Writers' Strike May Sink Oscars

However, Gilbert Cates, producer of the award telecast, remains adamant that on Feb. 24 there will be a red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and an Oscar telecast on ABC despite the Writers Guild of America strike and the threat of a boycott by George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and the rest of the Screen Actors Guild. He hinted that he might not need actors onstage.

"There are enough clips in 80 years of Oscar history to make up a very entertaining show," Cates said in an interview Friday with The Times. "We'd have a lot of people on stage." He declined to give further details but added, "I just hope that the actors are there. I pray that the actors are there. I'm planning that the actors are there."

Still, the joy is already being drained from Tuesday's scheduled Oscar nomination announcement. A group of 30 award-winning writers, actors, producers, directors and authors will be protesting at Gramercy Park in Manhattan, sending this message: "Awards are nice, but we'd rather the writers get a fair contract." Later that day, in Los Angeles, the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be holding an emergency meeting to discuss the 80th annual Oscar ceremony.