Contingency plans for the Oscars have been announced in case organizers are forced to cancel the lavish ceremony due to the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.
The walkouts by members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have crippled the film and television industry since November and led to the cancellation of red carpet events including the Golden Globes and the People’s Choice Awards earlier this month.
The Golden Globes, which usually take the form of a glittering star-studded ceremony, was reduced to a televised press conference after the union announced plans to protest at the event, forcing the majority of attendees to vow not to cross the picket line.
And now fears are growing that the Academy Awards, which are due to take place on Feb. 24, will face the same fate unless they are granted a waiver by the WGA.
Plans for the ceremony had gone ahead as usual, but now organizers have been forced to devise a backup plan, which would consist of a TV special showing a history of the Oscars and film clips.
Academy president Sid Ganis says, “We have an obligation to the art form to present the Oscars. (But we will have to consider) concepts that are not normally ones that we would have for the show if we were moving straight ahead.”
But Academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger insists the organization is still in talks with the WGA to resolve the situation.
She adds, “We want to be able to do the kind of Oscar show that we always do, and we want to create the circumstances that will allow us to do that.”
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