No stars, no red carpet and no televsion: this year, the winners of the Golden Globes will be announced Sunday in a ceremony largely revised downwards. The question therefore arises: do these rewards still have a weight?
Hollywood studios usually use the Golden Globes and their glitter as a marketing tool to promote their films and series, but this year they are publicly boycotting them.
“Right now, Hollywood, for the most part, is not paying attention to the Golden Globes,” says Marc Malkin, editor-in-chief of culture and events at the trade publication Variety.
And “if Hollywood is snubbing these awards, how important can they really be? Not huge, I think, ”he told AFP.
The boycott is the result of years of contested practices by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, whose members vote at the Golden Globes.
The group, made up of around 100 people with links to foreign publications, has long been privately accused in Hollywood circles of a series of failings, ranging from corruption to racism.
But the power of the Golden Globes only the Oscars are more influential also meant that any criticism of the group was cautious. Until the Los Angeles Times showed that the association had no black people among its members, opening the door of blame last year.
The NBC channel, which owns the rights to the ceremony, this year decided to skip the television broadcast.
The 79e Golden Globes, which are due to start at 6:00 p.m. Sunday (02:00 GMT Monday), will therefore be held without an audience, without press and without stars.
Officially, the organizers invoked the pandemic.
But, according to Malkin, “the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has tried to bring in celebrities to announce this year’s Golden Globe winners.” “And no celebrity none said yes.”
“Barometer”
We are therefore a long way this time from the role of “Hollywood’s favorite evening” that the Globes usually play, the first major event of the cinema awards season.
Films that win Golden Globes, or garner nominations, usually see their sales increase.
This year, Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” lead the nominations (seven each).
But none of the films’ social media accounts or their trailers made mention of it.
Of course, Hollywood is fond of redemption stories, and few would risk dismissing a Golden Globes comeback altogether.
“A golden statuette is a golden statuette. And for decades, it has been a barometer of success, ”says Richard Licata, expert in television communication and boss of Licata & Co.
“For me, the Globes have always counted for anyone who campaigned for an Oscar or an Emmy,” the television awards, he adds.
Since the scandal of last year, the association has been quick to launch reforms, in particular to diversify its members.
It also prohibited them from accepting luxury gifts or stays in hotels from studios wooing them for their votes.
If today the studios shun the association in public, sources told AFP that members had discreetly received links or DVDs and had been invited to screenings, sometimes at the request of leading stars.
“It’s an industry that has often been forgiven in the past. She will demolish something and then, after a while, she will forgive, ”according to Mr. Licata.
“So yeah, I think the Globes will be making a comeback.”