Key dates in the awards season calendar have been postponed or cancelled while firefighters battle wildfires across Los Angeles.
Major annual events in the Hollywood agenda have been rescheduled or abandoned, just days after the biggest stars convened at the Golden Globes to kick start the awards season.
Production also came to a halt on several television programmes as US authorities attempted to bring the blaze under control.
Here is a list of all those impacted:
– Critics Choice Awards
The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony has been postponed from January 12th to January 26th due to the catastrophic fires ravaging Southern California.
The rescheduled event will remain at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and will broadcast live on E! and… pic.twitter.com/wCNQrszS54
— Critics Choice Awards (@CriticsChoice) January 8, 2025
The 30th annual ceremony has been postponed from January 12 to January 26 “due to the catastrophic fires ravaging Southern California”, a statement said.
The rescheduled event will remain at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and will broadcast live on E! and around the world.
Joey Berlin, chief executive of the Critics Choice Association, said: “This unfolding tragedy has already had a profound impact on our community.
“All our thoughts and prayers are with those battling the devastating fires and with all who have been affected.”
– Bafta Tea Party
A key annual awards season networking stop, hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, has been cancelled as the wildfires claimed several lives and destroyed hundreds of homes.
A spokesperson told the PA news agency: “In light of the dangerous winds and wildfires in Los Angeles, we are cancelling this weekend’s Bafta Tea Party.
“The safety of our colleagues, friends and peers in Los Angeles remains our utmost priority and our thoughts are with everyone impacted.”
The event had originally been scheduled to be held at The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday.
– Oscar nominations
The Academy has offered a two-day extension to the Oscars nominations voting window “to give members more time to cast their ballots” as thousands were evacuated amid the fires.
The nominations announcement, originally scheduled to be livestreamed on January 17, has been pushed back until January 19.
The academy detailed the changes to its members in a memo from chief executive Bill Kramer, seen by PA.
“We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California,” it read.
“So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you.”
– Writers Guild of America (WGA) nominations
With Los Angeles under a state of emergency due to multiple wildfires, the Guild will be delaying the announcement of the Writers Guild Awards nominees until Monday, January 13, 2025. https://t.co/ece2lZOlrg
— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) January 9, 2025
The nominations for the awards, which honours outstanding writing in film, television, new media, news, radio and promotional categories, will not take place on Thursday.
A spokesperson from WGA West and WGA East said in a statement given to PA: “With Los Angeles under a state of emergency due to multiple wildfires, we will be delaying the announcement of nominees until Monday January 13 2025.”
– Filming
Production has come to a halt as FilmLA, an agency which permits shoots in Los Angeles, issued an alert advising that “personnel resources ordinarily available to support film production may not be available during the local state of emergency”.
“The LA County Fire Department has specifically instructed that all permits issued for filming in the communities of Altadena, La Crescenta, La Canada/Flintridge and Unincorporated Pasadena are withdrawn. Other permit revocations are possible,” a statement said.
NBCUniversal said it has suspended filming on TV shows Loot, Ted, Suits: LA, Happy’s Place and Hacks – which landed the best television series musical or comedy at the Golden Globes on Sunday, alongside a win for actress Jean Smart.
– America’s Got Talent
The US version of the popular talent show shared a statement on Instagram saying that auditions, scheduled for Sunday, had been “postponed” due to the wildfires, and it will reschedule new dates as soon as it can.
It added: “Your safety is our top priority. We will announce a new audition date soon. Stay safe.”
British talent manager and judge Simon Cowell, Canadian comedian Howie Mandel, model Heidi Klum, and Modern Family star Sofia Vergara are among the recent judges on the show.
– Comedy shows
American actress and comedian Margaret Cho wrote on Instagram that she had cancelled her Friday and Saturday dates of the Mommy: A One-Woman Cho tour at the Elysian Theatre in Los Angeles.
She said: “Very sorry to do this but I am cancelling this weekend’s performances due to the fires. Please stay safe everyone and I’ll make this up to you I promise. Refunds should be coming to you asap.”
