Golden Globes, hampered by scandal, set to announce names
NEW YORK (AP) — After scandal and boycott threw the Hollywood Foreign Press Association into disarray and knocked out the Golden Globes televised for a year, the annual film and television are expected to announce the nominations on Monday.
Nominations for the 80th Golden Globe Awards will be announced Monday at 8:35 a.m. EST by George and Mayan Lopez, who will read the nominees on NBC’s “Today” show. The Globes will be televised on January 10, with stand-up comedian Jerrod Carmichael.
This year’s show could be pivotal for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that organizes the Globes. A Los Angeles Times investigation in early 2021 found the group had no black members then, a revelation compounded by other allegations of ethical irregularities. Many stars and studios said they would boycott the show. Tom Cruise returned his three Globes.
After Hollywood rejected the Globes, NBC last year canceled the TV broadcast that would have taken place in January. Instead, the Golden Globes were held quietly in a Beverly Hilton ballroom with no stars in attendance. The winners were announced on Twitter.
Now the Globes are trying to mount a comeback. The biggest question surrounding Monday’s nominations isn’t who will be nominated, but how Hollywood will react. Will the usual press releases and social media celebrations follow? Or many will take the lead from Brendan Fraser – a likely contender this year for his performance in ‘The Whale’ – who has said he won’t be attending the Globes.
In 2018, Fraser said he was groped by longtime HFPA member and former president of the organization Philip Berk at a 2003 event. The HFPA found that Berk “inappropriately touched” Fraser , but that it “was intended to be taken as a joke and not a sexual advance.”
“It’s because of the history I have with them,” Fraser told GQ last month, explaining why he wouldn’t participate. “And my mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me many things, but not that.
Over the past year and a half, the HFPA has reorganized its membership and enacted reforms aimed at reducing unethical behavior. The group added new members, including six black voting members.
Bringing the Globes back to the air, NBC praised the HFPA for its ongoing reforms, but also reworked its contract. The network will air the 2023 show under a one-year contract. It also moved the telecast to a Tuesday, instead of the previous Sunday night’s perch of the Globes.
Known for its boozy, celebrity-filled show, the Globes has long been one of the most-watched non-sports live programs of the year. But ratings, as they have for most awards shows, have slipped for the Globes in recent years. The 2021 show, held amid the pandemic, was watched by 6.9 million people, up from 18 million the previous year.
The HFPA also sold the Globes earlier this year to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, who transformed it from a nonprofit to a for-profit enterprise. The company also owns Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Globes, and the awards’ longtime home, the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
For Hollywood studios, the Globes can be a useful marketing tool that helps draw audiences to award contenders ahead of the Oscars, which this year will be held on March 12. Over the past year, no other awards body has emerged to replace the Globes. And with modest ticket sales so far for many of the fall’s most acclaimed dramas, some industry players are surely hoping to see the Globes return to its former glory.
Some of the favorites this year include the metaverse adventure “Everything Everywhere all at Once,” Steven Spielberg’s autobiography “The Fabelmans” and Martin McDonagh’s friends-enemies drama “The Banshees of Inisherin.” The biggest box office hit of the year, “Top Gun: Maverick,” could also be in the game. Could Cruise be nominated again?
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