LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The champagne is on ice, the limos rented -- including a few bulletproof ones -- and the appropriate but somber black dresses selected. But will the show go on? And if so, with what, if any, glitches or unscripted moments?

Organizers insist that the 75th annual awards ceremony that is the highlight of Hollywood's year will take place as scheduled despite the war in Iraq.

The 2003 Oscars set for Sunday night have turned into a nail-biter worthy of Alfred Hitchcock.

But ABC could pre-empt televising the show at the last minute because of war developments or break into it with news bulletins. The phrase "This just in" could be competing with "And the winner is."

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Good, nobody cares. There's a war going on - exactly how does that get in the way of millionares throwing a party to celebrate themselves and pat themselves on the back?

One of the nicest parts of this war is that I haven't had to listen to a week of buildup crap about the oscars. Maybe this year everyone will realize just how stupid they are.

Of course, we will unfortunatly have to listen to all the self-righteous morons go up on stage and say "God bless America" - "Thank you god" - and, maybe, they really want me dead, someone will say something anti-war. It's like Sean Penn going to Iraq and coming back saying they have no wmds. Really? Oh thanks Seanny! I was certain if Saddam was hiding weapons from the world he would show them to you! What with you being such a good actor and all! God damn pompus asshole actors.

Why the hell shouldn't it happen?

I mean way back in World War 2 the football in the UK was cancelled but that was because most of the players were sent to war. How many celebrities are going to war I wonder? I have a rough estimate and I'll give you a hint, it looks kinda round.

Stopping something like that because there's a war on the other side of the globe is just pointless, it's like Kelly Osbourne cancelling a show because she was scared of a bomb. Like anyone would bomb her!! Yeah she's annoying, but she's not important enough to bomb!!! It's just egos inflating.

And yeah, I agree wtih Tyler, lots of 'God Bless Americas' some anti-war speeches and no 'Allah Praise Iraq' speeches.

And again, yep very good not to hear the build up to them. Enthusiastic celebs going on about 'if I win...' and comments about this, and this. Like their views count for shit anyway. This war does have it's uses you see :D

Wartime Oscars Suffer Lowest Ratings Ever

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - War was hell on Oscar viewership, but that didn't keep ABC from reaping the benefits of record advertising rates.

With the conflict in Iraq weighing heavily on the minds of Americans, the subdued 75th anniversary edition of the Academy Awards entered the record books on Monday as the least watched Oscar telecast ever.

ABC's 3 1/2-hour live broadcast of the ceremony, notable for its rolled-up red carpet and abundance of stars wearing toned-down fashions, drew a household rating of 20.4, the lowest level going back to the very first televised Oscar show in 1953 and down nearly 20 percent from last year's previous all-time low, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. Each rating point equals 1 percent of the estimated 106.7 million U.S. homes with television sets.

In terms of actual viewers, the Oscar telecast, hosted by comedian Steve Martin, drew an average audience of 33.05 million, the smallest for the Oscars since 1974, the first year for which average audience figures are available.

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