Boycotted this year, have the Golden Globes lost their luster?

No stars, no red carpet, no television broadcast: This year’s Golden Globes winners will be announced in a very small ceremony this Sunday. With this change in plans, the question remains, are these awards still relevant?

Hollywood studios tend to use the prestige of the Golden Globes as an impetus to promote their movies and television shows. This year, however, they are boycotting the traditional gala.

“Right now, the majority in Hollywood is not paying attention to the Golden Globes.”Says Marc Malkin, senior editor for culture and events at Variety magazine.

“If Hollywood is not recognizing these awards in any way, what do they really mean? I think any”He added.

The boycott is the result of years of questionable practices by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), in charge of voting for the awards.

Hollywood inner circles had accused the group, of about a hundred writers specializing in entertainment and linked to foreign publications, of various crimes such as corruption and racism.

But the weight of this ceremony – surpassed only in prestige by the Oscars – kept criticism in the background, until the Los Angeles Times revealed that the HFPA had no black members, setting off a chain reaction.

NBC broadcaster, which held the rights to the broadcast, pulled the show from its grid this year.

Thus, the 79th edition of the Golden Globe Awards will not have an audience, media coverage or stars. The new wave of the pandemic is, however, what the organizers argued to justify this drastic change.

But Malkin claims that “the Hollywood Foreign Press Association did try to bring celebrities to come and announce this year’s winners of the Golden Globes. And no celebrities, none, agreed.”

Barometer

It is a very distant reality from the role that this award had, considered the “hollywood favorite party”, And the first big event of the awards season.

The films awarded with the Golden Globes, even barely nominated, usually reported increases in the box office, so in previous years the studios invested in huge billboards in Los Angeles to show these recognitions.

This year’s favorites are “Belfast“By Kenneth Branagh, and”The power of the dogBy Jane Campion, with seven nominations each.

But there are no billboards exhibiting this, or social media highlights of the films, unlike what happens with the Film Critics Awards, film festivals and other local nominations.

“If you get a Golden Globe but don’t celebrate it, does it matter?Malkin reflects.

Sure, Hollywood loves a good revival story, and few would risk publicly dismissing the possibility of these famous awards being redeemed.

“A golden statue is a golden statue. For decades this has been the barometer of success”Says Richard Licata, a communications strategist and CEO of Licata & Co.

“The Golden Globes have always mattered to those who are campaigning for an Oscar or an Emmy“, Add.

After the scandal broke, the HFPA rushed to make changes. In 2021, the association admitted more members, in number and diversity, than in previous years.

It banned its members from accepting gifts and lavish hotel stays, courtesy of vote-seeking studios.

“With the passage of time, and the reorganization in the HFPA, which has regained control, I think that some people have interpreted the boycott as more of a personal vendetta”, Licata opines.

Although the studios maintain their distance from the HFPA in public, showbiz sources have reported that association members have quietly received links to see the films and have been invited to premieres, many times at the request of their lead stars.

Resurgence?

So are the Golden Globes still important?

“They were not important during the boycott ”, Licata says. “This is an industry that has a long history of forgiveness. They collapse something and after a certain period of time, everything is forgiven ”.

The specialist summed up without hesitation: “Yes, I believe that the Golden Globes will resurface”.