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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Golden Globes
Peter Howell’s expose:
NBC has exclusive telecast rights, paying the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Productions a reported $6 million (U.S.) annually for the privilege.
But what NBC is buying, and millions are watching (although fewer recently), is the proverbial silk purse made out of a sow’s ear. The Golden Globes is a huge ceremony – presented as serious film and TV awards – that’s tightly controlled by a tiny group whose credentials are often sketchy at best. The event is really a Hollywood love-in staged by star-struck fans at a dinner flowing with booze and oinking with fine food.
The 91 star-worshipping members of the HFPA, the most elite club in Tinseltown, are coddled because they play a major role in helping celebrities and power players get what they really want: an Oscar nomination.
...
Current HFPA members include real-estate agents, car salesmen, showbiz publicists, hairdressers and even a few journalists. All that is required to maintain membership is permanent residence in Southern California (so much for “foreign") and a mere four published articles per year, often in obscure publications that aren’t freely disclosed.
...
The HFPA was created in 1943 by eight foreign journalists living in Hollywood, who were frustrated by their lack of access to top stars. They reasoned that creating their own awards might turn things around, and that thinking paid off.“(The Globes) are a non-event raised to epic proportions by Dick Clark getting them a network television slot,” said David Poland, editor of Movie City News, a widely read Hollywood industry blog.
...
The one thing that can be said about the HFPA is that it is not quite as bogus as it used to be. It cracked down on some of the more egregious aspects of the organization, such as the luxury watches and other freebies that were handed out in years gone by. And the association donates a sizeable portion of its NBC windfall to various film-related charities, which further adds to its growing appeal.
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