Creating Oscar's write stuff. (The countdown: the insider's guide to the awards season).(Academy Awards; TV writers)(Brief Article)

Whoopi Goldberg had just picked up her American Film Institute Star tribute award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., on March 2 and her head was anywhere but on her upcoming hosting duties for the 74th Oscars.

"I haven't been prepped, nor have I picked out my dress yet. All I know is that Harry Winston is making some jewelry for me, and that Bruce Vilanch and his staff are taking care of everything," said Goldberg.

"Everything" being her monologue, the presenters' dialogue and the opening show prologue.

While screenwriters may be scorned on movie sets, the Academy Awards is a television show, and on TV, writers rule, even on the bigscreen biz's biggest night. Oscar scribes are the backbone of the Academy Awards ceremony, the shoulders on which the host and the presenters rely.

Oscar writers work for scale and gift baskets. Their work schedules are sporadic; initially grouping together on weekends …