Green Light for Grammy Awards: Writers Guild Decides Not to Picket

It looks like it's all engines go for the Grammy Awards. The striking Writers Guild of America, West announced yesterday that they would not picket the February 10, 2008 Grammy Awards ceremony. They did stop short of granting a waiver that would allow guild members to work on the show. However, since the Grammys depend much more on artist performances than scripted comedy bits, it is expected the ceremony can go on largely as planned. Recording Academy president Neil Portnow believes there is still a possibility a waiver may be granted, but he believes the Grammys can function well without it. The Recording Academy has been particularly concerned about a severely reduced Grammy celebration, like the 30 minute press conference for this year's strike-limited Golden Globes, because this year is the 50th anniversary of the Grammy Awards.