It just may happen. Come Sunday, the 75th Academy Awards show may be preempted by the brand new reality show – THE IRAQ WAR!
Now this from producer of the 75th Academy Awards, Gil Cates.
First of all, we all are continuing to work diligently to put the 75th Academy Awards on the air at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time this coming Sunday, March 23rd.
That said, we all understand that the country is on the brink of war and may be sending American men and women into harm’s way almost as we speak. We must prepare for the show to be produced under those circumstances.
We are continuing our efforts to bring the show together on Sunday, but we do understand that ABC may adjust to war coverage if it is required and that ABC news will cover news as it happens. Any such decisions in regard to broadcasting the show will be made later in the week, and will be made jointly by the Academy and ABC.
Keeping in mind the world situation, the Academy has elected to prepare a more sober pre-show and a scaled-back arrivals sequence. The traditional splashy red carpet arrivals line will be truncated, the portions of the arrivals press line that existed last year on Hollywood Boulevard will be eliminated and guests arriving by limousine will exit their cars on Hollywood Boulevard and enter the Kodak Theatre directly through the arrivals arch. Nevertheless, we wish to be able to continue to celebrate the magnificent achievements of our filmmakers last year and to present them with the Academy Awards that they have earned.
The Academy is mindful that many of its celebrity guests would feel uncomfortable arriving at this year’s Awards at the beginning of a major war to face a business-as-usual phalanx of interviewers and photographers. The Academy’s decision is meant to address the concerns of these celebrities, and to reflect the circumstances under which we are now producing this show.
Therefore arriving guests will not stop for interviews or photographs.
Arrangements will be made to provide some television pool coverage of arriving celebrities, and room will be sought for as many other press as possible, but those arrangements have not yet been made. It will be at least 24 hours before these plans will be discussed.
We hope that everyone involved will understand that this change is being made in response to the critical situation in the middle east, and will help us to make these changes work.
