Although many critics have forced the Foreign Press Association in Hollywood to put a stop to its televised Golden Globes gala, but also to review its composition, the organization nevertheless announced on Monday the finalists for its cinema awards and of television, with a certain indifference from the industry.
As has been done for many years, the association gathered journalists at the Beverly Hilton to announce its finalists for the 79th Golden Globes. But this time around, there was no live morning show or immediate celebrations from big Hollywood stars.
It was Snoop Dogg who churned out the finalist list, but the majority of major studios, PR firms and top artist agents haven’t rubbed shoulders with the association much this year. Many felt it was too early for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to resume operations as usual – some would even prefer to see the Globes disappear for good.
But the controversial association did its best on Monday to maintain its spot as a “scout” in awards season, dividing the nominations around Will Smith (“King Richard”), Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”), new “West Side Story” Maria Rachel Zegler, Leonardo DiCaprio (“Cosmic Denial”), Denzel Washington (“Macbeth”), Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”) and Lady Gaga (“The Gucci Saga”).
Nominations for best dramatic film went to Jane Campion’s gothic western “The Power of the Dog”, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune”, family drama “CODA”, tennis biopic by Reinaldo Marcus Green “King Richard” and the autobiographical story “Belfast” by Kenneth Branagh.
In the comedy or musical film category, the finalists are: Adam McKay’s apocalyptic comedy “Cosmic Denial”, Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedy “Licorice Pizza”, Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”, “tick, tick … Boom! “By Lin-Manuel Miranda and” Cyrano “by Joe Wright.
“Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog” tied for most nominations, with seven each. Netflix dominates the number of finalists for films with 17 nominations in total.
No waves
Normally, such accolades would trigger a wave of joy from the finalists and their studios, who would trumpet their triumphs on social media and on calls with journalists. But on Monday morning, no candidate immediately celebrated – publicly, at least.
The association says that in the nine months that have passed since its 2021 gala, it has rebuilt itself. The organization added a diversity officer, reshuffled its board of directors, inducted 21 new members, including six black journalists, brought civil rights organization NAACP into a five-year partnership, and updated its code of conduct.
Because an article in the Los Angeles Times had earlier detailed some of the unethical behavior of the HFPA and revealed that among its 87 voting members, there were no black journalists. Studios have said they will boycott the Golden Globes and more than 100 public relations firms have said their clients will not participate until the HFPA quickly implements “deep and lasting change.” Tom Cruise even returned his three Golden Globes.
Longtime Globes broadcaster NBC has said it will not air the 2022 gala because “a change of this magnitude takes time and effort.” The Globes organization still plans to announce the awards on January 9, but has not given any details on the type of ceremony.
Much of the power of the Globes has always resided in its hysterical gala, often one of the most-watched non-sports shows of the year in the United States. The Globes also serve as a promotional tool for many hopeful awards hitting theaters in December. But this year, few expect to see TV commercials trumpeting the Golden Globe nominations.