This weekend’s 65th Golden Globe Awards ceremonies in Los Angeles are the latest victim of the ongoing labor strike by American entertainment writers. On Sunday, the awards will be presented during a news conference at the Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California instead of the traditional annual televised event.
The Golden Globe Awards are conducted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and honor television and motion picture achievements. They are a prelude to next month’s next month’s Academy Awards whose ceremony and telecast are also in jeopardy if the strike continues. HFPA President Jorge Camara expressed disappointment that a full Golden Globe awards presentation would not proceed this year.
Members of the Writers Guild of America walked off the job in November. The HFPA unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a deal with the union to allow writers to work on the Golden Globe event.
Background
The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. Run as a fundraiser since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the awards are a major part of the film industry’s “awards season” which culminates each year with the Oscars and Screen Actors Guild Awards. This is particularly true since 1996, when the HFPA signed a new television broadcast contract with NBC (prior to that, they were aired on TBS, but before the existence of TBS, one of the “big three” commercial networks, i.e. CBS, NBC, or ABC, always broadcast the show). The broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards generally ranks as the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars and Grammys, and film studios actively solicit support from HFPA members and mention nominations and awards in their advertisements. The Golden Globes has grown to one of the highest honors for actors and actresses. The Golden Globe’s similar British equivalent, considered equal in prestige, is the BAFTA.
The Golden Globes are awarded early in the year, based on votes from (as of 2005) 86 mostly part-time journalists living in Hollywood and affiliated with media outside of the United States.
Unlike the Academy Awards, for which the eligibility period begins January 1, the eligibility period for the Golden Globe Awards begins October 1.
Unlike the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Emmys, the Golden Globe Awards is one of two major Hollywood awards ceremonies (the other being the Screen Actors Guild Awards) that does not have a regular host; although, there is a presenter every year who introduces the ceremony at the beginning of the broadcast.
History
The first Golden Globes Awards were held in 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studios. It has since been held annually, at various locations throughout the next decade, notably the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hollywood Knickerbocker Club and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. It was during the early stages of the 1950s that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish a special award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. To give importance to the award and recognize its subject as an international figure in the entertainment industry the award was presented to Cecil B. DeMille in 1952, the official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The award was then first presented to Walt Disney the following year.
The awards at the ceremony had typically been presented by journalists who were part of the association. However at the 1958 Golden Globes which was the first year of local telecast, in an impromptu action, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. collectively known as the Rat Pack took flight to the stage, allegedly taking over the presenting with whiskey and cigarettes on hand. The action was met with great delight of the audience. The next year the association asked them to present the awards.
In 1963, the Miss Golden Globe concept was introduced, in its inaugural year; there were two Miss Golden Globes, one for film and television respectively, Eva Six and Donna Douglas. In 1964, national telecast was distributed through a special segment on The Andy Williams Show.
Indicating the impact that animated films have had on the industry, in early 2006, the Hollywood Foreign Press announced that a Golden Globe would be awarded for the Best Animated Feature starting in 2006 at the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards.[1]
2008 disruption
On January 7, 2008 it was announced that, due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards would not be telecast live. The ceremony was faced with a threat by actors to boycott the ceremony rather than cross picket lines and by striking writers threatening to picket the event. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association which hosts the Golden Globes and NBC were forced to adopt another approach for the broadcast.
To fill the four hours of programming from 7:00-11:00pm EST the network already had sold to advertisers, NBC will broadcast a special two-hour edition of Dateline, including film clips, interviews with the nominees, plus commentary from comedienne Kathy Griffin and the panelists from Football Night in America, starting at 7:00pm EST; a one-hour Hollywood Foreign Press Association news conference announcing the winners at The Beverly Hilton Hotel starting at 9:00pm EST; and a one-hour edition of Access Hollywood visiting sites of the various previously-scheduled parties, starting at 10:00pm EST. [2]
“We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007′s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television,” said Jorge Camara, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. “We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year’s Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled.”
Award categories
Motion picture awards: Exclusively awarded until 1956
* Best Motion Picture – Drama
* Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* Best Director – Motion Picture
* Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
* Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
* Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
* Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
* Best Screenplay
* Best Original Score
* Best Original Song
* Best Foreign Language Film
* Best Animated Feature (2006-present)
* Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement in Motion Pictures.
Television awards: First Awarded in 1956
* Best Drama
* Best Comedy or Musical
* Best Actor in a Television Drama Series
* Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical
* Best Actress in a Television Drama Series
* Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical
* Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
* Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
* Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
* Best Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
* Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
Retired awards:
* Best Documentary Film · Last awarded in 1977 at the 30th Annual Golden Globe Awards
* Best English-Language Foreign Film This award allowed British films, such as Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet, which was of course made in English, to be given their own category.
* Most Promising Newcomer – Male
* Most Promising Newcomer – Female
