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Grammys Made Safe for Stars

Tue., Jan. 22, 2008 4:53 PM PST by Joal Ryan

Kanye West can win, or lose, Grammys in peace.

Hollywood's striking writers said Tuesday they won't picket the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, set for Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.

The announcement means the Grammys, along with this coming weekend's Screen Actors Guild Awards, may be the only major events of the awards season to go on as usual. The threat of a star-repelling picket line still hangs over the Academy Awards, scheduled for Feb. 24.

Recording Academy president Neil Portnow in a statement of understatement said Grammy organizers were "pleased" with the writers' decision.

"We are gratified that the 50th Annual Grammy Awards will focus solely on the great music, artists and charitable work resulting from our show," Portnow said.

So far, the strike has helped strike down the TV ratings for the People's Choice and Golden Globe shows. The Grammys could have been the third.

There were rumors that the writers' union was pressuring Grammy invitees who moonlight as actors—think Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Queen Latifah—to stay away from L.A.'s Staples Center should the scribes stage a scene. Unlike the People's Choice and the Globes, though, there were signs that the hyphenates, being musicians and all, were going to be harder control. Beyoncé, for one, said she intended to attend the Grammys, picket line or no. The Foo Fighters was another big-name act that said it was still on board.

Tuesday's news came amid a détente between writers and producers. The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers jointly announced they will "begin informal discussions to determine if there is a basis for both parties to return to formal negotiations."

Just because the writers won't strike the Grammys, though, doesn't mean they'll help write the show. The union reminded Tuesday that it had not granted a waiver that would allow its members to pen presenter banter. If the waiver isn't granted, then Jay-Z, et al, presumably are on their own on stage.

West leads all Grammy nominees, with eight nods. "Rehab" singer Amy Winehouse is the other top nominee, with six.

At this point, the Oscars, Hollywood's ultimate showcase, seem less likely to get a pass from the writers' union. Still, the Motion Picture Academy unveiled its nominations Tuesday, with producers earlier vowing that the show will go on. Somehow.