Though the striking Writers Guild of America was able to successfully put the kibosh on the 65th Annual Golden Globes this year (by threatening a picket line that the Screen Actors Guild said it would not cross), Academy Awards executive producer Gil Cates insists that the Oscars, which are slated for Feb. 24, won’t meet the same fate. “The show is going on,” Cates says. “I’m looking forward to it. We’re on schedule and, Hallelujah, I can’t wait until the 24th.”
Nevertheless, the uncertainty is making Madison Ave. antsy. “[The Oscar telecast] is something that advertisers count on as a launch pad, to introduce their products to a big audience,” says Bob Bernstein, chief media officer of Draftcb ad agency. “This is the biggest and most consistent TV property of the year behind the Super Bowl.” Last year, ABC, which has long broadcast the awards, sold 30-second Oscar spots for a reported $1.6 million each. This year, the network has pre-sold the spots at an even higher rate, according to an informed source, and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimates that a Globes-like scale-back of the Oscars could cost Hollywood’s local economy $130 million.
At this point, it seems unlikely that ABC and the Academy will actually make the unprecedented decision to cancel the Oscar telecast for the first time in history. However, the Oscars could look wildly different if no one’s writing words for anyone to speak. “I don’t know how they’re going to do it,” says longtime Oscar writer Bruce Vilanch. “It would be weird.”
Of course, the striking WGA and AMPTP could come to a resolution before next month, making the whole discussion moot. Unfortunately, with no new talks scheduled and the war of words between the two sides growing increasingly heated, no one is holding their breath for that rosy outcome.
(Additional reporting by Mike Bruno.)
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Miramax is hosting a Golden Globes party after all!!!! Are the other studios going to follow their lead????
This is the sign that the Oscars need! It will completely streamline this 4 hour snoozefest by cutting away the fat – just read the nominees and winners and get to the next category. With commercials – the show could be a manageable 2 hours!
I certainly HOPE so. The WGA strike will point out to the American public how little they need award shows, the endless stream of melodramas that insult our intelligence, the raft of not-funny sitcoms that devalue our culture, and find other more meaningful entertainment that does not require WGA writers. What the WGA writers will prove is how little the American public really need them to be effectively entertained. So I say to the WGA – solidarity forever – and keep up the good work. I prefer better forms of entertainment than the mess that the WGA routinely serves up, and now the WGA strike will prove that America does too. Great job, WGA, in proving how complete expendable you truly are.
As the new year continues, I can’t wait to see what else the whining writers will ruin next. Go back to work.
Let them whine and strike and discover America does not need them at ALL.
The writers should read Mark Harris’s article here on ew.com. He makes a very valid point that the writers are screwing themselves over by not allowing actors to attend the now canceled Golden Globes ceremony. And I thought writers were supossed to be smart, guess not.
What are you all, a bunch of AMPTP socks or something? Everyone who has met with the WGA in good faith has come to a deal in a very short amount of time. The Globes are cancelled because NBC and it’s ilk are asshats. If the Oscars follow it will be for the same reason. Get over yourselves.
If the Oscars are cancelled because of the Writer’s Strike, I will personally cross the picket line and s*** will go down.
People see “writers strike” and think it’s all their fault. If you think writers make lots of money, check out what producers make! Millions more than the average writer. This is why most people in the movie industry stand by the writers in their struggle for fair pay.
I’m with J. Now if only we can also get rid of the equally useless directors and actors and just watch Peter Chernin, Bob Iger, Jeff Zucker and Les Moonves do sketch comedy every night of the week. That’s worth watching!
I am loving this! Award shows are a complete waste of time and money. This is so awesome!
Anybody else here think J’s a plant by the AMPTP? I mean, I know it sounds kind of ridiculous and pompous to think they would care about the message boards, but a lot of people seem to gauge the general public’s sentiment by comments on these boards. Just wondering. Just so we’re clear though, I am totally on the side of the writers.
To J: I’d love to know who,exactly,is going to provide you with your “better form of entertainment”, if not for a WGA member? I can’t see Les Moonves, Rupert Murdoch or any other studio owner/CEO getting out there and providing it. Not for them only getting six cents residual on a DVD.
All I want to know from the Oscars (and Globes, for that matter) is who won what. Drilling down to the essence of these award shows may be just what they (and the viewing audience) needed – a short show.
I officially am sick of the writers. When baseball players went on strike, it destroyed the game by making it about money. And now writers are doing the same thing, forcing people out of work and depriving gay men of the thing they live for–awards shows.
a very big part of me hopes the Oscars do get cancelled. I think it will be a hellofalot more exciting than the last few telecasts!
i agree with mozz. the oscars are one giant pre-fab circle-jerk for people who already get enough a**-kissing in their daily lives. i think the writers should stick to their guns and we’ll probably get one of the most entertaining oscar telecasts in history!
sure,every industry should stand for what they beleive. I hate the lopsided support of unions:blue-collar?
