The Writers Guild issued a press release announcing it has denied requests for waivers from both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The WGA will not allow the 2008 Academy Awards telecast to include clips from previous Oscar shows or clips from any motion pictures. The HFPA and dick clark productions were also denied the right to allow writers to prepare material for their broadcast.
Should the strike continue into the new year, the first major awards show to be affected would be the Golden Globes. The HFPA has set a telecast date of January 13, 2008. The Oscars would be affected if the strike continues into February. The 80th Academy Awards, to be hosted by Jon Stewart, will be held on Sunday, February 24th.
The WGA made public a portion of the letters sent to both the HFPA and the Academy. In the letters WGAW President Patric M. Verrone states: "Writers are engaged in a crucial struggle to achieve a collective bargaining agreement that will protect their compensation and intellectual property rights now and in the future. We must do everything we can to bring our negotiations to a swift and fair conclusion for the benefit of writers and all those who are being harmed by the companies’ failure to engage in serious negotiations."
Source: Writers Guild of America
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