The announcement of the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards, initially set for January 17, has been delayed until January 19 due to the ongoing wildfires in Southern California.
As reported by a section of the media, the Academy’s CEO, Bill Kramer, sent an email to members on Wednesday afternoon addressing the date changes.
“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,” the email read.
The deadline for Oscar nomination voting has been extended by two days to January 14. Voting, which opened on January 8 for nearly 10,000 Academy members, was originally set to close on January 12.
Conan O’Brien is set to host the 2025 Oscars ceremony, scheduled for March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles’ most iconic landmarks. Firefighters also struggled to contain three other major blazes that have claimed five lives, forced the evacuation of 100,000 people, and devastated areas from the Pacific Coast to inland Pasadena.
The fire destroyed the houses of Hollywood stars including Paris Hilton, Cary Elwes, Mandy Moore, and Billy Crystal who lived in California.
SAG Awards nominations, which were to be announced during a live event, were made public via a press release, but the premieres of Unstoppable, Wolf Man, Better Man, and The Pitt were cancelled.
The Critics Choice Awards have been postponed from the original schedule of January 12 in Santa Monica to January 26.
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