HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The current Hollywood writers' strike is not sitting well with one of today's top stars, Tom Hanks.
Hanks says he hopes the tradition of the Feb. 24 Oscars continues and doesn't turn into another scaled back awards show like the Golden Globes, which recently held a press conference in place of a ceremony.
"The show must go on," the double Oscar winner told Reuters in London at Thursday's premiere of his film, "Charlie Wilson's War." "That is one of the tenets of everything."
The 51-year-old Hanks is urging studios to return to the negotiating table in an effort to end the strike. Negotiations are currently stalled and no talks are presently scheduled.
"I am a member of the board of governors of the Academy, and we definitely want to put on a great show and honor the films that have come out in the course of the year," he said, adding that corporate management should be mindful that so many working people are suffering as a result of the dispute.
In addition to the approximately 10,500 Writers Guild of America members in conflict with mainstream film and TV studios, "There are caterers and carpenters ... and electricians and gaffers," said Hanks. "There are a lot of people out there associated with the industry, for whom the sooner this work stoppage is over the better."
As far as Hanks is concerned, the strike can't end soon enough.
"I just hope that the big guys who make big decisions up high in their corporate boardrooms and whatnot get down to honest bargaining and everyone can get back to work," he said.
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