The show must go on — even when nobody is there to watch.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the nominees for its 79th Golden Globes early Monday, even though much of the Hollywood establishment is boycotting the organization and NBC will not air the ceremony.
Kenneth Branagh’s family saga “Belfast” and Jane Campion’s psychodrama “The Power of the Dog” led the pack of film contenders, earning seven nods apiece. Big-league cultural phenomenons such as “Succession” and “Squid Game” scored nods in the television categories.
But when new press association president Helen Hoehne appeared at a podium inside the Beverly Hilton hotel just after 6 a.m. local time Monday, there appeared to be little fanfare: no cheesy music, no loud cheers, scant social media bragging. Bleary-eyed reporters huddled nearby or watched the proceedings via livestream.
Hoehne insisted this has been “a year of change and reflection” for the group. She was then joined onstage by Snoop Dogg, who gamely read a list of nominees, occasionally stumbling over some of the names. (“Sorry about that, Ben,” the rapper said after mispronouncing Ben Affleck’s last name.)
The press association is weathering the most intense public relations storm in its history.
The furor can be traced to a Los Angeles Time investigation, published in February, detailing various ethical lapses inside the group and revealing that its small group of voting members — fewer than 90 at the time — did not include one Black journalist.
The backlash was swift, as the saying goes.
A-list studios said they would boycott the Globes. More than 100 public relations firms claimed their clients would not make nice with the press association until it committed to “profound and lasting change.” Tom Cruise returned three of his shiny statuettes to the group’s headquarters.
NBC, which aired the ceremony for many years, announced in May it would not broadcast the 2022 show because “change of this magnitude takes time and work.” (NBC News and the NBC broadcast networks are both units of NBCUniversal.)
The leaders of the press association insist they can — and will — do better going forward.
The group overhauled its board, added 21 new members (including six Black journalists), revised its code of conduct and implemented other changes.
“We’re writing a new script,” the Golden Globes tweeted last week.
No matter your feelings about the Globes, the latest crop of contenders includes some of the most acclaimed films and television shows from the last year.
The family drama “CODA,” the sci-fi epic “Dune” and the tennis biopic “King Richard” joined “Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog” in the best drama film category.
The best musical or comedy movie race features Joe Wright’s “Cyrano,” Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Tick, Tick … Boom!” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.”
Netflix — the distributor of “Don’t Look Up,” “The Power of the Dog” and “Tick, Tick … Boom” — dominated the film categories, scooping up a total of 17 nominations.
In the television categories, the nominees include HBO’s “Hacks,” Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” and Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso.”
The ceremony is slated for Jan. 9, but the organizers have not released any details about where it would take place or who would attend.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
