Academy Awards: To Be or Not to Be?

With the announcement of the 80^th Annual Academy Awards nominations came some strange reactions. Usually each actor of nominee tells of how they woke from bed to happy phone calls or read about their announcement in media or television news. But this year, as each actor weighed in on their glee and surprise at being nominated, caveats were delivered in almost every quote about the current Writer's Strike.

The Director's Guild has already reached their agreement with the Hollywood studio pantheon, and can attend an Academy Awards event without breaking "strike" protocol. But even as the call of "Unity" sounds across the land, screen stars are weighing their nominations against the stalwart ranks of the oppressed espresso drinking hordes.

Many who were tapped to receive filmdom's greatest accolade were staunchly anti-attendance. George Clooney. Viggo Mortenson, and others were rueful about being pleased during a strike year. The fact is, the WGA strike is stripping value from the film community on a daily basis. But signs are in the air that WGA negotiations could be occurring in the wake of WGA recognition that a "bye" on the Academy Awards could permanently damage the industry.

Actors are pledged to support the writers and not cross "picket lines" to perform, announce nominated films, deliver awards, or even be photographed attending something as outrageous to a writer's dignity as an Oscar telecast. But news of Heath Ledger's premature death on Academy Awards nominations announcement day has sent an already battered Oscar event into recovery mode.

The 2008 Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to air on Sunday, February 24, with a popular host and could garner some strike breaking nominees and participating directors and technical staff. Though Stewart is a talented comedian and staunch writers' strike advocate, is the Oscar telecast a Hollywood monument worth tearing down? Industry insides hopefully blog about strike negotiations taking place for special circumstances. Nikki Finke of the Daily Hollywood Insider writes updates concerning the WGA strike negotiations regularly.