Following the disclosure of an FBI alert this year’s Oscars, the Academy Awards producers maintain that safety procedures are standard and thorough. With presenter Conan O’Brien and media representatives present for the yearly celebration of film, the Oscars unveiled the red carpet on a previous Wednesday in Hollywood.
However, when the FBI alerted California authorities to the potential for an Iranian reprisal drone strike against the West Coast, protection is on high alert. The FBI alerted authorities throughout California in the past few days that Iran would fly drones toward the West Coast in retaliation for US military strikes, based on an ABC News report.
In an announcement to the L.A. Times, representatives of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department stated that the department was still operating at an “elevated level of readiness and is maintaining increased vigilance.”
Executive producer Raj Kapoor responded to a query on guest and attendee protection during a news briefing with the 98th Oscars creative team on Wednesday.
“I feel like on this show, we have one of the best teams in the business in all aspects, and that comes down to our security team,” Kapoor stated. “So, of course, every year we monitor what’s going on in the world. We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and it’s a close collaboration.”
“This show has to run like clockwork,” he said. “But we want everybody who is coming to this show, who is witnessing the show, who is even a fan of the show, when they’re standing outside the barricades. We want everybody to feel safe, protected, and welcome. It’s our job as a producing team to make sure that that translates, and that really comes down to us with this very tight relationship, and we have a whole other team of support. It’s something that we don’t take lightly and we take a lot of responsibility for.”