Golden Globe: Why the second most important film award is falling

Golden Globe
Why the second most important film award is falling

The Golden Globes are in deep crisis

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The organization behind the Golden Globes has been accused of being corruptible, sexist and racist. This is not new.

The Golden Globes are in crisis: Tom Cruise (58) has announced that he will return his three trophies, his colleague Mark Ruffalo (53) is ashamed of his award, Amazon and Netflix no longer want to work with the Globes, the home broadcaster NBC says Broadcast for the coming year. What happened?

Under criticism: the HFPA

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is behind the Globes. An organization whose members are primarily Hollywood-based journalists who publish their work in the non-American press. Like the electoral criteria for the Golden Globes, the criteria for admission to the HFPA are also considered to be non-transparent. Members are only accepted at the suggestion of two active members. The SZ calls it “a group of questionable journalists who are little known to the public.” According to the Los Angeles Times, an undisclosed member confirmed: “Many members are not serious journalists. We take in people who are not real journalists because they do not pose a threat to anyone.”

The accusation of racism

The organization currently has 87 members. According to research by the “Los Angeles Times” The HFPA has a few “People of Color”, but not a single black member in its ranks. “It is often said that they disregard films and series with black people in the leading roles,” the ARD quoted a journalist from the newspaper. This is also confirmed by this year’s nomination list, on which films with black leading actors or by black directors, who were often nominated at the Oscars, were apparently ignored by the HFPA jury. According to the Los Angeles Times, a representative of the organization reacted to this accusation with the words: “We do not control the individual votes of our members.”

Not the individual votes, but the composition of its members does. In April, Philip Berk (88), who at the time had been a member of the HFPA for 44 years and was its president for six years, was expelled after he wrote an extremely critical article about the “Black Lives Matter” in a group email among HFPA members “Movement describing it as a” racist hate group “.

The sexism charge

So far it has mainly been about a lack of transparency and diversity. But there is also talk of sexism. Scarlett Johansson, 36, stated in a Saturday May 8th, published statementin the past, she had often been forced to ask herself sexist questions and comments from certain HFPA members that bordered on sexual harassment at HFPA press conferences. For years she therefore refused to take part in the conferences. In the statement, she also recalled that the HFPA had been legitimized by Harvey Weinstein, 69, to give the Academy more stamina.

Bribery and moneymaking

The HFPA was repeatedly accused of being corruptible. Ten years ago, the HFPA’s long-time PR chief filed a lawsuit against his former employer that members would accept luxury travel, gifts and other benefits offered by the studios in order to take certain films into account when voting.

A well-known accusation that even Ricky Gervais (59) used as a joke in his opening speech for the Globes 2011. “I want to get rid of the rumor that ‘The Tourist’ was nominated for one reason only, and that was so that HFPA members could meet Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. That is not the only reason. They bribed each other too let: They got free tickets for a Cher concert. How is that supposed to be a bribe? Do you want to see Cher? Of course not! Why not? Because we are no longer writing 1975. “

Some members are also said to use their privileges to make money: gifts are said to have been sold online – or even the tickets for the Golden Globe awards. In 2017, HFPA member Munawar Hosain is said to have sold his ticket for $ 39,000, according to “The Wrap”. He claims it was different, but didn’t get a ticket himself for the next two years. Last year, a member reportedly went on sale for $ 10,000 – as well as after-party tickets for $ 2,000.

Board of Directors praises improvement

After all the criticism, the board has now announced reforms. The plan is to take on more members while paying attention to diversity. In addition, promotional gifts should no longer be accepted. Whether that is enough and whether the path to the Oscar in awakened Hollywood will also lead across the globe in the future, however, can be doubted.

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