Producer Assures Oscars On, War Or Not

Cates Will Be Angry With Presenters Who Change Script

The tone of the show may change, but Oscar producer Gil Cates assured once again Monday that the 75th annual Academy Awards celebration will go on whether the United States and its backers are at war with Iraq or not.

"The show will go on," Cates said at the annual Oscar Nominees luncheon Monday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Cates, who originally announced that the show wouldn't be canceled in early February, said that, if necessary, there will be network cut-ins and screen crawls with any important information about the war.

According to The Associated Press, Cates said he's got contingency plans "up the gazoo," but declined to discuss any of them with the media.

Speaking out on the issue, "Chicago" Best Supporting Actress nominee Queen Latifah said the Oscars broadcast could help ease anxiety for a few hours.

The daughter of a Vietnam veteran, Latifah said, "We don't want to sit here and cry all day," and maybe the Oscars "might be the break that a person needs to take their mind off the fact that their child is over there fighting."

"Gangs of New York" Best Actor nominee Daniel Day-Lewis said if war's going on during the Oscars, the tone of the event should change.

"It would seem obscene if we were trouncing up a red carpet, grinning and waving and there's people dying somewhere in the world."

The Oscars have time and again have been used as a springboard for presenters and winners to express their political views. And while winners are free to express themselves, Cates said he'll be angry if any presenters change their scripts to voice any political views.

"If someone as presenter were to change what they and we agreed to, I think it would be a violation both ethically and morally," Cates said.

In regard to winners, Cates said he'd prefer they use their 45 seconds talking about the award.

The Oscars are set to stage March 23 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif.

The show's been canceled only three times in the Academy's history. It was delayed by a week due to massive flooding Hollywood in 1938, moved back two days after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, and moved back a day in 1981 after an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

Copyright 2003 by KMBC.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.