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Pope Playfully Spars with ‘Rocky’ Actor Stallone at Vatican

This photo taken and handout on September 8, 2023 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis (L) meeting with US actor Sylvester Stallone during a private audience in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This photo taken and handout on September 8, 2023 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis (L) meeting with US actor Sylvester Stallone during a private audience in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
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Pope Playfully Spars with ‘Rocky’ Actor Stallone at Vatican

This photo taken and handout on September 8, 2023 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis (L) meeting with US actor Sylvester Stallone during a private audience in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This photo taken and handout on September 8, 2023 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis (L) meeting with US actor Sylvester Stallone during a private audience in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)

Pope Francis playfully pretended to box with Sylvester Stallone during a meeting with the "Rocky" star at the Vatican on Friday.

Introduced to Stallone and his family, the Pope said how much he enjoyed the actor's films, prompting a smiling Stallone to clench his fists as if ready to spar, saying, "Ready, we box."

The 86-year-old Francis, who was walking with the aid of a stick, jabbed his left fist in response, prompting applause from the actor.

Stallone, who is 77 and has Italian origins, made his name with the series of films that trace the fortunes of fictional fighter Rocky Balboa.

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Oscars Push Back Nominations Announcement amid California Wildfires

Finished mounted Oscar Statuettes are seen at the Polich Tallix foundry in Walden, New York, US, January 25, 2018. Picture taken January 25, 2018. (Reuters)
Finished mounted Oscar Statuettes are seen at the Polich Tallix foundry in Walden, New York, US, January 25, 2018. Picture taken January 25, 2018. (Reuters)
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Oscars Push Back Nominations Announcement amid California Wildfires

Finished mounted Oscar Statuettes are seen at the Polich Tallix foundry in Walden, New York, US, January 25, 2018. Picture taken January 25, 2018. (Reuters)
Finished mounted Oscar Statuettes are seen at the Polich Tallix foundry in Walden, New York, US, January 25, 2018. Picture taken January 25, 2018. (Reuters)

The Oscar nominations are being pushed back almost a week from their original date amid the ongoing California wildfires. Nominations will now be announced on Jan. 23, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday.

“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “The Academy has always been a unifying force within the film industry, and we are committed to standing together in the face of hardship.”

With fires still active in the Los Angeles area, the film academy also extended the nominations voting period for its members through Friday. Originally, nominations were to be announced that morning.

The organization that puts on the Oscars has also made the decision to cancel its annual nominees luncheon, an untelevised event best known for the “class photos” it produces annually. The Scientific and Technical Awards, previously set for Feb. 18, will be rescheduled later.

The 97th Oscars will still happen on March 2, at the Dolby Theatre, with a live television broadcast on ABC beginning at 7 p.m. ET and a live stream on Hulu.

Oscar nominations were postponed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ceremony itself was also delayed, which had happened several times before: The ceremony was pushed back a week because of disastrous flooding in Los Angeles in 1938.

In 1968, it was delayed two days following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And in 1981, it was put off for 24 hours after President Ronald Reagan was shot in Washington D.C.

The 1981 decision was made four hours before the broadcast was scheduled to begin.