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MUMBAI:
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) recently reached a binding
independent agreement with Worldwide Pants.
This
will allow the talk shows Late Show with David Letterman
and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return
to the air with their full writing staff.
In
an official statement, WGA says, "This is a comprehensive
agreement that addresses the issues important to writers,
particularly New Media. Worldwide Pants has accepted the very
same proposals that the Guild was prepared to present to the
media conglomerates when they walked out of negotiations on
7 December."
The
WGA adds that the agreement dramatically illustrates that
it wants to put people back to work, and that when a company
comes to the table prepared to negotiate seriously a fair
and reasonable deal can be reached quickly.
The
WGA has now called upon US media conglomerate NBC-Universal
to step up to the plate and negotiate a company-wide deal.
This will put another talk show host Jay Leno, who has supported
the WGA cause from the beginning, back on the air with his
writers.
Meanwhile,
time is starting to run out for NBC and the Hollywood Foreign
Press Association (HFPA) as far as the Golden Globe Awards
are concerned. The show is scheduled to take place in less
than two weeks' time. Reports state that the WGA is planning
to send some members to picket the event, which in turn would
mean that many actors would not cross the picket lines.
The
WGA last month had refused to grant waivers to the Golden
Globes and Oscar Awards. It had, however, granted a waiver
to Screen Actors Guild (SAG) for their awards show. If the
Golden Globes get cancelled, the HFPA will lose $5 million
from broadcast licensing fees. The Oscar Awards are said to
be worth $30 million in licensing fees.
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