January
6
NBC May Not Televise Globes; Town Pins Hopes on DGA
As expected, NBC is wavering on its insistence that the Golden Globes should be televised. The network didn't want to lose about $15 million in ad revenue. But the Hollywood Foreign Press wants to put on a show that celebs would be willing to attend. With no NBC involvement, there will be no WGA picket line.
The Writers Guild is trying to exercise leverage with the TV talk shows--yes, you can do Letterman, no you can't do Leno--and awards shows --yes, you can do Indie Spirits, but not the Globes or Oscars--but people are getting confused by the whole thing. Why does Letterman's indie prod co. get a waiver, but Dick Clark's doesn't? Both shows are aired on a network. Obviously, SAG doesn't want its members to cross a picket line, but why should they not attend the Critics' Choice Awards, which is non-WGA and airs on VH1? (There will be no pickets.) The WGA sent unofficial word through SAG's Alan Rosenberg at a meeting Friday that they would be pleased if actors didn't attend that ceremony. Publicists are saying their clients will be trooping up that red carpet--which will undermine the WGA. What were they thinking?
UPDATE: (A SAG spokeswoman wants to make sure it's clear that the "Screen Actors Guild is not discouraging its members from attending the BFCA Awards nor will there be repercussions for any members that choose to do so. It is not a struck production and there will not be a picket line. Members who make a personal choice to attend the event will not be crossing a picket line to do so.")
The WGA's interim pact with Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's label United Artists is the start of several side deals with such indies as Lionsgate and Weinstein Co. But this sends a confusing signal. UA may be an indie (Cruise and Wagner own 35 %), but it is still backed by AMPTP member MGM. Read this Dave McNary story; the WGA's "divide and conquer" strategy could backfire if the union's goal is to bring Hollywood to a grinding halt, putting more people out of work. UPDATE: The NYT reports on negative reaction to the WGA's interim deals.
Many folks believe that there's isn't much point in restarting negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP, because the two sides can barely talk to one another. Thus fingers are crossed that the Directors Guild's lead negotiator Gil Cates, who happens to be producing the Oscars, will be able to cut an agreement with the AMPTP that is acceptable to the WGA, well in advance of that looming February 24 deadline. Those talks are expected to start soon.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/4113/24863516
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference NBC May Not Televise Globes; Town Pins Hopes on DGA :
Comments