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)