The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of entertainment journalists from overseas that built the Golden Globe Awards into a marquee event despite frequent missteps, died Monday after a series of ethics, finance and diversity scandals. It was 80.
The termination of the beleaguered HFPA was announced after California officials agreed to a complex restructuring plan that would allow the Golden Globe Awards to continue.
Eldridge Industries, a holding company owned by billionaire investor Todd Bohley, and Dick Clark Productions, which is part of Penske Media, agreed to buy the American Press Association’s Golden Globes properties for an undisclosed price. Proceeds will go to a new nonprofit, the Golden Globe Foundation, which will continue the HFPA’s philanthropic efforts; It has given more than $50 million to entertainment-related charities over the past three decades.
According to a spokesperson for Aldridge, members of the Foreign Press Association will become employees of a yet-to-be-named for-profit entity that will seek to expand the Golden Globes as a brand. Former members – there are fewer than 100 – will continue to serve as voters for the annual Golden Globe Awards, along with more than 100 non-members, who have been recruited in recent years to make the voting body more diverse. Was.
Los Angeles Times discovered In 2021, the news that the HFPA had no black members caused an outcry in the entertainment industry, resulting in NBC canceling the 2022 Globes telecast. The ceremony returned to NBC in January under a one-year deal. Eldridge and Dick Clark Productions, which produced the Globes telecasts for decades, has since been searching for a new broadcast network or streaming service partner.
The 81st Golden Globe Awards ceremony is scheduled for January 7.
In a statement, Mr. Bohli called the dissolution of the HFPA a “significant milestone in the evolution of the Golden Globes.” He thanked the association’s former president, Helen Hohen, for helping push through reforms, including “a firmer approach to governance”, which helped professionalise an awards body that had long been marred by infighting and scandal. Was known for
“We have an amazing team on board to grow this iconic brand,” Jay Penske, chief executive of Penske Media, said in a statement.
The Foreign Press Association was long considered frivolous and slippery. In the late 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission temporarily booted the Globes from the airwaves, saying they “misled the public as to how winners were determined.” In the 1990s and 2000s, Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein manipulated the organization in ways big and small – with expensive gifts and exclusive access to stars and his time, at a time when other studio heads barely hid their Could have ridiculed. He was often rewarded with a surprising number of nominations.
Hollywood stopped turning a blind eye to the organization’s failures in 2021 after the 2020 killing of George Floyd in police custody sparked a national conversation about racism and inequality. More than 100 publicists refusing to provide stars for Golden Globes appearances contributed to NBC’s cancellation of its 2022 telecast.
