The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has postponed announcing 2025’s Oscar nominees for a second time because of wildfires that have been burning through Southern California for the past week.
Nominations will now be announced on Jan 23. They were first supposed to have been made public Jan. 9, but were pushed back to Monday. The fires continue burning and are expected to pick up speed early Tuesday when high winds blow through Los Angeles County.
“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community,” the Academy said in a statement telling voters they now have until Jan. 17 to make their selections.
Voting for the 97th Oscars was initially set to end Jan. 12. A Feb. 12 luncheon for nominees was canceled, but the March 2 award ceremony at the Dolby Theatre is expected to happen as planned.
Performers Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Kieran Culkin, Cynthia Erivo, Demi Moore and Ariana Grande are among the favorites to get a nod from Academy voters.
Brody is one of many stars who lost a home to the wildfires. Billy Crystal, James Woods, Mel Gibson, Mandy Moore and John Goodman were also reportedly impacted as well.
Four fires had damaged more than 62 square miles of land and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area by Monday. The Palisades Fire, which was the largest of the blazes, was only 14% contained going its seventh straight day of destruction.
With News Wire Services
Leave a comment