Amid the disruption caused by the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, some media reports are seriously considering canceling the 97th Oscars ceremony, scheduled to be held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood on Sunday, March 2nd. They are spreading baseless lies that suggest that. .
British tabloid The Sun published an article on its website Tuesday evening, which was picked up by the Drudge Report and went viral. It advertised “Exclusive” and carried the headline, “Oscars Threat: 2025 Oscars on the verge of being canceled as Boss.” They are secretly planning major changes to the ceremony in response to the LA wildfires. ” The article goes on to claim that “a secret ‘emergency strategy’ is in place for the March 3rd awards ceremony to be canceled” (getting the date wrong) and that “the Oscars ceremony will be canceled on March 3rd.” The award ceremony is scheduled to be canceled on March 3rd.” For the first time in its 96-year history, the Academy Awards’ official committee, led by stars such as Tom Hanks, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep and Steven Spielberg, is monitoring the situation daily. ”
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Academy executives and people close to the celebrities mentioned and can confirm that no such plan is under consideration and no such advisory committee exists.
The only body currently considering how the academy should proceed is the organization’s 55-member board of directors, which currently does not include any of the people listed by the Sun. The latest decision, announced Monday, is the date of the board meeting. The Oscars ceremony is 47 days away, but no changes will be made.
However, the board, which included four people who lost their homes in the fire, extended the Oscar nomination voting period. Postponing the announcement of Oscar nominations. This year’s Oscar nominee luncheon is canceled. The awarding of science and technology awards will also be postponed.
Any changes to the Oscar ceremony itself would require significant discussions between the Academy and longtime broadcast partner ABC. And now the general consensus within Academy and ABC leadership is that the show should continue in a dignified way that helps raise money for fire relief efforts and celebrate.
Several prominent industry figures who are members of the Academy have questioned the validity of the process. Hux star Jean Smart suggested the televised awards ceremony should be canceled and backers should “donate the proceeds they would have raised to the victims”. It’s about fires and firefighters.” Author Stephen King declared that he would not vote for this year’s Oscar, saying, “There’s no glamor when Los Angeles is on fire.”
However, both received considerable backlash from industry players reeling from the coronavirus and strikes. Additionally, the Oscars ceremony, which employs around 1,000 local residents, has not been “cancelled” even during the darkest days of COVID-19, when it was held in a stripped-down manner, let alone during World War II. I’ve never done it before. And again, there is currently no internal momentum to cancel the edition scheduled for March 2nd.
The Sun article
Jan. 16, 10:15 a.m. Updated to add comments from Jean Smart and Stephen King.
