WGAW: Scribes can write for Spirit Awards

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The Writers Guild of America West has granted permission for striking writers to write for the upcoming Independent Spirit Awards show in Los Angeles.

The guild has been on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers since Nov. 5. The AMPTP broke off talks earlier this month and no new sessions have been scheduled. The two sides are at odds on compensation for material distributed through new media such as the Internet.

"Film Independent came to us before the strike and the WGAW Board decided to grant an interim agreement allowing for writing services for the Spirit Awards," the WGAW said in a statement on its Web site. "The best way to get the awards season back on track is for the AMPTP to return to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair deal with the Writers Guild to get this town back to work."

Earlier this week the guild turned down a request for a waiver that would allow members to write for the Golden Globes awards show. The guild also denied a request for a waiver that would allow the use of clips from films and past Oscars shows in the upcoming Oscar event.