[NYTr] Screen Actors' Guild to Boycott Golden Globes

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

BBC News - Jan 5, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/7172664.stm


Actors to boycott Golden Globes

The Screen Actors' Guild, the union which represents Hollywood actors, 
says its members will boycott next weekend's Golden Globe Awards in the
US.

Union president Alan Rosenberg said there was "unanimous agreement" not 
to cross picket lines set up by writers who are on strike over
royalties.

The Golden Globes, awarded to actors in television and film, are second 
in prestige only to the Oscars.

Without top actors present, TV networks may not bother to screen the
event.

It is difficult to imagine a ceremony honouring excellence in 
film-making, without actors there to accept the awards, says the BBC's 
Peter Bowes in Los Angeles.

'Solidarity and support'

"After considerable outreach to Golden Globe actor nominees and their 
representatives over the past several weeks, there appears to be 
unanimous agreement that these actors will not cross WGA (Writers'
Guild of America) picket lines," Mr Rosenberg said.

However, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organises the 
Golden Globes, said it was continuing talks to find a compromise which 
would allow the event to take place "with the creative community
present".

For its part, the WGA thanked the actors' union for its "solidarity and 
support".

The Writers' Guild of America has been on strike since early November.

They are in dispute over so-called "residuals" - royalties for work 
distributed online or released on DVD.

The WGA says it is engaged in a "crucial struggle that will protect our 
income and intellectual property rights for generations to come".

The dispute has virtually halted the production of TV comedy and drama 
shows.

However, talk shows resumed this week, with David Letterman's show 
reaching an "interim agreement" with WGA members.

Jay Leno is still subject to pickets, however.

) BBC MMVIII