The Critics Choice Awards, which were scheduled for January 12 in Santa Monica, have been postponed to January 26
“This unfolding tragedy has already had a profound impact on our community. All our thoughts and prayers are with those battling the devastating fires and with all who have been affected,” said CCA chief executive Joey Berlin.
Dozens of shows including the internationally acclaimed Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, and Golden Globe-winning comedy Hacks have halted production because of the fire threat. NBC Universal has also closed its Hollywood theme park.
Live-audience shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live, have also stopped and will air reruns until it is safe to film again.
Films that were celebrating Golden Globes nominations on Sunday have since had their premieres cancelled, including the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, and The Last Showgirl starring Pamela Anderson.
Upcoming horror film Wolf Man and Unstoppable starring Jennifer Lopez also cancelled their opening nights.
The Screen Actors Guild has cancelled an event at which nominees for its annual awards, reliably known as an Oscar bellwether, were to be announced and issued a press release instead. The American Film Institute awards luncheon has been postponed and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts tea party has been cancelled.
This Is Us actor Mandy Moore and Mark Hamill were among those evacuated, with the Star Wars star saying on Instagram he and his family had escaped just as there were small fires on both sides of the road.
Songwriter Diane Warren said the beach house she had owned for 30 years had burned down, General Hospital’s Cameron Mathison confirmed he had also lost his home.
In the Pacific Palisades, Police Academy actor Steve Guttenberg was spotted leaping into action to help firefighters move abandoned vehicles blocking access to parts of the neighbourhood that were ablaze.
The 80s film star saw a KTLA news crew reporting on the fires and asked to make a public appeal.
He said traffic had banked up during the evacuation, and the fire got so close people were told to leave their vehicles and get away on foot, but many left with their keys.
“Here on Palisades Drive, if anybody has a car, and they leave their car, leave the keys in the car so that we can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up… There are people stuck up there.” Guttenberg said.
“People take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars.”
Guttenberg later told CNN: “I haven’t seen anything like this in my entire life and I don’t think many people have.”
On the famous Sunset Blvd, bulldozers ploughed through abandoned cars to clear the roads as actor Sarah Michelle Gellar slammed the City of LA’s evacuation in an Instagram story.
“You want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on helping,” she wrote.
