Oscars Postpones Nominations Announcement Further Due to Los Angeles Wildfires

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending its Oscar nomination voting and moved the date back for its nominations announcement further due to the due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. It announced on Monday that voting is now extended to Friday, Jan. 17, with nominations being announced on Jan. 23 at 5:30 a.m. PT, as The New York Times reports. It initially planned to move the nominations announcement from its first schedule on Friday to Sunday, Jan. 19. The Academy also canceled its annual luncheon set for Feb. 10.

In an email addressed to members on last week when is first postponement was announced, AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer informed the membership that Oscar nomination voting has been extended for two days as The Wrap reported. Due to the change, the nominations announcement was also delayed, at the time moving to Sunday for the first time in its history.

“We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California,” the email obtained by The Wrap reads. “So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you.”

Along with the changes to the schedule on voting and the postponement of announcing its nominations, the Academy also postponed its International Feature Film Shortlist Screening, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday; it will be rescheduled at an unspecified date later this week. Pre-nomination “bake-off” events scheduled for Saturday have been canceled, per the email.

The fires have forced several television shows and entertainment industry events to postpone or cancel. On Wednesday, Jimmy Kimmel Live canceled its taping scheduled for that evening, and CBS’ After Midnight is off for the rest of the week. The Critics Choice Awards, which were planned for this Sunday, Jan. 12, have been postponed and rescheduled for Jan. 26.

This article was updated on Jan. 13 at 1:37 p.m. with the new dates for Oscars voting and the nominations announcements.

From Rolling Stone US.