Writers’ Strike Forces Halt of Golden Globes Ceremony and Parties
Written by: Big Ross, CC2K Staff Writer
Source: Variety
The short version is that under pressure from both the writers’ and screen actors’ guilds, NBC has cancelled the Globes ceremony and all parties associated with it. Instead NBC is planning a news conference-style program to announce the winners. Only journalists will be in attendance.
A showdown between NBC and the WGA, which has been building with recent disputes over the return of Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien to late night television, erupted with NBC’s plans to air the Globes ceremony with some degree of fanfare and the participation of nominees being seen as an affront to the higher-ups in the WGA.
They quickly consolidated their position with that of the SAG, vowing that if NBC proceeded with the Globes none of the nominated actors would be in attendance, and writers would be picketing outside the ceremony site. David Young, director of WGA West wrote wo colleagues in SAG:
It is a blatant ploy to get actors and other talent to attend the event. It is the Globes under the name of a news conference. We have informed Dick Clark Prods. that we will picket the event on Sunday.
Patrick Verrone of WGA West declined to comment specifically on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation but did say:
I’m hoping that they see the collapse of awards season and our ability to make interim deals with other companies as a sign that we are serious, and they need to get back to the table with us.