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Instead of receiving their statuettes to great applause
during a traditional awards ceremony, the recipients taped
acceptance speeches for a canned broadcast that aired on CBS. The event's organizers were forced to change their plans
last month because the Writers Guild of America is refusing to
allow many awards shows to hire union writers and actors are
not crossing the writers' picket lines. This one-two punch knocked out the Golden Globes on Monday,
reducing that awards gala to a news conference next Sunday. Roughly 10,500 Writers Guild members went on strike against
Hollywood's major studios in November in a dispute that centers
on fees writers want when their work appears on the Internet. The strike has ended production of TV shows, derailed films
and altered many awards shows that air at this time of year. In all, there were 38 categories for the 34th annual
People's Choice Awards, split among film, TV and music. Winners
were voted on by audiences, and Queen Latifah hosted the
two-hour telecast in a "magazine-style" TV format. Speeches by presenters that would have been written by
striking union members in a traditional awards ceremony were
dropped, and the winners avoided having to cross a live
broadcast's picket lines by taping speeches in advance. Depp and Witherspoon were named favorite male and female
movie star. Neither was cited for any particular film, though
Depp was in theaters last year with "Pirates of the Caribbean:
At World's End," which won two other awards. Witherspoon
appeared in only one movie, the box office bomb "Rendition." Joaquin Phoenix and Drew Barrymore also had a quiet year at
movie box offices, but that did not stop them from being named
favorite leading actors. Matt Damon and Keira Knightley, respective stars of "The
Bourne Ultimatum" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," took the
honors for favorite action stars. "Pirates of the Caribbean" was also named favorite movie
and "threequel," and "Bourne Ultimatum" favorite action movie.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" won favorite drama,
"Knocked Up" favorite comedy, and "Shrek the Third" favorite
family movie. "Grey's Anatomy" actors Patrick Dempsey and Katherine Heigl
were named favorite TV stars. But another medical show,
"House," won favorite drama. The comedy category went to "Two
and a Half Men." Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani won for favorite
singers. Country combo Rascal Flatts was named favorite group. (Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and
Cynthia Osterman) |
Johnny Depp and 
