Those wishing for a two hour Academy Award telecast have just been given their wish, apparently, by the WGA this evening. Here’s the announcement coincident with the “big meeting” in the Santa Monica Civic aud:

WRITERS GUILD DECIDES ON GOLDEN GLOBES AND ACADEMY AWARDS SHOW WAIVERS

LOS ANGELES - The Writers Guild has notified the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
and dick clark productions that their requests for an agreement to allow writers to
prepare material for the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards show have been denied.

The Guild has also denied a request from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences for a waiver in connection with the use of clips from motion pictures and
past Academy Awards shows for use during the annual Academy Awards presentation.

In letters to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, WGAW President Patric M. Verrone described the Guild’s
respect and admiration for both organizations, explaining that:

“Writers are engaged in a crucial struggle to achieve a collective bargaining
agreement that will protect their compensation and intellectual property rights now
and in the future. We must do everything we can to bring our negotiations to a
swift and fair conclusion for the benefit of writers and all those who are being
harmed by the companies’ failure to engage in serious negotiations.”

The signatories producing the Golden Globes and the Oscars are West Coast
signatories. The WGAW’s Board of Directors concluded, reluctantly, that granting
exceptions for the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards would not advance that goal.