No rain, no political uproar at the Oscars

In the last official briefing before the big show, Oscar producer Gil Cates, director Lou Horvitz and Academy president Sid Ganis promised no political uproar – and no rain – at the Academy Awards tomorrow.

Sitting along the red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre yesterday, beneath a clear plastic rain tent, the Oscar honchos said they expect a sunny Sunday and a show punctuated by surprises planned and unplanned.

“It’s the really unexpected things that we’re all conditioned to wait for that makes the show such a joy to watch,” Cates said, recalling Jack Palance’s one-armed push-ups in 1991, “when we all thought he had a stroke and couldn’t imagine what was going on”.

The rain tent will be removed today, Cates said, while rehearsals continue inside the Kodak Theatre.

Among the planned show surprises are musical production numbers featuring Dolly Parton, Kathleen “Bird” York and hip hop outfit Three 6 Mafia, plus comedy sketches powered by major stars.

Though host Jon Stewart is known for his political comedy on TV’s The Daily Show and many of the nominated films have political themes, the Academy Awards show is not about politics, it is about “rewarding excellence” and reflecting the times, Cates said.

But if any Oscar winners want to make political statements during their acceptance speeches, that is fine too.

“It’s their 40 seconds,” Cates said.

The Oscar crew is prepared for anything tomorrow, Horvitz said, even a rumoured streaker.

“If it’s going to happen on the stage, we’re going to cover it the appropriate way,” he said.

Cates said there would be no limit on gay cowboy jokes for or against. However, Ganis joked: “It’s a three-and-a-half hour show, so 167 is the quota.”

Meanwhile, a petition claiming that the movie Paradise Now glorifies Palestinian suicide bombers and asking for its removal from Oscar consideration has been delivered to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

The petition, carrying more than 36,000 signatures garnered online, was presented at the academy's Beverly Hills headquarters by Arab-American peace activist Nonie Darwish.

Darwish said Paradise Now “did not show the evils of terrorism enough”.

“Any one of us could be a victim of terror at any time,” she said. “Islamic terror has become an epidemic. We don’t need to understand it. We don’t need to excuse it…. No more. We need to end it.”

On an environmental note, Oscar nominees Joaquin Phoenix, George Clooney, Jake Gyllenhaal and Frances McDormand are among those expected to step out of green vehicles and onto the red carpet at the ceremony.

In all, 25 celebrities are participating in the fourth annual “Red Carpet, Green Cars” event sponsored by Toyota and the environmental organisation Global Green USA.

McDormand, Phoenix, Gyllenhaal, Clooney and Jennifer Aniston are all expected to arrive at the Oscars in Toyota or Lexus hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX crossover and a hybrid version of the Toyota Camry, which goes on sale in May.