NBC Has 'News': Globes Nominee Interviews

NBC has finalized plans to fill the gaping hole in this Sunday's prime-time schedule left by the wreck that was the Golden Globe Awards, now known as "that one-hour news conference naming Globe winners to be covered exclusively by NBC News."

Before that, starting at 7 p.m., Matt Lauer will host a two-hour "Dateline NBC" special called "Going for Gold," on which will be interviewed: nominees James McAvoy, Sally Field, Ellen Page, Amy Adams, Kyra Sedgwick, William Shatner, Nikki Blonsky, Patricia Arquette and others.

That's NBC's way of thumbing its nose at the Writers Guild of America, which had asked the Screen Actors Guild to advise its nominated members not to participate in the "Dateline" walk-up show, which, yes, will run twice as long as the actual Golden Globes "ceremony."

Lauer will be teamed with Kathy Griffin, who has been deputized by NBC News to provide commentary for the two-hour walk-up show, which also will feature the NBC "Football Night in America" gang predicting Globe winners.

The Globes News Conference will air at 9 p.m., the remnant of the four-hour orgy of booze-fueled red-carpet arrivals, acceptance speeches and Jack Nicholson sightings that had attracted 20 million-ish viewers to NBC annually since 1996.

This leaves only the 10-11 p.m., formerly Golden-Globed, hour as yet unfilled on Sunday. NBC initially hoped to plug it with "Access Hollywood"-ish coverage of post-Globe parties. But since nearly all of them have been canceled, NBC News announced yesterday the final hour will be filled with a rerun of "American Gladiators."

The trophy show was gutted after the Writers Guild of America, which is on strike against the producing companies over "new media" residuals, refused to give producer Dick Clark Productions a waiver and announced it would instead picket the show. The Screen Actors Guild then announced it had canvassed its members, who almost unanimously said they would not cross the picket line. NBC announced this week it would cancel the usual ceremony but salvage the Globes as a one-hour "news conference" that print reporters may attend, but NBC News will be the only broadcaster allowed in.

As NBC tried to salvage its coverage of the trophy show, the Screen Actors Guild was asking its nominated members not to do interviews with "Dateline."

"We're well aware that NBC is attempting to evade the strike by taping interviews with celebrities under the guise of a 'news' program," Jeff Hermanson, assistant executive director of the Writers Guild of America West, told The TV Column.

"We consider that 'struck' work."

The guild says it will picket the Globes, presumably to make sure NBC does not try to sneak in any A-listers, who might lend a couple of ratings points to the news conference.