Producers Plea For Grammys

After the Writers Guild of America refused to grant a strike waiver for the Golden Globe Awards, turning it into a scaled-down news conference lacking stars and ad revenue, the producers of the Grammy Awards are desperate to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to their ceremony.

The producers requested an interim agreement January 15th to allow Hollywood writers to work at the February 10th telecast, which happens to be the 50th anniversary of the show.

Gregg Mitchell, spokesman for the WGA, said that although the request was referred to the board of the union’s West Coast branch for a decision, a deal is "unlikely to be granted."

While the WGA seems to have already made up its mind, the American Federation of Musicians, the largest union for professional musicians, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists issued a joint statement supporting the Grammy’s producers and their quest to sway the WGA, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Neil Portnow, president and chief executive of The Recording Academy, which owns the rights to the telecast but doesn’t produce the show, remained positive and said in a statement that "the show will go on."

"We will take whatever action is necessary to ensure that a program so vital to our industry, artists, charitable beneficiaries, and the great city of Los Angeles is held as planned. Accordingly, all preparations by the Academy for our milestone 50th Annual Grammy Awards remain in full-swing."