Oscar Nominations Are Postponed Because of Wildfires

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has again postponed its nomination announcement in response to the fires that are still raging throughout Los Angeles. It also canceled its annual luncheon, which was set to be held on Feb. 10.

The organization that hosts the Oscars said on Monday that it would again extend the voting period, this time through Friday. Nominations will now be announced on Jan. 23 at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time. The nominations were initially to be unveiled on Friday, but the academy announced an initial delay of a few days last week.

“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community,” the academy chief executive, Bill Kramer, and president, Janet Yang, said in a statement.

“Due to the still-active fires in the Los Angeles area, we feel it is necessary to extend our voting period and move the date of our nominations announcement to allow additional time for our members.,” the statement continued.

The academy luncheon, where the annual class picture of the year’s nominees are taken, will be canceled for the second time since it was implemented in 1982. (The first time was in 2021, because of the pandemic.) The Scientific and Technical Awards, scheduled for Feb. 18, will be rescheduled to a yet undetermined later date.

Additionally, read the statement, “As we want to be sensitive to the infrastructure and lodging needs of the region in these next few weeks, it is imperative that we make some changes to our schedule of events, which we believe will have the support of our industry.”

The Oscar telecast will still be held on March 2.

The academy added, that it looks forward “to honoring our frontline workers who have aided with the fires, recognizing those impacted, and encouraging people to join the academy in supporting the relief efforts.”

Separately, the Recording Academy announced Monday that the Grammys would be held as planned, on Feb. 2, and that the telecast, on CBS, would also honor first responders.