The big award shows face prospect of empty carpets and search is on to find stars who will cross picket lines. Non-Letterman late night shows face same problem.

By Alex Ben Block

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) – 12/31/2007 – The word is in. Don’t expect to see a lot of stars at the Golden Globes or the Oscars, unless there is a settlement of the writer’s strike. The Screen Actor’s Guild has not released an official advisory as to whether its members should appear but the guild’s sympathies are clear in an email sent to some members as well as Hollywood Today and some other media: “The choice to attend or not, is a personal one that actors will make for themselves, subject to any contractual obligations. We (SAG) have been reaching out to the nominees and a majority of them have indicated that they will not cross picket lines to attend awards shows.”

That is bad news for the Golden Globes and Academy Awards, both of which have continued to be advertised and promoted for their upcoming kudocasts on NBC and ABC respectively. As recently as yesterday, NBC during its highly rated Sunday night football telecast was promising viewers who tune in on Sunday, Jan. 13, that the Globes will again be “Hollywood’s best party,” suggesting there will be big name stars on hand. The Oscars have also said they will go forward and expect to have star on their show, due to air Feb. 23 from Los Angeles.

This comes in the face of rumors that the Golden Globe telecast, denied a waiver by the WGA, might be cancelled this year, while the awards show goes on. The idea is to save the Globes franchise; and be in a position to return to the air next year. That plan never seemed realistic because NBC has already sold millions in advertising for the show, and is not likely to want to give that up.

How to get around boycotts by big name stars and politicians courting organized labor now emerges as the next phase in the writer’s battle with the major studios and broadcasters. The WGA is now entering its eighth week with no end in sight. Management is expected to negotiate with the Directors Guild next, beginning as soon as Jan. 7. No new talks with writers are anticipated until the talks with directors conclude, or break off, which could be weeks or months.

In this new phase of what has become a protracted battle within the industry and through the media, with selected shows and awards getting waivers, the issue becomes booking guests and presenters, and attracting nominees to these shows. Both the WGA and SAG have now said they encourage stars and politicians to appear on the Late Show With David Letterman and its sister program the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, in the wake of the agreement by independent producer Worldwide Pants with the WGA over the weekend.

The guilds hopes that having stars appear on the CBS program will give Letterman and Ferguson a competitive advantage; and that will pressure others, most notably NBC Universal, to return to the bargaining table. NBC is returning “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” to the air on Wednesday, but without unionized writers.

It is still unclear 48 hours before Leno returns what format The Tonight Show will use. The only guest booked as of early Monday by Leno for the first show is Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who is not expected to attract much if any support from organized labor (but a lot of support from certain segments of organized religion), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Letterman had previously announced that Donald Trump would be on his first show back, promoting the launch in January for the first celebrity version of “The Apprentice” on Jan. 3 on NBC, a reality show that does not employ any unionized writers.

With the support of SAG and the WGA, Letterman is expected to be the go-to show for stars with movies and TV shows to promote until the strike ends, or other deals are cut. The talk shows are traditionally very important promotional tools for studios and networks.

Some WGA members did not want to grant Letterman a waiver because they see it as a way for CBS to profit, and the major studios to promote their products, which is seen counter to the interests of the guild, according to reports by Nikki Finke iin her Deadline Hollywood column.

Here are the “Strike Rules” for shows that go back on the air without a contract or waiver, according to the WGA. They “prohibit Guild members from performing any writing services during a strike for any and all struck companies. This prohibition includes all writing by any Guild member that would be performed on-air by that member (including monologues, characters, and featured appearances) if any portion of that written material is customarily written by striking writers.”

That means that Leno and others who are performers and members of the guild can go back on the air, but in theory can’t write material for themselves or others. Some suggest the shows will have a shortened monologue, with just the host rifting on the news, followed by more interview segments which supposedly don’t require writers to script the segment. Of course that doesn’t speak to who will write the introductions for each guest, and who will research and write questions that the hosts will ask.

The WGA says it will keep the pressure on by picketing and protesting “The Tonight Show” and others that are returning to the air without a deal, including Jimmy Kimmel on ABC and on Comedy Central, the “Daily Show” and “Colbert Report.”

Pickets are also expected in Beverly Hills for the Golden Globes and in Hollywood for the Academy Awards if the strike is still going on. Iin both cases, that is likely to heighten already strict security precautions. That may mean pickets will too far away to be visible to stars as they arrive. However, that won’t matter. The stars will still know they are going against the wishes of the WGA.

The issue of who will attend to present or accept awards has played havoc with the plans surrounding both events. Typically, the shows are followed by lavish parties thrown by the studios and networks to honor nominees and winners. This year, no one is sure who will attend, so the planners have had to work with multiple contingency plans.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards are the only two award shows granted a waiver so far by the WGA. A request for a waiver by the Golden Globes producers, Dick Clark Productions, and network, NBC, was denied. A request by the movie Academy to use certain clips on the Oscars was also denied. The Academy Awards have never actually requested a waiver to use guild writers on the show.

The Peoples Choice Awards, which air Jan. 8, changed format from a red carpet show with an audience to a kind of magazine show in which winners can accept from home. Other awards shows are hoping to glide in under the radar, such as the Critics Choice Awards, which are schedule for Jan. 7 in Santa Monica, to be broadcast live on VH-1. As of this past weekend, the Broadcast Critics Association had commitments from stars to attend and present, and still expected them to show up.

The AMPTP, which represents producers, released a statement using the return of late night shows to poke at the WGA, and make note that Worldwide Pants is not an actually member of the management alliance: “While it is good news for viewers that the jokes will be back on the late night shows, the biggest joke of all appears to be the one the WGA’s organizers are pulling on working writers…. Today’s agreement is just the latest indication that the WGA’s organizers may not have what it takes to achieve an industry-wide deal that will create a strong and sustainable economic future for writers and producers alike.”