Governors Awards Red Carpet Scaled Back by Academy Due to Wildfires

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is choosing to “scale back” the red carpet at tonight’s Governors Awards due to the ongoing wildfires in California, which have led to at least 76 deaths. 1,200 people are listed as missing in the town of Paradise, and the conflagration is still only 55 percent contained.

“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,” an AMPAS spokesperson said in a statement. “The dinner and ceremony will continue in order to honor the achievements of these artists and filmmakers that are so deserving.”

Several red carpets were canceled at AFI FEST for the same reason, including the world premieres of “Bird Box” and “Mary Queen of Scots,” which closed the weeklong festival. Screenings of “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” “Destroyer,” and “Widows” likewise began without the usual fanfare.

Publicist Marvin Levy, composer Lalo Schifrin, and actress Cicely Tyson are all being presented with Honorary Oscars tonight, while Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award; the latter honor is reserved for creative producers “whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.” Kennedy and Marshall are married, and they’re the first married couple to take home the prize together.

The ceremony takes place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center.