Hollywood is throwing a temper tantrum.

Five seconds might not amount to a lot of time considering that ABC's Academy Awards broadcast is expected to run 3-1/2 hours on Feb. 29.

But the network's insistence on using a five-second tape delay has angered Frank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a letter to the Academy's membership, he warned that a delay, which has not been used before on an Oscar show, could be the first step on a slippery slope that "introduces a form of censorship."

A form of censorship, eh? Maybe so. I like this quote:

"We will present the show live, a celebration of achievement, with a little glitz, a little glamour, as always," Pierson promised. "If it comes with a bleep, we are all losers."

You said it, Frank.

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