Most Oscar Red Carpet Arrivals Canceled
LOS ANGELES – The Academy Awards ceremony will go on but organizers Tuesday canceled the splashy red carpet arrivals for celebrities because of the looming threat of war with Iraq.
Gil Cates, producer of Sunday’s Oscar telecast, said many celebrities had asked to use a back entrance away from the barrage of photographers and interviewers.
He said the red carpet will remain, but the reporters and photographers and bleachers for fans in front of the Kodak Theatre will be gone.
“I think you’d all agree it would be very inappropriate to have 500 fans yelling and screaming ‘Julia’ or `Tom,’ ” Cates told reporters.
Nicole Kidman, lead actress nominee for “The Hours,” and Daniel Day-Lewis, who is up for lead actor for “Gangs of New York,” have told The Associated Press that they would feel uncomfortable appearing cheerful and stylish in the midst of war.
The show is unlikely to be canceled or postponed. However, “all of us in this room are at the mercy of the winds of war and we just simply don’t know,” Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Frank Pierson said.
Television’s Emmy Awards were delayed twice in 2001, the first time after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that year and then again after the United States and Britain attacked Afghanistan’s Taliban government in response.
When the show finally did take place in November, it was a scaled-back affair at which celebrities put aside their tuxedos and fashionable evening gowns in favor of business attire.
The Oscar ceremony, from host Steve Martin’s monologue to the celebrity presentations and film clip montages, are also being changed to reflect the nation’s mood.
“To do something that will be self-serving or frivolous on a night when our troops are in bloody combat would be absolutely inappropriate,” Pierson said.
Cates said there is a chance ABC’s live broadcast of the event could be postponed for airing at another date. But the decision would be made jointly by the network and the academy.
ABC has said it will do whatever is necessary to report breaking news, which could involve interrupting the Oscar telecast.
Cates said some celebrities and their representatives had asked how to behave during the event. He said presenters should not deviate from their scripts to talk about the war, but winners will be free to say whatever they choose in their acceptance speeches.
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