Should the Oscars be canceled? Stephen King says yes

(NEXSTAR) — The king of horror fiction sparked debate this week over the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony and whether or not Hollywood's biggest night should go on as California's still reeling from devastating wildfires.

In a post on Bluesky, the Twitter-alternative social media site, author Stephen King said he would not be voting as a member of the Academy this year. He further stated, "IMHO they should cancel them [the Oscars]. No glitz with Los Angeles on fire."

While some users agreed with King, many others, especially film industry people in Los Angeles, pointed out reasons the Oscars actually should go on.

Many pointed out that the film and TV industries in Los Angeles are still recovering from the 2023 double-whammy of the Writers Guild of America strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike, which resulted in multiple months of lost income and job opportunities for multiple thousands of regular working people.

At the time of the strikes, the entertainment industry was also still rebuilding after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which decimated theatrical release revenues and also greatly delayed (or abruptly ended) countless scores of productions, according to the Motion Picture Association's 2020 THEME report.

All of which is also not to mention that many film and TV productions have increasingly been moving out of California, as studios look to cut costs by taking advantage of tax credit incentives in states like Georgia (which offers a potential tax credit up to 30%) and in regions outside of the U.S., like British Columbia (which offers a tax credit of 36%, with five other tax credit offerings that can be added on top).

The issue has grown so dire, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed increasing the tax break incentive pot for in-state productions from $330 million per year to $750 million per year, as explained by the Hollywood Reporter. But even this expansion would only address some problems, as THR also notes that the overall number of productions has also dropped, likely due to both the strikes and increased production costs.

"This city has been in complete turmoil for a year and a half since the strikes," Los Angeles-based post producer John McCracken told Nexstar on Saturday. "I've truly never seen the job market in the industry be this bad in the 17 years since I've been in it (and that includes the last writer's strike). People are desperate to work and something like the Oscars is a massive operation that employs a ton of people — not just for the actual show but for every network covering it. I used to work the Oscars as a network production assistant and the overtime from that weekend alone gave me enough money to live for a month, at least."

Others located in Los Angeles and working in the industry every day echoed similar sentiments in King's replies.

One such comment came from Jen Antonelli, a co-EP at Access Hollywood, who wrote, "The events/after parties are super helpful to the L.A. economy. There are servers, drivers, glam teams, carpenters — the list goes on and on. All of these very middle and working class people will be out of expected work if the shows are canceled."

Some others pointed out that given all of the tragedy the city's recently seen, the Oscars could serve as a symbol of hope and survival.

In response to the replies and criticism, King responded Friday in another Bluesky post, writing: "I hear what you guys are saying about the Oscars, and how they're a celebration of life, and the show must go on, blah-blah-blah, so-on-and-so-forth. It all makes a degree of sense, but to me it still feels like Nero fiddling while Rome burns. Or in this case, wearing fancy clothes while LA burns."

King isn't alone, either.

"Hacks" actor Jean Smart said she hopes TV networks won't air the ceremony if it's held and that they instead donate would-be revenue toward fire victims and firefighters.

While the figure likely fluctuates each year, back in 2022, Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, which was representing the Academy Awards, explained that that year's ceremony alone would employ over 5,000 people.

McCracken told Nexstar Saturday that he understands why a potential Oscars telecast can't be filled with the typical glitz and glamour, he fears their complete absences would "further devastate a workforce that is already on the brink of collapse."

He continued: "I understand why someone like Stephen King would think it’s garish to dress up and celebrate an industry known for its excess, but that’s a shortsighted and honestly naive view of a city and industry that is made of blue-collar workers who depend on awards season jobs to survive a little longer in this brutal job market."

The 97th Academy Awards are currently scheduled to be held Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.