February Issue
Ema Nevřelová
February
February might be the shortest month in the Gregorian calendar. Still, in the Hollywood one, it is surely the longest one. It is, after all, a lengthy road from January’s Golden Globes to the Academy Awards—popularly known as the Oscars, taking place in March. It may be the most dreaded month for the film industry but is also a perfect moment to yet again glance at the common people of Hollywood. Even as the film awards seasons are changing, one thing remains constant: the controversies. If, until today, the Golden Globes were known to you only through outfit ratings, this article will get you back on track.
This year marked the 82nd annual ceremony of the Golden Globes. The first soirée was held in early 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association (later renamed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association). A year later, marking the year of true Golden Globes, the president of the HFPA, Marina Cisternas, announced the idea of awarding a statue of “shiny globe on a pedestal”—mirroring the internationality of the Golden Globes.
If you are a newbie to the glistening world of movie awards, you might wonder what films and in which categories can receive the Golden Globe. For this year, there were 27 categories in total; the two most prominent distinctions and a difference from the Oscars is that there are 14 categories for motion pictures and 13 categories for television. Both motion pictures and television are then further divided into drama and comedy or musical categories. On the other hand, the Oscars have only one category: the award for Best Motion Picture.
Enough with technicalities, let’s move to the drama. In August 2020 Kjersti Flaa, a Norwegian entertainment journalist, filed a lawsuit against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association claiming that HFPA “institutionalized culture of corruption.” The association’s members were often said to accept gifts from movie producers and not select new journalists based on merit but personal and other connections. Flaa’s lawsuit and subsequent amendments were dismissed. So what does this “no name” Norwegian journalist have to do with anything?
Flaa has recently gained attention for sharing interviews with celebrities that she found offensive. One of her most watched videos is called “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job” and it fueled the rumors around Blake Lively’s questionable promotion of the movie “It Ends With Us.” Flaa joined the wave of Lively’s old interviews in which the actress often answered arrogantly or made inappropriate jokes, and this led the public to call her out as ignorant or a bully. It further escalated when Lively submitted a legal complaint against Baldoni for sexual harassment and retaliation. Justin Baldoni also filed a lawsuit citing defamation, invasion of privacy and civil extortion. Nothing seems to stop Flaa’s desire to cancel Lively; she still regularly posts videos commenting on Lively’s actions while also shaming other, mostly female, celebrities.
Following Flaa’s unsuccessful lawsuit, in February 2021, the LA Times published several articles based on their investigation into the HFPA. It not only turned out that the members were accepting gifts—such as a vacation to Europe paid by the production team behind the series Emily in Paris—but that there was also not a single black person among the members eligible to vote. Not everything can be old but gold.
These allegations almost ended the golden era as some actors started boycotting the awards. In a giant leap for Hollywood, Tom Cruise returned three of his Golden Globes, shining a light on graver claims that have previously not gained as much media attention. Brendan Fraser, for example, recalled that he had been groped by a member of HFPA. Subsequently, in May 2021, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), a long-term partner of the Golden Globes, announced that it would not televise the Golden Globes ceremony in January 2022 following the controversy. However, to sprinkle it with a bit of hypocrisy, NBC did air the Golden Globes again in 2023. The ceremony ended up not being televised at all in 2022, and while the organizers blamed it on the COVID-19 pandemic, the real reason was much more likely the boycott of the awards by actors and producers from the film industry.
As HFPA was trying to recover from what seemed like an end of Golden Globes, they came up with the golden mean. In June 2023, the Golden Globes were purchased by Eldridge Industries, which vowed to make fundamental changes to the awards. Firstly, they transitioned from a non-profit organization, which was exempt from paying taxes, to a for-profit organization, therefore, dismantling the HFPA. However, the members of the former association could stay as voters for the Golden Globes with the sole difference that they were now being paid. The internet media Vulture claimed that the actor’s “pay is $75,000 per year, and they get insurance — medical and dental.” It makes one wonder what gold made the voters want to stay.
