The organization behind the Golden Globes is coming under closer scrutiny in light of the cancellation of the televised ceremony due to the writers strike. Who are they?
It seems that there are only 82 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and it is quite a tightly knit group. In order to become a member, two active members must sponsor you. You must live in Southern California and be paid to write for publications outside the United States. Membership applications are only open in February and March of each year. If all of the members deem you worthy and you are accepted into the “voluntary” organization you must immediately pay a $500 initiation fee for a one-year provisional membership. According to my sources there are a lot of politics involved in this process.
This year the 65-year old organization presented $1,200,425 in financial grants to film schools and non-profit organizations. The HFPA is a non-profit organization and receives substantial licensing fees for the network broadcasting rights to the Golden Globe Awards and from associated activities such as Golden Globe Awards pre-shows. The number I heard floating around was about $6 million. So the question now changes from who are they to why should so much attention be given to what 82 people think as opposed to to the 6,5oo members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. (The official name of the Oscarâ organization.)
It beats me. In fact when I see the facts behind the HFPA I am not so impressed with what they think. The only thing that sets them apart is the fact that they award television and movies in the same ceremony. Who else does this? The International Press Academy does this. Not only do they honor television and movies, they also present awards for new media such as DVD’s and Games. They don’t have the multimillion-dollar telecast but they do have quite an impressive list of award winners. There are approximately 250 members of the IPA, which is also a non-profit organization.
Annual Satellite Awards ceremony was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City. This year the IPA honored Kathy Bates with the Mary Pickford Award Annual Satellite Awards ceremony was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City. This year the IPA honored Kathy Bates with the Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry in a ceremony held on December 16, 2007. Dennis Muren was also honored with the Nicola Tesla Awardä in recognition for Visionary Achievements in Visual Technology. A complete list of Satellite Award nominees and winners can be found at pressacademy.com.
The political buzzword these days is change – maybe this is the year of change for more than just our political leaders. I look forward to seeing how all of the upcoming events play out during the awards season.
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