomplishing with this strike. Their demands should be about base compensation, health/retirement benefits and that's all. They have no right to Studio profits as these entities take all the financial risk and bear all the costs related to the product they put in Theaters or TV. The only people making money on this strike are the Lawyers, who I assure you are privately clinking their Holiday Champagne glasses.

The Show must go on because the public wants to see their Stars,

[sl]

I've commented on a few of these articles since the WGA strike began almost two months ago. It's sad to see that I was and still am right. 1. People are going to start turning on the WGA. (See previous comments). 2. The WGA needs new leadership if they plan on ending this strike. I was criticized for having such a negative view point on the strike and not attacking the AMPTP as all else were. The truth isn't always what you may want to hear, but let's face it...wasn't this obvious? My new prediction...Public love for the WGA will fade if they start destroying these award shows by picketing.

[Sergio]

SL

Read, if you haven't already, Peter Bart's Variety column about the strike. He's hit it right on the head. The strike, I hate to say this, was doomed from the beginning. This is whole new different world than when the writers last stuck in 1988. No more Mom and Pop studios. We're in the world of faceless conglomerates. It's much harder and tougher to go up those these Goliaths.

Also, 20 years ago the three major networks had 90% of the viewing audience. It's probably closer to 50% now, the rest taken up by DVDs, cable, video on demand, video games, You Tube, what have you. And networks have discovered that a reality show, made for the fraction of a scripted show, can get just as good or even better ratings than a scripted show as well. It's a whole new situation to the writers disadvantage. Also, as I told a WGA member friend of mine ths week, the WGA has failed to clearly articluate to the public what the strike is all about. To be honest, I'm not even sure if the public really knows there's a writers strike going on, for the main reason I mentioned earlier about current viewing habits. In the end, I predict that the WGA will eventually settle for something less than what they want, which is what they did back in 1988 to their regret.

[jfay]

To the person who mentioned it should be about "base compensation"...everyone knows that television and internet are going to merge into one interactive box. So when the TV writers STILL get $0 for the internet then it will be their only form of compensation.
Someone once described it brilliantly by comparing it to a book author. The book author gets money for every book that sells as does the publisher. The TV or film writer gets money for every episode that runs. When 100 books sell....the author gets money from all 100. When 100 episodes air on the web, or elsewhere the writers should be paid for them. The studios are.
And finally, for those who don't know this already...most Hollywood writer's average about 61,000 a year...which when adjusted for the crazy cost of living in Los Angeles is about 30,000 in the mid-west.

[jbelkin]

The writers are 100% in the right. First of all, without writers, what exactly made actors STARS? When people quote things like "Here's Looking at You Kid" or "Make My Day!" they were NOT written by Bogart or Eastwood ... as much as we appreciate Bogart & Eastwood's talents, the words made them stars and if you don't realize that ...

Just because the studios are now run by lawyers and bean counters doesn't make it right so whatever. People don't care about networks anymore - no matter how much branding - people will watch what they want to want on ANY medium so if this strike diminishes the studios - whatever - maybe it's time to internet and IPTV all our entertainment and say buh bye to the networks - GE & Zucker are already doing their best to diminish the value of the network they bought.

[lvuback1]

The thought that anyone has ever discounted the writer's contribution is just silly. As are many of the current shenanigans posing as negotiations.
If presenters and winners at the Globes had all been brought up in the studio system, they probably could handle their brief appearances unscripted. And it could be great fun.
Instead the WGA refuses to honor an organization that has spread the Hollywood dream around the world.
I've always considered the Hollywood Foreign Press to be a pretty classy bunch. Not so the Writer's Guild.