Sun through the rain?

It's pouring rain in Los Angeles this morning, but the AMPTP sees sunshine coming. And yes, that's every bit as pollyanna as it sounds.

There's no shortage of people trying to put a happy face on the upcoming Oscars as the nominations are released here in the gloomy pre-dawn. Gil Cates has done Oscar shows through the fall of the Berlin wall, the start of the Iraq war, and other international turmoil.

The theme this year could be: think global, but act local. Is Cates prepared for the WGA to collectively dig in its heels (philosophically) and take to the streets (physically) with pickets outside the Academy Awards?

There's been much chatter about an "alternative Oscars," a Plan B, if you will, but no specifics have emerged. The WGA has said repeatedly that no waiver is forthcoming.

Cates took pains today to say that there are 25 awards handed out on Oscar night, with a mere four for acting. Is he saying "no biggie" if Hollywood's A-list actors don't show? At the very least, it seems that he'd like to take a little of the spotlight off them, while promising "the world" that there will some kind of show worth watching.

Well, that's his job.