hfpa

Source: HFPA

The Golden Globes

The Golden Globes nominations are out and two questions buzzing around Hollywood are does the industry care and will celebrities attend the 80th anniversary awards ceremony on January 10, 2023?

Going by the picture emerging on Monday morning, the answers appear to be “most likely, especially if your film has been nominated” and “yes, with some exceptions”.

Ongoing reform

The HFPA is undergoing a process of reformation as it tries to claw its way back into Hollywood’s good graces after last year’s LA Times bombshell revealed financial and ethical impropriety and a lack of diversity among membership.

Led by president Helen Hoehne, the organisation has invited 21 new members to join and enlisted 103 international voters based outside the US including FIPRESCI members (none of the 103 are HFPA members), resulting in a 200-strong voting body. Hoehne has stated publicly that 52% of voters are female and 51.5% are racially and ethnically diverse, adding in a recent interview that “a lot of voters” identify as LGBTQIA+.

There is a universal ban on members receiving gifts, the group has eliminated HFPA-only press conferences, set up a misconduct hotline, and it has emerged that only HFPA members who work on committees will receive a “stipend”. Meanwhile Eldridge Industries run by HFPA interim CEO Todd Boehly, the American businessman who leads a consortium that owns Chelsea Football Club in the UK, wants to create a private venture to run the Golden Globes and continue the HFPA’s philanthropic work through a separate non-profit entity.

Perspective shift

When Screen spoke to studio representatives and awards strategists several months ago the overriding mindset was “wait and see”. However as the Golden Globes nominations draw nearer the perspective appears to have shifted among some Hollywood constituents, especially in light of the group’s ongoing reforms within an industry that everybody readily concedes is imperfect.

Several sources who spoke on condition of anonymity on Monday acknowledged the value of a Golden Globe nomination, citing the same reasons as they have done in the past. A nod from the HFPA is a useful marketing tool on the long road to the Oscars and can provide a timely fillip for the box office prospects of less accessible films.

It should be noted that submissions were not required by the HFPA for awards consideration this year. Also, the group’s choices and those of Academy voters, plus the way the HFPA splits some categories between drama and musical or comedy, mean broad correlations cannot be taken for granted when interpreting Globes nominations. However there is little doubt that HFPA recognition increases the noise around a film or individual work.

Hence several studios took to social media on Monday morning to trumpet recognition for their films, including Paramount (best drama, best song for Top Gun: Maverick), Marvel (Angela Bassett supporting actress, best song for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), and Sony (best song for Where The Crawdads Sing).

However that does not necessarily mean a studio or streamer with nominations will actively campaign for a Globe in the run-up to the ceremony. Sources are weighing up the situation and would not commit to a clear strategy at time of writing.

In some cases the view among personal publicists and awards strategists – who, like the distributors, shunned the HFPA during the last cycle – has also been changing. While some are keeping their distance this season and prefer to see how things unfold (a number preferred to keep their own counsel), others are willing to move on. “The controversy over the Golden Globes is more or less done,” declared one source who is close to a number of campaigns this season. “People like the show and everybody likes getting nominated.”

When the brouhaha over the LA Times exposé engulfed the group, many in Hollywood took a firm stance and demanded meaningful change before they would consider working with the HFPA again. That prompted some to decry what they saw as unfair treatment of an organisation which clearly had shortcomings, but nonetheless had brought benefits to the many industry professionals who had engaged with it for decades. Nominations and wins can boost box office and viewership demand and bring bonuses for those who work on the campaigns.

Those who led the charge against the HFPA argued that they had advocated for change for years and were not just reacting to the LA Times article. In light of the HFPA’s ongoing reforms there has a been a reevaluation. Crucially Kelly Bush Novak, the founder of powerhouse agency ID, is on board, telling The New York Times today: “Many of us – in a truly collective effort – held the organization accountable, and many of us are encouraged by the strides and commitment that have resulted.” Novak added that while the HFPA needs to do more work to reform itself, she will encourage clients to participate in campaigns. 

On the talent side, several high-profile personalities took to Twitter on Monday morning to promote their nominations. They include The Son lead Hugh Jackman (whose attendance at the ceremony remains a question mark as he is currently starring on Broadway revival The Music Man, which ends on January 15), and The Banshees Of Inisherin’s Barry Keoghan, who is nominated in the supporting category alongside Brendan Gleeson and posted a picture of himself and lead actor nominee Colin Farrell. “I’m seeing a weird level of enthusiasm,” noted one industry insider. 

The ceremony returns

The Golden Globes ceremony at The Beverly Hilton itself has traditionally been the most enjoyable of all the shows on the circuit; a light-hearted night when celebrities let their hair down, the drink flows freely and show hosts – most notably in recent years Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler – poke fun at Hollywood’s glitterati and their films.

After NBC dropped this year’s awards ceremony, forcing the HFPA to announce its winners via Twitter from a “private” ceremony (read: no celebrities) on January 9, the broadcaster has returned and will air the 2023 show. It could use high ratings. That the ceremony falls not on the traditional Sunday but on a Tuesday and NBC signed a one-year deal with the HFPA and dick clark productions indicate that the jury is still out. Hoehne has said broadcast arrangements will be revisited after the show.

As Globes chatter returns to Hollywood, the general consensus at this stage is many celebrities will turn up to the January 10 shindig hosted by comedian Jerrod Carmichael. However will Tom Cruise, who famously returned his three Globes after the LA Times article came out and was conspicuously absent from today’s lead actor nominees, make the trip to The Beverly Hilton to support Top Gun: Maverick?

One person who has no plans to attend is best actor (drama) nominee Brendan Fraser, star of The Whale and an Oscar frontrunner. Fraser cited “history” with the HFPA after he alleged he was groped in 2018 by former group president Philip Berk. The latter denied the claims and was kicked out of the HFPA last year when he told members the Black Lives Matter movement was a “racist hate group”.

Lack of female directing nominees

Turning back to the nominations, a couple of international films are recognised (not counting the foreign language category), such as Japanese anime Inu-Oh for animation and Swedish provocateur Ruben Ostlund’s satirical European Film Awards and Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness, which earned two nods.

No woman will vie for the directing prize alongside established male giants like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron or young upstarts the Daniels – nor has any film directed by a woman made it on to the aggregated list of 10 best film contenders combining five dramatic and five musical or comedy contenders.

This comes in a year when Gina Prince-Bythewood, Sarah Polley and Maria Schrader, major talents backed by Hollywood studios, have earned plaudits for The Woman King, Women Talking, and She Said. Polley earned an adapted screenplay nod, yet the overall picture appears at odds with the HFPA president’s comments.

In a statement on social media Women In Film, LA said: ”It seems like we’re making progress until the Globes’ nominations are announced and not one of the many amazing women directors or women-directed movies are nominated in the top categories, and we realize we still have so much work to do.”