With a waive, Spirit Awards go forward

December 21, 2007 Film Independent acknowledged the waiver Thursday as part of an announcement that Rainn Wilson, who plays salesman Dwight Schrute on "The Office," will host this year's show and contribute as a writer on the program. The waiver raises the possibility that the informal Spirit ceremony, which takes place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, could upstage the 80th annual Academy Awards, scheduled for the following day at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland, if the strike is not resolved by late February. The WGA has signaled that it does not plan to grant a similar waiver to allow the Oscar show to use WGA writers, which means that some stars would be free to attend the Spirit Awards, then bypass the Oscars.

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