Spring Break
Strike Zone Lays Off
Alexis Quinones, 2L
Issue date: 1/1/01 Section: Entertainment
February 2008
The three-month-old Writers Guild strike has taken a heavy toll on production, put thousands out of work in Los Angeles and New York, and downgraded the Golden Globes. However, in a moment of optimism, the Guild announced last month that it would start informal talks with studios, drop some contract demands and give a picket-free blessing to the Grammy Awards.
The decision against picketing the February 10th Grammy Awards acknowledged that the musicians and writers unions face many of the same new-media compensation issues and is intended to advance the goal of achieving a “fair contract,” Writers Guild executives Michael Winship and Patric Verrone said in an e-mail message to members.
However, the Guild’s Board of Directors decided against granting the ceremony a waiver that would allow union writer to work on the ceremony because the Grammys typically depend more on musical performances than scripted lines or comedy.
Given the Guild’s goodwill gesture, prospects that the Academy Awards will escape jeopardy seem to be raised.
The three-month-old Writers Guild strike has taken a heavy toll on production, put thousands out of work in Los Angeles and New York, and downgraded the Golden Globes. However, in a moment of optimism, the Guild announced last month that it would start informal talks with studios, drop some contract demands and give a picket-free blessing to the Grammy Awards.
The decision against picketing the February 10th Grammy Awards acknowledged that the musicians and writers unions face many of the same new-media compensation issues and is intended to advance the goal of achieving a “fair contract,” Writers Guild executives Michael Winship and Patric Verrone said in an e-mail message to members.
However, the Guild’s Board of Directors decided against granting the ceremony a waiver that would allow union writer to work on the ceremony because the Grammys typically depend more on musical performances than scripted lines or comedy.
Given the Guild’s goodwill gesture, prospects that the Academy Awards will escape jeopardy seem to be raised.
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