Furthermore, the Chairman of Eldridge Industries, Todd Boehly, to diversify the voting body hired more non-member voters. However, there is no information as to whether they are being paid or not. Gradually, these changes started to be visible and the Golden Globes is slowly repairing its reputation. According to the Golden Globes website, 47 percent of the voters are female from more than 85 countries and 60 percent are racially and ethnically diverse. This vague statement in itself is not persuasive enough, but this year's Golden Globes in the opinions of some, proved that they are worthy of more attention.
Now, let’s recapitulate some of the most striking events from the 2025 Golden Globes award ceremony. Golden Globes are usually hosted by actors and/or comedians. This year marked a major first in the history of the awards as the hostess, Nikki Glaser, was the first solo female to host the event. While some of her jokes left the audience a little cold, overall, her performance was a success as she did not forget to jokingly reminisce about recent events: Donald Trump’s inauguration, a series of lawsuits against P Diddy and so on.
Perhaps one of the most poignant moments was a speech made by Zoe Saldaña for winning the Best Female Supporting Actress for the Netflix musical Emilia Pérez. She started her speech by saying: “I have dyslexia, so I kind of forget when I am really anxious,” not only giving visibility to people with learning disabilities but also to mental health struggles. This is all the more important because films like Emilia Pérez would likely not have received an award or even a nomination under the previous Golden Globes. In 2023, there was not “a single film with strong Black themes, actors or behind-the-camera talent was among the Best Picture nominees in either Drama or Comedy/Musical categories.” Despite there being many adept productions such as The Woman King, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Till.
Another speech that is even speculated to be worthy of the Oscar committee's attention is one made by Demi Moore after she received the award for Best Actress in a Horror for her performance in Substance. She went viral for her touching speech in which she acknowledged that: “Thirty years ago I had a producer tell me that I was ‘popcorn actress’ and at that time I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have.” Moore reminded us of the importance of self-confidence and how rewarding it can be to prove people wrong—especially those who made us doubt ourselves.
Although a little forgotten in the past few years, Adrien Brody made a memorable speech for the Best Actor for the drama The Brutalist. It is a movie about a Jewish Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States. Brody alluded that the plot is in some ways similar to his mother’s side of the family's journey to the United States and he expressed hope that the movie would give visibility to those immigrating and suffering with the process.
After reading through the whirlwind that Golden Globes are, you might be asking the important question: who will win this year’s Oscars? There is no direct tie between the awards, nevertheless, the Golden Globes are often seen as a predictor of the potential Oscar winners. One of the influential factors of Oscar’s committee are reportedly the speeches made by the actresses and actors at the Golden Globes. The nominations for Best Picture include the already discussed The Substance, Emilia Peréz and The Brutalist. Apart from those mentioned, this year was strong for musicals and/ or music-related dramas, with Wicked leaving us wanting to hold space for one another through nails-holding or Timothée Chalamet reminding us that Bob Dylan is still alive in Bob Dylan: A Complete Unknown. In my opinion, this year’s winner should be the political and biographical drama I’m Still Here, portraying the story of an incredibly resilient Brazilian woman, Eunice Paiva. This is just a fraction of Oscar nominations, yet they are names that we will likely keep hearing even as the year progresses.
So what do the Golden Globes teach us about the film industry? Apart from the obvious elitism and unreasonable standards it sets in most aspects of our lives, it highlights the necessity of appreciating one's work. In some cases, it emphasizes the importance of sharing happy moments with those who understand and support you. Perhaps from a more career-focused point of view, the awards also present a wonderful opportunity for filmmakers, actresses, and actors to get widespread recognition. This is where we are getting to the uglier side of Hollywood, which sadly is not prominent only in the film industry. It is the gender pay gap, the fact that actresses and actors sometimes had to endure sexual violence, racism, and other forms of discrimination without being listened to when they spoke out. Yet, the change in the Golden Globes voting body sends a positive message about the kind of environment and type of work the film industry and those tied to it appreciate. While Hollywood has never been gold and shiny, there might still be a chance for reform, if the pressure is strong enough.
Photo source: Peter Dutton, Wikimedia commons