WTF: Awards Shows and The Writers Strike

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 28, 2007

We’ve all heard about the casualties of the writers’ strike. First, it was the late-night talk shows. Then it was our favorite television series like Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes and Lost. Now, we are hearing about the latest casualty: Award Shows.

What the fuck?

Since when have award shows been the bastion of good writing to begin with. And, with the possible exception of the Oscars, are there any shows out there that anyone outside of Hollywood really cares about?

I understand the hit the late-night talk shows are taking because these shows rely on current events to make their jokes. You just couldn’t bank jokes from last September to make things work. Plus, they do have some witty writing. We’ll see how they play out when they return in January sans writing staff. My prediction is they’ll be fine. After all, hosts like Conan O’Brien are funniest when they don’t have any material to work with.

But award shows? It seems to me that the worst part of these award shows are the canned introductions and mangled ad-libs on the stage. With all the out-of-work indie screenwriters out there, I’m sure they could find someone to write Tom Hanks’ introduction.

My suggestion would be to let the stars go out there without a script. After all, the funniest moments of these ceremonies have been to see our favorite celebs, drunk off their asses, chew through the teleprompter. It can’t get any worse without the script.

Read more articles by Kevin Carr