NEW YORK — Despite widespread criticism, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Monday’s nominees for television and film awards despite a skeptical industry.
As it has done in many years, the HFPA gathered reporters to the Beverly Hilton to announce the 79th Golden Globes winners. This time, however, there were no celebrity celebrations or live morning shows.
Instead of having a few movie stars announce their nominations, the HFPA turned to Snoop Dogg who read them behind sunglasses and a red hat. This year, the majority of studios and public relations firms have not engaged with the group. Critics say it’s too early for the HFPA return to business as normal. Some prefer to see the Globes go for good.
The press association did its best to maintain its position in awards season. It spread nominations to Will Smith (King Richard), Kristen Stewart(Spencer), West Side Story breakthrough Rachel Zegler and Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”), Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar, Lady Gaga (House of Gucci).
The drama nominees were Jane Campion’s Gothic Western The Power of the Dog and Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune. The family drama CODA was also nominated. Reinaldo MarcusGreen’s tennis biopic King Richard, Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical Belfast were also among the nominees.
The best comedy or musical picks were: Adam McKay’s apocalyptic comedy Don’t Look Up; Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1970s San Fernando Valley comedy Licorice Pizza; Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story; Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Tick, Tick, Boom!” Joe Wright’s Cyrano.
With seven nominations each, Belfast and The Power of the Dog were tied for the most. Netflix was the dominant film nominee with 17 nominations.
Criticisms arose from a poor record in diversity
Normaly, such honors would spark a frenzy of joy from early-roused nominees. Studio executives would also shout their victories in calls with reporters and on social media. No nominee celebrated publicly Monday morning.
According to the press association, it claims that it has rebuilt itself in the nine months since 2021’s show. Helen Hoehne, recently elected president of HFPA 2.0, said that.
The group added a chief diversity officer, restructured its board, inducted 21 new members including six Black journalists, and brought in the NAACP for a five year partnership. It also updated its code of conduct.
Hoehne stated Monday that “This year has been one of reflection and change for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.”
All this happened after a Los Angeles Times expose exposed the HFPA’s unethical behavior. It also revealed that 87 of its voting members did not include a single Black journalist. Studios declared they would not participate in the Globes, and over 100 PR films stated that their clients would not take part until the HFPA quickly implemented “profound, lasting change.” Tom Cruise gave his Globes back to the group.
NBC, Globes’ long-time telecaster has stated that it will not air the 2022 Globes as “change of such magnitude requires time and work.” Although the Globes have set a January 9 date, they have not shared details about the type of ceremony.
The Globes’ strength has been largely due to its energetic telecast, which is regularly one of most-watched nonsports broadcasts of each year. Many of the award-hoping hopefuls will use the Globes as a marketing tool. Few people expect to see TV commercials and ads promoting a film’s Golden Globes nominations this year.
