Oscars producer confident show will go on

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A producer behind the annual Academy Awards telecast has said that despite the Writers Guild of America strike, the awards show will go on as planned.

Producer Gilbert Cates said that while the ongoing writer's strike managed to derail last weekend's Golden Globes award show, this year's Oscars would take place even if the Screen Actors Guild protests the annual celebration, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

"There are enough clips in 80 years of Oscar history to make up a very entertaining show," Cates said Friday. "We'd have a lot of people on stage."

Members of the Screen Actors Guild have threatened to boycott the annual event in support of the WGA, the Times said.

While ABC is intent on broadcasting the Oscars, some entertainment industry experts have predicted a significantly altered ceremony should the WGA strike still be going on Feb. 24.

"If the academy doesn't get a waiver, and the strike isn't settled, there may be a way to do some kind of show, but it won't be the Oscars we're accustomed to," former Oscars producer Laura Ziskin said.