Oscar nominations delayed, voting extended due to L.A. fires

The wildfires that have torn through the Los Angeles area this week have led to numerous closures, cancellations and postponements — now including the Oscar nominations.

Originally scheduled for Jan. 17, the announcement of nominees for the 97th Academy Awards has been delayed to Jan. 19, with nominations voting extended by two days to Jan. 14, film academy Chief Executive Bill Kramer wrote Wednesday in a letter to members obtained by The Times.

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

In-person Los Angeles-area “bake-off” events, at which shortlisted contenders in the academy’s sound, hair and makeup and visual effects branches showcase their work, have been canceled, according to the letter. The bake-offs were originally scheduled to take place on Saturday. Sound bake-offs in the Bay Area, New York and London are unaffected, while hair and makeup and visual effects bake-offs will be replaced with virtual discussions. A screening of shortlisted titles in the international feature category also has been postponed.

News of the nominations’ delay comes as a “life-threatening and destructive” fire and wind event tears through multiple locations in L.A. County. As of Wednesday afternoon, five people are confirmed dead and more than 1,100 structures have been destroyed.

Earlier Wednesday, a number of Oscar precursor events, including the British Academy of Film and TV Arts Tea Party, the AFI Awards luncheon and the Critics Choice Awards, were postponed or canceled. The 97th Oscars are set to take place March 2.