The Leader

One of the enduring images of the second Gulf war will be the sight of Hollywood’s finest blubbing their way through their acceptance speeches at the Oscars. ‘My hormones are way too out of control to even be dealing with this,’ sobbed Catherine Zeta-Jones. ‘Why do you come to the Academy awards when the world is in such turmoil?’ asked Nicole Kidman, choking back the tears. ‘Because art is important and because you believe in what you do.’ Then there was the sight of Michael Moore putting the world to rights in the 45 seconds which the organisers allowed prizewinners at the microphone.

It is easy to mock. Never mind the families of the servicemen killed over the past week or the Iraqi civilians caught in the crossfire -nobody does pathos like a Hollywood star. But there is a serious point behind the battle of Catherine Zeta-Jones’s hormones. Though it isn’t easy to tell while watching the rolling news bulletins, there is life beyond the war.