The show must go on—but should it?
Last week the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that it would move forward with handing out Golden Globe Awards for the films and TV shows of 2021. This news came as a shock to most of the industry after a tumultuous year for the organization, one that resulted in a coalition of P.R. representatives and studios such as Netflix, Amazon, and WarnerMedia announcing they would not work with the group until significant changes were made. NBC, which has aired the Globes since 1996, also announced it would not broadcast the 2022 awards. This all leads to a major and so far unanswered question: What exactly does the HFPA have planned?
“I do understand that they wanted to do something because skipping a year and then trying to return to a show that’s televised seems almost impossible,” said one publicist. “The further away they get from something that looks like what the Globes was, the harder it would be for them to return.”
Since the February Los Angeles Times article that surfaced many of the HFPA’s long-standing problems, including a lack of diversity in its membership and numerous ethical lapses, changes have been made. The group announced new bylaws in August and 21 new members in October, including six Black members. But even with those steps toward change, most awards insiders had assumed that the HFPA would skip any sort of event for the 2021 season.
And yet, on October 15, new president Helen Hoehne and interim CEO Todd Boehly sent out a letter to some publicists announcing their calendar for awards submissions, which was also posted on the HFPA website. Submissions for consideration are due November 15, and nominations will be announced on December 13, with the awards scheduled for January 9, 2022. Unlike some critics groups, the HFPA requires potential nominees to submit themselves for consideration—and it remains unclear how many studios will even be willing to take that step.
“It seems very messy,” one top publicist told Vanity Fair after the news broke. “I think it continues to be complicated.”
According to sources, the studio executives are waiting to see how the publicists feel about the submission process, and vice versa. There is already some talk that certain streaming companies may not submit at all. “Who is going to want to be first? Who is going to want to be the first person to say, ‘I’ll do a press conference’? No one is going to want to be first,” said a publicist. “I feel like the HFPA has to get the core studios on board for something in a uniform way, otherwise people are going to be very fearful they’re going to be called out.”
And even if there are enough submissions, what will the group do about talent or studios that choose not to submit, which could potentially exclude some of the top films or shows of the year? Or people who might be nominated but don’t necessarily want the honor? “Assuming they’re nominated, will people publicly reject their nominations?” asked a publicist. “And will they consider people who did not want to be submitted?”
There’s also a question of how voters will see all the eligible films. Some, like Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, won’t be released until December. Traditionally, studios set up screenings specifically for HFPA voters, but that has not been the case this year. Some of the journalists in the organization do have access to the films and shows through their own work, but it’s a very different system from the years when every HFPA member had the studios catering to them and setting up screenings specifically for them.
It’s also unclear what the HFPA’s show may look like. Some sources think that in the end the HFPA will host more of a press conference announcement, while others assume it is forging ahead with some sort of dinner or other event with talent and guests. Though, without the NBC broadcast, the appeal of that may be limited. “Sure, you can use the title ‘Golden Globe winner’ in the marketing material, but without the broadcast, what’s the point of attending?” said one publicist.
And in an added twist to all this, the HFPA chose to plant the flag for its awards event on January 9, which the Critics Choice Awards had already claimed for themselves after NBC dropped the Globes. The increasing tension between these two groups seems to have reached a tipping point with this move. Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin sent a terse note out to members soon after the HFPA’s announcement: “The purpose of this memo is to reassure every CCA member that our 27th annual Critics Choice Awards show is going to be our biggest and best yet and can only be helped by this hostile announcement from the new leadership of this other group.”
“If you’re trying to seem more user-friendly, that’s not going to help,” said one top publicist of the HFPA’s date choice. Another wondered what talent would attend the HFPA event when the Critics Choice Awards, which have often drawn a crowd rivaling the Globes’ in star wattage, are happening the same night.
The HFPA’s plans will likely become clearer in the coming weeks (Vanity Fair reached out to the representatives for the HFPA but has not received a response). Until then, all insiders seem to agree that the organization is facing an uphill battle, no matter what it has planned. “You’ve got eight weeks to get all these TV and film studios back on board,” said a publicist. “And then somehow you’re going to make peace with everyone and get them to come to your show. That’s a tall order.”
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