Golden Globes official says show is seeking deal with writers amid strike

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is hoping last-minute negotiations with the Writers Guild of America will allow the Golden Globes to go on.

Jorge Camara, president of the HFPA, said in a statement Wednesday that the organization is negotiating with the writers guild to reach an an interim agreement that will permit the Golden Globe Awards to be broadcast as scheduled, without picket lines, on Jan. 13.

Hollywood screenwriters have been on strike since Nov. 5 over issues that include compensation for work distributed via the Internet and other digital media, as well as the unionization of writers working on reality shows and animation.

The journalists' group, which presents the annual awards show, is seeking an agreement similar to the one reached Friday by Worldwide Pants, David Letterman's production company. It allows guild members to write for "The Late Show With David Letterman," despite the ongoing writers strike, which began Nov. 5. Letterman's show was to return to the air Wednesday night.

"The process established by the WGA permits writers to get back to work, grants the WGA the rights it is seeking on behalf of all writers, and allows certain shows to move forward," Camara's statement continued.

"'The Late Show with David Letterman' and the 'Golden Globe Awards' are similar in structure and are administered in the same way" because each is produced by an independent company and neither is owned by the networks that broadcast them, Camara said.

The Writers Guild of America would not confirm or deny Wednesday that negotiations were under way with the HFPA.

NBC, which is set to broadcast the Golden Globe Awards, had no comment Wednesday.

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