This will definitely throw my pal Joyce’s Oscar Party for a loop…
I don’t know why everyone hates the Oscars so much. I love movies and I have been watching this show since I was 12 years old. It’s been part of my life in a way. If people think I’m a loser because of this, then so be it. I have other hobbies and I hardly ever watch tv, but I love awards shows. I just think they are a fun way to spend the time. I read a lot too and write poetry and take walks and spend time with friends. But each year my friends and I have Oscar parties and I look foward to the telecast (they could trim the time way down, which would help out alot). Why do people have to be so mean about these awards shows. Last year was a wonderful year for movies and for the first time in about 4 to 5 years I am happy for any nominee and they deserve it. It’s so nice to see originality. I pray the Oscars do not get cancelled.
I hope Hollywood loses so much money out of this that they have to shut down studios and the writers get laid off and there is no work even after the strike is over, since there would be no more money because it would be their own fault. whiny little babies! Try and work for chump change at any retail store or gas station, and then come complain that you don’t make enough money, hosers! Half the garbage on the tv that these losers recycle isn’t worth the money they got paid for to write the crap anyway! And the stuff that is worthwhile that is on TV… shame on writers for depriving fans of their fave shos anyway. For Example, Lost is only airing 8 episodes for the entire season! Wow! Maybe books will make a comeback in popularity and people will watch less tv when the strike is over. Probably not, but it would serve the writers right! They should all lose their jobs for making the studios lose so much money in the first place!
I support the writers’ right to strike, but their efforts to stop others from making a living is reprehensible. The last time I checked, they weren’t fighting for anyone else on a set to get DVD & Internet residuals. The bullying of the Golden Globes, Leno, etc. is ugly. This and the negative impact on the economy is turning LA against the writers.
Air traffic controllers are necessary and they got fired. WGA members are not necessary and, to boot, have created nothing but havoc in the lives of thousands of workers who, in the end, will gain nothing from this strike. I hope the AMPTP, the networks and the studios stand fast and crush the WGA. And then move on to IATSE and all the other Hollywood unions who do nothing but drive up the cost of production with their ridiculous shop rules requiring assistants to assistants and other redundant hiring. Time for a change.
Ugh – more writer strike garbage. Yeah yeah yeah, the producers make millions of dollars, yada yada yada. But last time I checked they are also the ones putting up most of the money up front to even have something to write for in the first place. I don’t see writers underwriting these pretty expensive ventures. Do writers lose millions of dollars when a film performs poorly? Should they get more? Probably, but a strike is about the worst way possible to go about it. In the end, they’ll never make back what they lost by going on strike. Oh well.
Folks you know what the lack of scripted TV means. More sports! football, golf, nascar, more,more, more. Thanks to those responsible for the writer’s strike loggerhead.
I initially supported the writers, but being so petty as to disrupt the award shows is changing my mind. The winners make these writers’ words come alive, let the actors have their day. Now the writers seem just as greedy as industry, and another poster made a good point – the writers don’t put up the front money for a movie or show. One of the best line-ups of nominees in years has been ruined for the FANS what about us? We are the ones in the end who are paying.
The award shows are TOTALLY a circle-jerk. And crazy for even trying to give awards for something as subjective as art. But man do I love them. Especially critiquing the dresses with my friends before the shows!! However, I think that the writers should stick to their guns. I can accept the minor inconvenience of not having award shows to watch during this whole thing. I mean, what’s more important: protecting intellectual property or gawking at celebrities?
Does the WGA realize how many OTHER people they are putting in jeopardy by striking for so long??!?!?! It’s not fair to all those other people who depend on the entertainment industry and who are not able to work and earn their living because of this.
Not to mention the fact that we’re stuck with American Gladiator and another Apprentice without any new Heroes or anything like that!
The best that came out of this is the strike beards! I love them, even found an ebay auction that someone listed of conan with a strike beard. Check it out. The title is 12″ STRIKE BEARD CONAN ACTION FIGURE LATE NIGHT DOLL
I respect the writers’ cause and everything, but if they push for an Oscar cancellation, they are hurting everyone, including themselves. It will deal a huge blow to the California economy…Despite that, it would push the producers to make a deal faster for fear of more lost money. ABC in particular would be crippled by a cancellation of the Oscars.
I love how people act like not having writers for the Oscars is a huge loss– are we really gonna miss all the poorly-written banter and groaners? It’s not like the Oscars has ever been well-written or admired; if anything, the Oscars is usually criticized for bad jokes, running long, and being boring. Maybe losing the writers will improve the show by cutting the running time in half?