FAA Grounds All U.S. Flights, Throwing Hollywood's Awards Weekend Into Chaos

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded every flight in the United States on Friday, stranding Hollywood talent, executives and buyers in the middle of one of the industry's busiest weekends.

The FAA says all U.S. flights are grounded until further notice "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." The rare ground stop, announced just after 1 p.m. PT, is the first full stoppage since 9/11. More than 7,800 flights across the U.S. have already been delayed, according to FlightAware.

An FAA spokesperson says a communications problem is affecting the Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights moving across the country. The cause is not yet clear. Preliminary reports indicate it is not a cyberattack, according to law enforcement officials and media outlets.

What does this change for the weekend's marquee events?

On Sunday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holds its 17th Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. Honorary Oscars go to:

• Glenn Close, an eight-time nominee
• Director Ridley Scott
• Floyd Norman, Disney's first Black animator

Killer Films producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, longtime champions of independent film, receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

The evening doubles as one of the season's most important campaign stops. Contenders work a room filled with the Academy's governors — three from each of its 19 branches — representing everyone from actors and directors to artisans and executives. Guests who cannot fly to Los Angeles will miss that access entirely.

Variety has reached out to the Academy for comment.

How hard does the ground stop hit the American Film Market?

The grounding will also affect buyers and sellers at the final days of the American Film Market, which runs Nov. 10-15 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City. International sales agents, buyers and financiers were due to fly home this weekend, and many of them could now find themselves stuck in Los Angeles.

Numerous FYC events are also taking place around Los Angeles, with awards contenders frequently criss-crossing the country during the busy pre-Thanksgiving period. Those schedules now depend on how quickly the FAA restores its communications systems.

On Saturday, Netflix hosts the official Academy screening for AMPAS members of David Fincher's highly anticipated "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth," written by Quentin Tarantino, in which Brad Pitt reprises his Oscar-winning role from "Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood" (2019). The screening proceeds as planned; the question is who manages to be in the room.

With no timetable for the resumption of flights, the weekend's outcomes — attendance at the Dolby Ballroom, dealmaking at the Fairmont, the reach of the FYC circuit — now hinge on a federal infrastructure failure with no announced fix.