Los Angeles in flames: Stephen King criticizes planned Oscars

The devastating fire disaster in Los Angeles has shaken up the world of Hollywood. Film premieres have been canceled, award shows or nomination announcements have been postponed. The awarding of the Oscars in March is still being held. US star author Stephen King (77) has a clear opinion about the planned Oscar ceremony despite the forest fires in Los Angeles.

he writes: “I hear what you say about the Oscars, that they are a celebration of life and that the show must go on, blah, blah, blah and so on and so forth.” This all makes a certain amount of sense, but to him it still feels like “like Nero playing the violin while Rome burns. Or in this case, wearing fancy clothes while LA burns.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on January 13th that the publication of the nominations for the most famous film award, which had already been postponed from January 17th to January 19th, would be postponed again. The Oscar nominations are now scheduled to be announced on Thursday, January 23rd. This was reported by “The Hollywood Reporter” after Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang (68) made a statement.

It said: “Due to the ongoing fires in the Los Angeles area, we believe it is necessary to extend the voting period and postpone the nomination announcement date to give our members more time.” The 97th Academy Awards are still announced for Sunday, March 2, 2025.

The Oscars have never been canceled in their 96-year history, even during the darkest Corona times. And this also applies to the 97th award ceremony. The medium spoke to “high-ranking representatives of the Academy as well as people who are close to some of the A-list celebrities mentioned.” Accordingly, it can be “categorically” ruled out that a cancellation is being considered. There is no alleged “threat to the Oscars”.