Striking U.S. screenwriters cancel own awards show

By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Striking film and television writers on Thursday cancelled their own awards dinner, becoming the latest casualty in the ongoing labour dispute with Hollywood producers.

The Writers Guild of America, West, which is the Los Angeles-based wing of the guild that represents some 10,500 writers, had planned to announce winners of awards for film and television screenplays on February 9, but said in a brief statement that its awards gala would not be held until the strike ended.

The cancellation came on the same day the WGA unveiled nominees for its widely followed awards that often indicate which movies and screenplays will vie for Oscars, the world's top film honours given out in late February by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A WGA spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

The guild on November 5 launched its strike against members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios, in a contract dispute that hinges on how writers will be paid for work distributed on the Internet.

The walkout has thrown the TV industry into disarray, derailed movie productions and is fast spoiling the annual awards season because writers are vowing to set up picket lines outside ceremonies and actors are refusing to cross them.

Already the People's Choice Awards was transformed from a typical awards gala, where actors and actresses accept awards on stage in a live ceremony, to a magazine-style format that offered only pre-taped interviews. It drew only about 6 million viewers, or about one-half the audience of last year.

This coming Sunday's Golden Globe Awards were cancelled in favour of a news conference announcing award winners.