Oscars voting delayed, luncheon canceled due to Southern California wildfires

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has, once again, made changes to events leading up to the Oscars out of sensitivity to tragic wildfires ravaging the region.

“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community. The Academy has always been a unifying force within the film industry, and we are committed to standing together in the face of hardship,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang in a joint statement.

The Academy has extended the Oscars nomination voting period through Jan. 17 at 5:00 P.M. PST. It was originally extended to Jan. 14 after the fires broke out, two days after its original date of Jan. 12.

“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. “Additionally, 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 nominations, which were pushed back to Jan. 19, will now be announced on Jan. 23 at 5:30 a.m. PST and will be a virtual event with no in-person media coverage.

Among the changes also include the cancellation of the annual Oscars Nominees Luncheon, which was supposed to take place on Feb. 10.

The Scientific and Technical Awards, which was scheduled for Feb. 18, will also be rescheduled. The date is to be announced at a later time.

As for the 97th Oscars, the ceremony will still take place on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

“Our members always share how important it is for us to come together as a community, and we are determined to use this opportunity to celebrate our resilient and compassionate industry. We also look 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,” Kramer and Yang said. “We will get through this together and bring a sense of healing to our global film community.”

The Oscars will be televised live on ABC at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST on ABC and streamed live on Hulu.