Media Alert

If you love awards shows and just can't get enough of them -- or if you love good writing -- here's one more for you that's upcoming.

Tomorrow (Saturday), the Writers Guild of America is having its annual awards, and it will be webcast online.  This is the second year that they've made the show available online to the general public.  I watched a bit last year, and it was reasonably fun.  There was something charming about it being so un-slick, though they do a reasonable job.  To be clear, there aren't all that many celebrities, but they do have celebrity presenters -- and the host is Brad Garrett.  There's a good chance that you won't recognize a single award winner, but it might be fun for some folks to hear what the people who write your favorite shows and movies have to say.

My big quibble with the WGA Awards is that 90% of them are for TV, rather than feature film.  That's less of an issue when watching online than it was on the two times I've gone to the event as a guest.  You're stuck there for TV award after TV award.  (Nothing against television, just that as a Guild member I'd like to see more balance.)  When watching online, though, you have more distractions than a plate of food.

The pre-show coverage will begin at 5 PM (Los Angeles time), followed at 5:30 by "Meet the Writers," which will be interviews with some of the nominees.  The ceremony itself then starts at 6 PM.

No password is needed to watch, it will just be an open live stream.

I'm a bit uncertain about the exact online address for all this, since I've been given different information.  But I suspect the safest best is to click here -- it's being hosted through the Los Angeles Times website -- and if the show is streaming on this page, they'll have a link there where clicking through will take you to the show.

(If you might be interested in watch, best to simply click that link above now and bookmark it for tomorrow.)

Just in case, here is another L.A. Times page that may have the broadcast or will get you there.  The confusion is that the link above is the one the WGA sent out.  But it goes to a news story on the Los Angeles Times about the awards show.  The article, however, has a separate link here that takes you to their Envelope page, where they say the webcast will be.  At the moment, though, there are just a lot of entertainment news stories and videos, and no streaming, so it's hard to be sure what gives.

I suspect the webcast will be on this "second" link, and is the direct one.  But either link should get you to the show.

Again, the WGA Awards starts at 6 PM (Los Angeles time) with pre-game festivities starting at 5 PM.