Oscars set to go ahead as strike ends

The Oscars look set to go ahead as planned after Hollywood writers declared their 14-week strike which crippled the entertainment…

The Oscars look set to go ahead as planned after Hollywood writers declared their 14-week strike which crippled the entertainment industry was over.

The Writers' Guild of America (WGA) said its members voted to lift the strike order with a 92.5 per cent endorsement.

The writers now have 11 days to produce material for the Academy Awards ceremony on February 24th  -  a process which usually takes many weeks.

Last month, concerns that the Oscars may not go ahead rose when the strike reduced the Golden Globes awards show to a televised press conference with the usual glitz and celebrity stars nowhere to be seen.

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But Oscars' organisers always insisted the show would go on in one form or another.

The walk-out over writers' shares of potential profits from programming on the internet and other new media began on November 5th and was the worst strike to hit Hollywood in 20 years. The Directors Guild of America reached a tentative contract deal with the studios last month which paved the way for a resumption of contract negotiations with writers that had stalled in December.