SAG Awards nominations and premieres cancelled as wildfires hit Los Angeles

The Screen Actors Guild Awards have cancelled a live nominations announcement because of the wildfires in Los Angeles.

Film premieres have been cancelled after 30,000 people living in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, home to a string of A-list celebrities, were ordered to evacuate, while a second fast-moving wildfire broke out in nearby Altadena.

Nominations for the SAG Awards, a reliable indicator for the Oscars, were due to be announced on Wednesday morning at an event hosted by actors Joey King and Cooper Koch.

Instead, the nominations will be unveiled via press release and on the awards website at 7.30am on Wednesday, local time.

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A statement from the awards organisers said: “We urge everyone to stay safe and thank you for your continued support.”

The awards will take place on February 23, hosted by actress Kristen Bell.

The Hollywood premieres of Unstoppable, starring Jennifer Lopez, and Ryan Gosling-produced Wolf Man had already been cancelled with a “don’t wait, evacuate” order issued for the area by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

“Tonight’s premiere of Wolf Man is cancelled due to sensitivities around the worsening weather situation in LA and related evacuations,” a Universal spokesperson told the PA news agency.

The star-studded premiere of Unstoppable, a biopic of US wrestler Anthony Robles who won a national championship with one leg, was also cancelled following the evacuation orders.

Unstoppable is the directorial debut from William Goldenberg and sees Jharrel Jerome play Robles and Lopez star as his mother Judy.

A US premiere of the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man has also been cancelled due to the “dangerous conditions affecting Los Angeles”, according to media outlets.

The film, directed by Michael Gracey, sees the former Take That star played by a CGI chimpanzee, a comment on how he feels like a “performing monkey”.

A Paramount spokesperson was quoted as saying: “Due to the dangerous conditions affecting Los Angeles we are cancelling tomorrow’s premiere of Better Man.

“Our thoughts are with those impacted by the devastating fires resulting from these conditions, and we encourage everyone to stay safe and follow guidance and orders from local officials and government agencies.”

“Los Angeles is currently experiencing an extreme fire weather condition with red flag alert,” the Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said during a press briefing.

“The fire is being fuelled by a combination of strong winds and surrounding topography, which is making it extremely challenging for our personnel that are assigned to this incident.”

The rapidly growing fire led to event cancellations in Hollywood, including the premiere of monster tale Wolf Man, starring Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott.

During the press briefing, Governor Gavin Newsom thanked US President Joe Biden for offering help, with a state of emergency declared.

“By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,” Governor Newsom said, suggesting the highest winds were forecast overnight.

Plumes of thick black smoke billowed over miles of traffic jams as residents attempted to flee, with authorities bringing in bulldozers to unblock roads from abandoned vehicles, according to US reports.

Among the stars evacuating was US actor James Woods, who shared security camera footage on X of flames engulfing a nearby home and at the bottom of his balcony.

“We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well. We are safe and out…Can not speak more highly of the LA fire and LAPD,” the Golden Globe and two-time Emmy-winning actor wrote.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill said he was evacuated from Malibu amid the wildfires and urged everyone to “stay safe” in a social media post.

Actor Steve Guttenberg, who lives in the Pacific Palisades, told people who abandoned their cars to leave their keys behind so they could be moved to make way for fire trucks.

“This is not a parking lot,” he told KTLA. “I have friends up there and they can’t evacuate… I’m walking up there as far as I can moving cars.”

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Fire Department said in a statement: “People in the area of Palisades need to evacuate now due to a rapidly moving wildfire.

“Pack all people and pets into your vehicle and leave the area immediately.

“If you are not in the mandatory evacuation zone, stay off the roads to allow first responders and evacuees to move quickly.”

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said southern California is facing a “critical” weather event as “strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity” were causing “extreme wildfire risks”.

Forecasters from the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned of “life-threatening, destructive” gusts that could last for days, bringing extreme fire risk to areas that have not seen substantial rain for many months.

It comes less than a month after residents in Malibu were evacuated from a wind-driven blaze dubbed the Franklin Fire, which saw more than 4,000 acres burn and stars including Dick Van Dyke, Cher and Jane Seymour forced to leave their homes.