Production News South Africa

Oscars to be scaled back in light of war

The organisers of the 75th Academy Awards, to be held this coming Sunday, 23 March, say that this year's ceremony will be a more sombre affair in light of the fact that it could be running concurrently with a war on Iraq.

Keeping in mind the world situation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 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.

The Academy says that it is aware 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. Arriving guests will therefore not stop for interviews or photographs. The Academy's decision is meant to address the concerns of these celebrities, and to reflect the circumstances under which this year's show is being produced.


Let's do Biz