Striking writers in Hollywood will be allowed to work for the
39th annual NAACP Image Awards ceremony, the writers' union
announced in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), which launched the ongoing
strike, has granted a waiver to let the NAACP event move forward
without fear of picketing by writers.
The waiver saves the event from the same fate as Sunday's Golden
Globe Awards ceremony, which was reduced from a traditional
three-hour gala to a 30-minute news conference.
Patric Verrone, president of WGA, West, made the announcement
Tuesday along with Image Awards executive producer Vicangelo
Bulluck, who is also executive director of the Hollywood Bureau of
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP).
The WGA has previously granted waivers for the Independent
Spirit Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but the lack of a
waiver led to the cancellation of Sunday's Golden Globe Awards
ceremony.
Golden Globe nominees and presenters earlier indicated they
would not cross WGA picket lines to attend the ceremony, forcing
the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out the Golden
Globe Awards, to cancel the gala event.
With the strike continuing, fears have already arisen that the
80th Academy Awards, scheduled for February 24, would also have to
be scrapped.
The NAACP Image Awards, which honor projects and individuals
that promote diversity, are scheduled for February 14 at the Shrine
Auditorium in Los Angeles.
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(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2008)