LOS ANGELES.- With new owners, a change in the television channel and a completely renewed jury, the Golden Globes They hope to break their scandal-plagued past when they reveal their nominations on Monday.
These film and television awards used to be the most followed behind the Oscars. The ceremony, with a relaxed tone, functioned as a fun start to the United States awards season.
But they have lost their luster due to accusations of racism and corruption. And some in Hollywood believe that the reforms put in place to correct the situation raise new ethical problems.
For decades, the Golden Globes have been administered and awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA): an eclectic group of a hundred journalists who cover the entertainment section for international media, which They are often criticized by industry professionals for being amateurish and opaque.
Behind-the-scenes criticism came to light in 2021, when a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that the organization had no black people in its ranks and that its members accepted lavish gifts.
The ceremony was boycotted the following year throughout Hollywood. Since then, the event continues in search of redemption.
In June, the Golden Globes were bought by a group of private investors, including American billionaire Todd Boehly. The HFPA was dissolved and a new plan was adopted to regain lost prestige.
“Public relations machine”
In this new scenario, members of the former HFPA are now employees of the new Golden Globes company and are paid to watch movies, vote and write articles for the organization’s website.
This is a situation that can potentially generate conflicts of interest, especially since some of the new owners are key players in the industry.
For example, the production company Penske Media, owner of the magazines Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, or the Eldridge company, which has a stake in the A24 film studio, which regularly competes for Hollywood awards.
“There is something unseemly about a Globes voter being paid to write on the Globes website about an actor who could be nominated for a Golden Globe, which will be awarded on the stage of a company-owned ceremony for who works,” the LA Times recently noted in an editorial.
For the newspaper, “the new model appears to be a giant public relations machine.”
However, the new Golden Globes organization defends its reforms.
According to the group, paying a $75,000 salary to Hollywood-based voters would help end the flawed system by which precarious and often independent journalists accepted lavish gifts and lavish press trips paid for by the studios.
For greater impartiality, more than 200 non-member, and therefore unpaid, voters from around the world were also designated. Additionally, the new board includes respected industry veterans, such as former Variety editor Tim Gray.
“I think people in Hollywood and around the world will be happy to see the integrity restored while maintaining a sense of fun,” Gray said in August, praising the “big changes.”
“Oppenheimer” y “Barbie”
The next Golden Globes will take place on January 7 and will be broadcast on the American network CBS, after years in the NBC.
The network is likely to closely watch the viewership generated by this new partnership: In 2023, the ceremony hit an all-time low, with just 6.3 million viewers, down from 18 million in 2020 before the pandemic.
And this despite the presence of industry heavyweights, such as Steven Spielberg, Colin Farrell, Brad Pitt and Michelle Yeoh, which suggested that at least part of Hollywood seemed willing to turn the page.
This year, other big names are scheduled to appear: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr and Ryan Gosling.
The organization hopes that they will not follow the example of Cate Blanchett, who missed the ceremony last January.
As for cinema, the nominations should include the two essential box office hits of the northern summer: “Oppenheimer”, by Christopher Nolan, in the category of best dramatic film, and “Barbie”, by Greta Gerwig, for best comedy.
They will be announced at 1:30 p.m. GMT on Monday.
