The old entertainment mantra “the show must go on” has never rung more true than with the fate of the 53rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
Officials from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) and CBS are committed to broadcasting the Emmys ceremony, Reuters reported. The event will most likely air next month and possible locations include a military base or a hotel ballroom. The show will also be taped without an audience.
The Emmys broadcast has been postponed twice since the terrorist attacks Sept.11, with the second cancellation coming last Sunday after the U.S. began air attacks on Afghanistan.
But organizers have stated that millions of dollars are at stake if the show were to be canceled completely, not to mention denying those winners the opportunity to be honored properly. CBS paid $3 million for the broadcast rights alone.
“We are committed to doing [the show]. We think it’s the right thing to do. There’s just a lot of options and we don’t know what the answers are yet. We are checking out all the possibilities to see what’s reasonable and what’s not, and that takes time,” Academy chairman Bryce Zabel told Reuters.
The executive committee of the ATAS will meet Thursday to discuss the options and iron out the details. A decision will likely be made late this week or early next week.
CBS spokeswoman Nancy Carr sounded a little less sure: “The academy and CBS want to find a way to make the Emmys happen, but right now there’s no final decision regarding where when or how.”
The option of holding the show on a military base has been discussed but brings its own set of difficulties.
“They’d have to get permission from the military, and at a time of war, do they really want a show going on, with tanks in the background?” ATAS spokeswoman Jennifer Price told Reuters.
Apparently, the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles has been ruled out completely as a venue.
“My inclination is not to do it there,” said Zabel.
