> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Spirit show allowed to use writers - URL: https://www.smdp.com/spirit-show-allowed-to-use-writers/ - Published: 2008-01-04T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T22:57:39.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import *WGA OKs strikers to cross picket lines* SANTA MONICA BEACH The Golden Globe and Academy Awards ceremonies might have the glitz and glamour, but they lack an important piece that the indie film industry’s keynote awards show can proudly claim — writers for those great jokes. The 23rd Annual Spirit Awards, which will be held Feb. 23 in a tent on Santa Monica Beach, received a waiver from the Writers Guild of America, West, last year to employ unionized writers to create the script that will be read by hosts and presenters. Hosted by Film Independent, the Spirit Awards salutes the filmmakers and producers of indie releases, those that “challenge the status quo,” according to the Los Angeles-based organization. The waiver was applied for and granted before the writers went on strike on Nov. 5 of last year, according to Gregg Mitchell, spokesman for the Writers Guild of America, West. Saturday is the two-month mark since the WGA went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the two negotiating parties stalling repeatedly at the negotiating table over issues including upping royalty fees for the writers. Some experts estimate the strike has cost more than $20 million a day since it began. “We consider a show on a case-by-case basis, on its individual merits,” Mitchell said. “In the case of the Spirit Awards, they came to us before we went on strike, that had a lot with it.” The guild has reportedly rejected waivers for both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. A representative for the Spirit Awards could not be reached for comment. “The Independent Spirit Awards are celebrating independent cinema and to a certain extent those are a lot of people that are not in AMPTP,” said Peter Heller, the director of development in the Office of External Affairs for the School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University. “If they are, they are — in the eyes of the Writers Guild — in the smaller supportive branches.” MAN COMING THROUGH Morgan Genser SMC’s Carl Kindborg (left) drives past Pierce College's Nikola Marojevic during the Corsair's 71-54 victory on Wednesday night. While the writer’s strike had an immediate effect on variety shows, which need fresh and topical scripts on a daily basis, several late night shows went back on the air on Wednesday with new episodes, including the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Both late night talk show hosts sported a beard they had been growing for the past two months, a sign of how long the strike has lingered on. “We were out because of the strike for two months,” Letterman joked during his Wednesday night broadcast. “I know you’re thinking to yourself at home right now — this crap is written?’” Heller said the writers that cover the awards shows and variety shows come from the same breed, specializing in the one-liners. What many people don’t realize is that most, if not all, of what comes out of the mouths of hosts and presenters, is in fact, scripted, he said. “The time frame on these shows is very limited and they need things to move along and they need things to be as entertaining as possible,” Heller said. “(Awards shows) are looking for people who can come up with clips and funny references and topical references the joke writers tend to come up with.” Such writers are considered to be a dying breed, much of its population having thrived in the days of Carol Burnett and Flip Wilson. “There were so many of them back in the day,”Heller said. The awards show, which will be hosted by Rainn Wilson of NBC’s “The Office,” will be televised on IFC. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/010408-03_02.jpg) NBC STARRING ROLE: Rainn Wilson from ‘The Office’ has been tapped to host the Spirit Awards to be held in February. (Photo: Photo courtesy) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 4, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010408.pdf?ref=smdp.com)