We are 17 days away from the 80th Academy Awards and we still don’t know if we will have a full-on Oscar extravaganza or if there is going to be an abbreviated show, Academt President Sid Ganis refers to the them as “Show A and Show B”. However, with the deadline approaching, positive talks on the strike front and a recent nominee luncheon in which 13 nominated screenwriters attended there is still no word from the WGA on whether or not they will picket the event or give it a waiver as they recently did for this weekend’s Grammys and the upcoming Image Awards.
Ganis told Daily Variety, “We’re running out of time… We’ve asked several times for a waiver or a one-day truce to move ahead,” but he still remains in the dark and without the go ahead the show itself is also left in the dark.
Just like everyone else, I know the Oscars are nothing more than an overblown lovefest for a bunch of movies no one outside of the industry and cinephiles really cares about, but it is a time of year the puts the previous year behind us and allows us to wash ourselves clean and move on to the following year, and with a year as good as 2007 I do believe it would be a travesty if the Oscars did not move forward in their typical fashion.
I know a lot of people couldn’t care less, but I am not one of those folks and judging on the concern of others I know I am not alone.
Ganis’ latest request for a waiver was delivered this past Monday afternoon and the WGA told him to expect an answer some time this week. Well, it’s Thursday and there is still no answer and Ganis says they need an answer ASAP “as a matter of logistics. We have nominees and potential presenters who live all over the globe. I’m nervous. We’re getting down to the final moments; we need to make plans,” he told Variety.
I believe we will soon know what the situation is and would expect that by this coming Monday we will know just what kind of Oscars to expect.
