It’s bad enough so many primetime shows and films are shuttered because of the writers strike. Now the awards shows that honor those creators are threatened, too.
Katherine Heigl of “Grey’s Anatomy” told “Entertainment Tonight” on Thursday that she won’t cross picket lines to attend the Golden Globes, even though she is a nominee.
By contrast fellow nominee Tina Fey of “30 Rock” expects to show up, and NBC is planning to carry the whole red carpet cavalcade as usual.
The nominees for the 65th Golden Globes Awards, given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were announced Thursday, but little else is clear about the event. The awards are scheduled for Jan. 13 in Beverly Hills, Calif., to be broadcast live.
The suspense this year revolves less around who will win than whether the awards show will go off as planned. The ongoing writers strike could derail or compromise the event.
The fact that the Globes telecast does not employ a host weighs in its favor. The fact that traditionally well-lubricated stars are encouraged to make off-the-cuff speeches on camera also works in its favor, in the event the strike is still in effect.
As usual, the list of nominees for Golden Globes heavily favors HBO, although cable in general made a strong showing. AMC’s “Mad Men,” FX’s “Damages,” Showtime’s “The Tudors” and “Californication” and HBO’s “Big Love,” “Entourage” and “Extras” are strong contenders.
Awards season traditionally kicks off with the Globes, which are sometimes seen as predictors of the much more prestigious Academy Awards, which follow on Feb. 24.
The most pessimistic prediction is that all of this season’s awards telecasts could be similarly disrupted by the writers strike. At the very least, a prolonged strike could take the luster off the proceedings if it were to extend into the new year.
During the 1988 strike, the Oscar show went off as planned. It had been scripted before the strike was called. This year’s telecast would be a different situation. Writers don’t usually begin work on the between- award patter until after the nominations are announced.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has requested a waiver from the Writers Guild in order to let guild members script the awards show. According to Variety, that’s a long shot: “Few believe a waiver will be granted,” the trade paper reported.
But the guild did grant a waiver to the Kennedy Center Honors telecast early this month and, more recently, to the Screen Actors Guild for its upcoming awards show (to be telecast Jan. 27 on TBS and TNT). Variety called that waiver “not a completely surprising development, given SAG’s strong support for the WGA throughout the six-week strike.”
Looking toward February, the participation of Jon Stewart as host of the Oscars remains in question. Stewart has declined to resume his late- night talk show until the strike is settled.
The spectacle of watching big-name stars negotiate the picket lines as part of the pre-ceremony red carpet coverage could be a memorable mess — just the latest twist in a rancorous standoff between writers and producers.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
