The MTV Movie & TV Awards will reportedly not have a live studio audience this year after being rocked by the writers’ strike that has brought Hollywood to a standstill.
According to Deadline, the awards show is scrambling to make a pre-taped television show after Drew Barrymore quit as presenter in support of the WGA.
Stars have withdrawn from the show en masse and the guild sent out a notice on Friday saying it will be hosting the event.
The Writers Guild Of America began its strike Tuesday night after its negotiations with studios fell apart over sticking points that included final payments in the evolving climate of streaming and staffing needs.
Bruce Gillmer, an executive producer for the show, said in a statement that MTV is “moving away from a live event that still allows us to deliver a memorable night full of exclusive sneak peaks, irreverent categories our audiences have come to expect, and countless to produce moments that will both surprise and delight as we honor the best of the past year in film and television.’
Scrambling: The MTV Movie & TV Awards will reportedly have no live studio audience this year after being rocked by the writers’ strike that has brought Hollywood to a standstill
No More Host: According to Deadline, awards show is scrambling to make a pre-taped television show after Drew Barrymore retired as host in support of the WGA; pictured in 2022
Barrymore dramatically pulled out of her hosting gig in solidarity with the Hollywood writers’ strike on Thursday.
The decision plunged the event into chaos just three days before it aired Sunday, forcing it to resort to contingency measures like scrapping its share of the red carpet.
But Drew has already signed on to host next year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, reports Variety.
“I have listened to the writers and to truly respect them, I will refrain from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” Drew said.
“Everything we celebrate and honor about films and television grew out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I choose to wait, but I’ll be watching from home and I hope you’ll join me,” she explained.
“Thank you to MTV who have truly been one of the best partners I have ever worked with. And I can’t wait to be a part of that next year when I can really celebrate everything that MTV has created, a show where the fans can choose who the awards go to and it’s really inclusive,” she closed.
Meanwhile, her talk show The Drew Barrymore Show has already wrapped filming on its current season, which is expected to air unhindered, The Hollywood Reporter revealed.
Drew’s decision was confirmed by Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, who announced that she would not be attending the awards ceremony via Instagram.
Show of support: Barrymore dramatically pulled out of her hosting gig in solidarity with the Hollywood writers’ strike on Thursday, but she’s already committed to hosting next year’s show
Count Curtis out too: Drew’s decision was endorsed by Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, who also announced she would not be attending the awards ceremony
Too bad: Jamie shared the news on Friday via Instagram and officially retired as a moderator
What they’re missing: Curtis captioned a pair of gorgeous skintight throwback photos of her attending the event over the past few years
Curtis captioned two beautiful throwback photos of her attending the event over the years. Referring to both of their skintight dresses, she wrote: “What are these old things?
“I was going to wear something like THIS to this year’s MTV Movie Awards but I can’t go and present because the @wgawest needs and deserves my support and I will not cross their picket line.”
Paramount Global executive director Bruce Gillmer, who serves as executive producer at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, sheds further light on the turbulent circumstances.
One of Drew’s pre-recorded clips could be used as an opener for the show, he said, but the final decision on how to launch the event has yet to be made.
Apparently, some of the prospective winners also pre-recorded their acceptance speeches, which could potentially be used in this case.
“We will very much respect the talent’s choices whether they are either involved in pre-tapes, show up or not show up, whatever they decide. We have backup plans and coverage just in case, so the short answer is I’m not sure yet…” he said.
“There’s also athletes and celebrity chefs and all sorts of other talent that isn’t directly affected,” he noted, teasing, “We’re going to be looking for some live talent in the room to help tell the story, but not segments per se host. We also have a very charismatic VO artist on board, so stay tuned.’
Some of the other celebrities originally slated to appear include Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Gal Gadot.
What about Tiffany? Tiffany Haddish is also among the names in bold currently taking the stage at the MTV Movie & TV Awards; pictured at a Tiffany & Co event in 2023
Will Wonder Woman appear? Gal Gadot, pictured at a Tiffany event in New York City, is also currently said to be in attendance at Sunday’s ceremony
Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber, Leonardo DiCaprio’s ex Camila Morrone, Robert Pattinson’s girlfriend Suki Waterhouse, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough and singer Halle Bailey were also on the first list.
Despite Drew’s decision to quit this year’s show, Bruce had only warm words for her when he publicly commented on the proceedings.
“Drew, without question, she was incredible. It’s hard to imagine we’ve ever had a better experience with a host. She’s really more of a partner, she’s there every day, just super passionate and super committed and creative. She even brought part of her own team for the trip,’ he said.
“As this all reared his head, we began preparing for what could be. Unsurprisingly, she stands in solidarity with the authors, for which we have full respect. She has our full support,” Bruce assured Variety.