The announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations has been pushed back and voters will have an extra two days to cast their ballots because of the disastrous Los Angeles wildfires.
With the movie industry affected by the multiple ongoing wildfires, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will have until Jan. 14 to vote on their nominations for the 97th Oscars. Voting on the nominations opened Wednesday, with an original close of Sunday.
The nominations will be announced on Jan. 19 instead of the original Jan. 17.
“We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California. So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you,” Bill Kramer, chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told members in a letter, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In-person events in the Los Angeles area meant for the contenders in the sound, hair and makeup and visual effects categories to show off their stuff have been canceled.
Events for sound category contenders held in the San Francisco Bay area, New York City and London will go on as planned, while contenders in hair, makeup and visual effects in those areas will have virtual discussions, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Another awards show, the Critics Choice Awards, announced that it would be moving the date of its awards show from Sunday to Jan. 26.
“This unfolding tragedy has already had a profound impact on our community. All our thoughts and prayers are with those battling the devastating fires and with all who have been affected,” Critics Choice Association Chief Operating Officer Joey Berlin said in a statement.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, opened in 2021 and dedicated to movie history, was closed Wednesday and Thursday due to the fires, the museum said.
As of Thursday, the ongoing wildfires had consumed an area roughly 42 square miles, leading to the evacuation of 180,000 people. About 2,000 buildings have been destroyed and at least five people have died in the Eaton and Palisades fires.
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