The Oscars ceremony will go ahead whether or not war in Iraq has broken out but it will reflect the world situation, organisers have said. Producer Gil Gates was speaking as Oscar nominees gathered at a celebration lunch marking the two-week countdown to the awards on 23 March. Among the stars at the luncheon held in Beverley Hills were nominees Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta Jones, Sir Michael Caine and Nicholas Cage. Mr Cates said: "If we are at war, the Oscar telecast will obviously reflect that reality.

"It will be reflected in areas that we can control as well as, no doubt, in the parts we can't control, such as your acceptance speeches." But he said while they would not place any restrictions on what the winners said he warned they would have to stick to their 45 second time limit or they would be cut off.