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LOS ANGELES - STRIKING members of the Writers Guild of America plan to picket the Golden Globes awards ceremony scheduled for Jan 13, the guild announced on Wednesday.
The west coast division of the WGA issued a statement announcing that the organiser of the awards ceremony, Dick Clark Productions, was one of the companies from which writers went on strike and therefore members would picket the awards ceremony.
'Dick Clark Productions is a struck company. As previously announced, the Writers Guild will be picketing the Golden Globe Awards,' it said in a statement.
'We are engaged in a crucial struggle that will protect our income and intellectual property rights for generations to come. We will continue to do everything in our power to bring industry negotiations to a fair conclusion,' it said.
'In the meantime, we are grateful for the ongoing support of the Hollywood talent community.'
Hollywood screenwriters have been on strike since Nov 5 after the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to agree terms for a new contract that expired in October.
Negotiations foundered over the writers' demands for an increased share of profits from Internet and new media sales.
The eight-week strike has forced the suspension of numerous television series as well as the postponement of work on several Hollywood films.
The producers of the Golden Globes said they were seeking an interim deal with the guild and said the WGA 'could be accused of playing favorites if it fails to grant a waiver to the Globes since it has already done so for the SAG Awards and the Sprit Awards,' Variety magazine's website said.
'Much like the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Film Independent's Spirit Awards, we want to enter into an agreement with the WGA that will allow the entertainment industry to celebrate the outstanding work of creative individuals in addition to millions of fans nationwide,' said Mr Jorge Camara, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
'It is only fair that we be afforded the same opportunity as these other awards shows,' he said.
Striking writers were also to protest on Wednesday outside the studios where 'The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno', 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' and 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' television shows are filmed, because the shows are returning to air without their writing staffs. -- AFP
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