LOS ANGELES — According to the usual rhythms of Oscar season, Hollywood’s awards machinery should be running at full steam right now. With Academy Award nominations set to be announced on Feb. 8, stars and industry power players should be swanning from one glamorous cocktail party and glitzy banquet to another. Contenders’ schedules should be packed with screenings, Q&As and gown fittings. Academy voters should be excitedly making their lists and checking them twice.
But these days, there is little joy in buzz-ville.
For the second year in a row, the COVID-19 pandemic has choked much of the life out of Hollywood’s all-important awards season. With movies facing what feels to many like an existential crisis and the box office for adult-oriented films all but decimated, few in the business are in a celebratory mood.
