California’s wildfires have resulted in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences scaling back Sunday’s red carpet at its Governors Awards event to a photos-only event.
“In light of the tragic wildfires burning through California, we have decided to scale back our red carpet at the Governors Awards this year, making it exclusively photos only,” AMPAS announced Friday evening. “The dinner and ceremony will continue in order to honor the achievements of these artists and filmmakers that are so deserving. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause for your coverage planning and hope to see you at the next Academy event.”
The Governors Awards takes place at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood. Academy Honorary Award will be given to Cicely Tyson, Lalo Schifrin and Marvin Levy. The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award will be presented to Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.
The massive wildfires have caused the cancellation of half a dozen red carpets during the past week at the AFI Fest for “Widows,” “Destroyer,” “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” “Bird Box,” and the closing night film “Mary Queen of Scots.” Paramount canceled the red carpet for “Instant Family”; Amazon Studios canceled the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of “The Romanoffs” and MNetflix scrubbed the red carpet for “Narcos: Mexico.” The red carpet was also cancelled for Friday night’s premiere of “The Favourite” in West Los Angeles.
Additionally, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and InStyle canceled the red carpet and party that had been planned as part of a news conference to reveal the 2019 Golden Globe Ambassador in Los Angeles.
The death toll in Northern California’s Camp Fire rose to 63 and those reported missing has risen to more than 600. The Woolsey Fire in Southern California has claimed three lives and destroyed 548 structures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to Cal Fire, the state’s forestry and fire protection agency.