OSCARS SHOW WILL GO ON - FOR NOW.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

The motion picture academy insisted Friday the show will go on although Sunday's 75th annual Academy Awards could still be postponed depending on events in the war in Iraq.

At its news conference two days before the big event - one that customarily addresses particulars about the show - producer Gil Cates and academy President Frank Pierson gave their latest position on the possibility of postponement and took the opportunity to put down rumors.

Pierson said even with Friday's start of the air war in Iraq, he wants the Oscars to go on.

``In a time when American cultures and values are under attack, we think it is more important than ever to honor what is great about our culture,'' he said.

``As you saw on the last two nights, the situation is so unpredictable that we want, like the president himself, to keep our options open and to be flexible. So I'm not going to speculate under what conditions we might or might not postpone.''

He noted the Academy Awards continued through other difficult times in national history, including World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and political assassinations and unrest.

Cates said that, although Will Smith bowed out as a presenter because of the Iraq war, there have been no more last-minute cancellations of talent or ticket holders than there are in other years.

Peter Jackson, director of ``The Lord of the Rings,'' for example, has decided to stay in New Zealand because of the production schedule on his current film.

``The dopiest rumor that I've heard is, no, the White House has not called and asked us to cancel,'' Cates said. ``They have more important things on their minds.''

Pierson said it will be ABC's decision whether to interrupt the Oscar telecast for news coverage.

Pierson, Cates and director Louis J. Horvitz had yet to decide how to handle the Oscars if there are news interruptions, with options including pausing the proceedings, running a crawl on the bottom of the screen to update viewers on what they missed during the cut-away, or ``TiVoing'' the telecast so the production maintains its momentum and the home audience sees it all.

As for security, Cates said, ``Police Chief (William) Bratton told us last week that the safest place in the country will be the Kodak on Oscar night.''

``We are not concerned about our security,'' Pierson said. ``But we are most certainly concerned about the feelings of our audiences at home and abroad and of the members of the academy.''

Horvitz said the show, including host Steve Martin's script, has been adapted to fit the times. ``We have a proper respect for what's going on in the world, first and foremost,'' he said.

Although the vast red carpet area is being done away with, the academy decided Friday to allow a handful of national and international media inside the Orchid Court walkway through which most guests will enter the theater. Reporters will not be allowed to ask questions of the stars.

The television academy postponed the Emmy Awards twice in 2001 because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the beginning of military strikes in Afghanistan.

The Oscars have been delayed three times: in 1981 because of the attempted assassination of President Reagan, in 1968 because of Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral, and in 1938 because of widespread flooding in Los Angeles.

Several streets in Hollywood are being closed for security and traffic control around the Kodak Theatre. On Sunday, the Highland Avenue off-ramp of the Hollywood Freeway will be closed, as will Highland from Franklin Avenue to Sunset Boulevard.

Hollywood Boulevard already is closed to drivers from Highland to Orange Avenue, and the closure will extend Sunday to La Brea Avenue on the west and Cahuenga Boulevard on the east. Red Line trains also will bypass the Hollywood-Highland Station.

Los Angeles police are expecting additional traffic congestion in the area stemming from anti-war demonstrations.

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Photo:

The motion picture academy said the Oscars show must go on. From left, Louis Orvitz, producer Gil Cates and academy President Frank Pierson hold a news conference at the Kodak Theatre on Friday.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Map:

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