Academy president: I won't cancel Oscars

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the Oscars telecast will go on, even if Hollywood's writers are still on strike.

The Golden Globe Awards gala was canceled last month due to the Writers Guild of America strike, which began Nov. 5 and has shut much of the U.S. entertainment industry.

The Hollywood Reporter said Academy President Sid Ganis assured the crowd at Monday's luncheon for Oscar nominees that the Feb. 24 Academy Awards telecast will take place as planned at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

"There's no doubt about it. We're going to do it," he said.

"We really, really hope that the negotiations between the writers and the producers -- which we now hear are going very, very well -- will have reached a conclusion that everyone is pleased with," Ganis explained. "But regardless of those circumstances, which are beyond our control, we will be presenting awards as scheduled. ... The Oscar exists to shine the brightest possible light on you and your work, and it would be such a terrible shame, through no fault of yours and no fault of ours, if the current conditions prevented us from shining that brightest possible light."