Bearded Letterman returns

"Nice to be with you, rabbi,” Robin Williams tells Dave during his appearance on tonight's "Late Show." As reported by the NYT, Letterman has grown a thick gray beard in the eight weeks since he's been off the air as a result of the writers strike. His production company worked out a side deal with the WGA that allows him to bring back his writers, and on the first show he apparently was making the most of the circumstances. That included passing through a chorus line of showgirls bearing placards that read, “Writers Guild of America on Strike.” Meanwhile, Nikki Finke reports that the Guild has turned down the desperate efforts of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to work out a Letterman-like deal for its made-for-television awards show. Talk about a group that’s way over its head in trying to handle something more relevant than free movie screenings and goody bags. In what has to be one of the more delusional moments of the strike, Association President Jorge Camara issued this statement this morning:

I am happy to announce that on Saturday morning, December 29, 2007, our attorneys began discussions with the Writers Guild of America to enter into an interim agreement similar to that entered into by the WGA and Worldwide Pants, which permits writers guild members to go back to work writing for The Late Show With David Letterman. We feel that the Late Show With David Letterman agreement is very reasonable, and hope and expect the WGA will agree to the same terms and ultimately permit the “Golden Globe Awards” to be broadcast as scheduled, without picket lines, on Sunday, January 13.

Obviously there are some major language problems here. Either that or this guy really needs to start reading the papers. The guild issued a statement declaring that there will be no side agreement for Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Golden Globes telecast. No way, no how. WGA members will be picketing the ceremony, as planned. The big question is how many stars will cross the lines? An LAT piece this morning notes that Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Will Smith and Reese Witherspoon are among the A-list stars who have "remained deafeningly neutral, as if they were thinking that if they just stayed still and quiet enough, they could wait everybody out and avoid any partisanship."