Critics Choice Awards postponed due to fires in Los Angeles
As wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area, the scheduled Critics Choice Awards on January 12th in Santa Monica has officially been postponed.
Since January 7th, fires have raged on in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of west Los Angeles, with further fires springing up in Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley. Countless people have been forced to flee their homes as the fires continue to spread, with the likes of Mark Hamill among those forced to evacuate. The situation has become so treacherous that the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has officially declared a state of emergency.
In an area that is so synonymous with the film industry, these fires arrive at a time when ‘award season’ is in full swing. The Golden Globes were held just days ago in Beverly Hills and, now, multiple award ceremonies have been forced to change their plans as a result of these fires.
This morning’s scheduled SAG Awards announcement, for instance, was cancelled in favour of a digital press release, and the AFI Awards luncheon set for January 10th is already being rescheduled.
The Critics Choice Awards has now become the latest in a growing list of film industry events and awards to be cancelled or postponed as a result of the ongoing blazes.
Aiming to reward all the greatest offerings in the world of film and television, this year’s Critics Choice Awards was set to be its 30th ceremony. Stand-outs from its list of nominations include the likes of The Brutalist, Anora, and the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which are all vying for the coveted ‘Best Picture’ category.
At the time of writing, it is unclear when the scheduled ceremony, due to be presented by comedian Chelsea Handler, will take place given that the fires are still ongoing. With firefighters and emergency personnel working tirelessly to control the blazes across Los Angeles, it is hoped that the situation will start to improve in the coming days and weeks.
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