Nominations will be announced Thursday, with the awards gala set to air Jan. 13 on NBC.

Although producers have requested a WGA waiver to allow guild writers to pen the show's script, few expect it will be granted, since the WGA opposes promoting the work of the studios and networks while on strike against them, Variety.com reported.

Picket lines at awards shows could get enormous media coverage, while also posing a dilemma for A-list celebrities planning to attend or present at the event.

"You've got a guy like George Clooney, who has been outspoken and who has given money to a strike fund. If he gets nominated for 'Michael Clayton,' it's very difficult to imagine him crossing a picket line -- to say nothing of all those television actors who've been photographed walking on picket lines in solidarity with the writers," a major producer said.

But one Hollywood agent argued: "What good will the writers accomplish by picketing shows that celebrate their fellow artists? It would be spectacularly unfair to force fellow artists to stay away."