(LOS ANGELES) The honorary Oscars night, widely seen as the kickoff of awards season, has been postponed until Jan. 9, organizers announced Wednesday, amid a historic strike by actors and screenwriters.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, did not specify the reasons for the postponement of the ceremony, originally scheduled for November 18. But she anticipated, according to the media, the extension of the strike which has paralyzed Hollywood for months.
The evening, called Governors Awards, is organized every year in Los Angeles to reward exceptional careers.
The Hollywood calendar has been totally upset by this social movement. The Emmy Awards, the most prestigious honors in American television, were recently postponed from September to January for the same reason.
The screenwriters, on strike since May, were joined in July by the actors, a double strike that Hollywood had not seen since 1960.
Union directives prohibit actors from shooting films or series, but also from going to red carpets or participating in promotional events.
The ceremony would therefore probably have taken place without the named stars.
During the evening, honorary Oscars must notably be given to actors Mel Brooks and Angela Bassett.