HOLLYWOOD POV: "65th HFPA Golden Globes Results Show: The Big Con"

Thanks to the Writer's Guild strike whose writers refused to give a waiver to the Globes, the 65^th Golden Globes held the most bizarre event so far on the Hollywood awards show docket.  A completely smarmy one-hour-long Access Hollywood-type show announced the winners of the 2008 Golden Globes. Hosted by on-air presenters standing at a podium, and while showing copious clips, they tried hard, but ended up looking like deer caught in the headlights trying to make small talk without the aid of professional writers.

For viewers, losing the Globes is a sad event. It's always the most fun of all the awards shows to watch because the stars all sit together with their ensemble cast-mates at big round tables and have dinner and drinks and joke around while enjoying the show. The audience might miss the red carpet and the great and awful dresses, but the Globes are always the biggest con on the audience... yet the audience has no clue as to why.

For NBC and its advertisers it was a black day. They lost around $20 million in annual ad revenue when the show was cancelled. For the stars, and especially the winners, it was also a black day as they could not celebrate their win - no matter how little it really matters in the big picture - publicly.

The HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) is a tiny cliquish group of foreign entertainment journalists  - and each of those words were used extremely liberally in this definition - whose votes determine the "winners." The Globes are always promoted as a major Hollywood event, and there's no reason for the public to not accept it as such. But the Globes are not real, they are not decided by the people who have made films and television their life's work, the Globes are decided by a small cabal of foreigners who have found the greatest private screening club on the planet.

Only a handful of these HFPA journalists are actually full-time film journalists, most are freelancers who work only occasionally for very obscure publications, not even Le Monde, the Guardian, or Haaretz are represented. HFPA requires members to write only four articles per year to maintain their membership and voting privileges. The HFPA is one of the most restricted film screening groups in the world and membership is hard to get. They consider only five new members per year and any member can veto any candidate. With attrition from dead members and those who failed to write the minimum four pieces per year, that means that this year only 82 people chose the winners of the Golden Globes. Talk about a set-up! Remember this when you read the results. Only 82 people voted and most are not full time film critics. Does this make sense to you? It will only if you own the television station that airs the show, this year it was NBC.

At least this year the HFPA made the right choice in a few of the winners, especially Marion Coutillard, Julian Schnabel, and Daniel Day-Lewis.

65^th HFPA Golden Globes Results

!Winner is in bold !

Best Motion Picture - Drama

American Gangster
Imagine Entertainment/Scott Free Productions; Universal Pictures

! Atonement
Working Title Films Limited; Focus Features

Eastern Promises
Kudos Pictures/Serendipity Point Films; Focus Features

The Great Debaters
Harpo Films; The Weinstein Company/MGM

Michael Clayton
Samuels Media and Castle Rock Entertainment a Mirage Enterprises/Section 8 Production; Warner Bros. Pictures

No Country For Old Men
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production; Miramax Films/Paramount Vantage

There Will Be Blood
A Joanne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production; Paramount Vantage/Miramax Films

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age

! Julie Christie - Away From Her

Jodie Foster - The Brave One

Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart

Keira Knightley - Atonement

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

George Clooney - Michael Clayton

! Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

James McAvoy - Atonement

Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Denzel Washington - American Gangster

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Across The Universe
Revolution Studios; Sony Pictures Releasing

Charlie Wilson's War
Universal Pictures/Relativity Media/Participant Productions/Playtone; Universal Pictures

Hairspray
Zadan/Meron Productions / New Line Cinema in association with Ingenious Film Partners; New Line Cinema

Juno
Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production; Fox Searchlight Pictures

! Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Parkes/MacDonald and Zanuck Company; DreamWorks/Paramount Distribution / Warner Bros. Pictures

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Amy Adams - Enchanted

Nikki Blonsky - Hairspray

Helena Bonham Carter - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

! Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose

Ellen Page - Juno

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

! Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Ryan Gosling - Lars and the Real Girl

Tom Hanks - Charlie Wilson's War

Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Savages

John C. Reilly - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

! Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

Julia Roberts - Charlie Wilson's War

Saoirse Ronan - Atonement

Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone

Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Casey Affleck - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford

! Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War

John Travolta - Hairspray

Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Best Animated Feature Film

Bee Movie
DreamWorks Animation; DreamWorks Animation

! Ratatouille
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Pixar Animation Studios

The Simpsons Movie
Gracie Films; Twentieth Century Fox

Best Foreign Language Film

4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days (Romania)
Mobra Films; IFC Films

! The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (France, United States)
A Kennedy/Marshall Company and Jon Kilik Production; Miramax Films

The Kite Runner (United States)
DreamWorks Pictures Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Paramount Classics Participant Productions Present a Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Parkes/Macdonald Production Distributed by Paramount Classics

Lust, Caution (Taiwan)
Mr. Yee Productions LLC; Focus Features

Persepolis (France)
247 Films; Sony Pictures Classics

Best Director - Motion Picture

Tim Burton - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen - No Country For Old Men

! Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Ridley Scott - American Gangster

Joe Wright - Atonement

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Atonement
Written by Christopher Hampton

Charlie Wilson's War
Written by Aaron Sorkin

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Written by Ronald Harwood

Juno
Written by Diablo Cody

! No Country For Old Men
Written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Grace Is Gone
Composed by Clint Eastwood

The Kite Runner
Composed by Alberto Iglesias

! Atonement
Composed by Dario Marianelli

Eastern Promises
Composed by Howard Shore

Into The Wild
Composed by Michael Brook, Kaki King and Eddie Vedder

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"Despedida" - Love In The Time Of Cholera
Music By: Shakira and Antonio Pinto
Lyrics By: Shakira

"Grace Is Gone" - Grace Is Gone
Music By: Clint Eastwood
Lyrics By: Carole Bayer Sager

! "Guaranteed" - Into The Wild
Music & Lyrics By: Eddie Vedder

"That's How You Know" - Enchanted
Music By: Alan Menken
Lyrics By: Stephen Schwartz

"Walk Hard" - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Music & Lyrics By: Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan

Best Television Series - Drama

Big Love (HBO)
Anima Sola and Playtone Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Damages (FX NETWORK)
FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television

Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
ABC Studios

House (FOX)
Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with Universal Media Studios

! Mad Men (AMC)
Lionsgate

The Tudors (SHOWTIME)
Showtime Presents in association with Peace Arch Entertainment, Working Title, Reveille Productions Limited, An Ireland-Canada Co-Production

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Patricia Arquette - Medium (NBC)

! Glenn Close - Damages (FX NETWORK)

Minnie Driver - The Riches (FX NETWORK)

Edie Falco - The Sopranos (HBO)

Sally Field - Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Holly Hunter - Saving Grace (TNT)

Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer (TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Michael C. Hall - Dexter (SHOWTIME)

! Jon Hamm - Mad Men (AMC)

Hugh Laurie - House (FOX)

Bill Paxton - Big Love (HBO)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers - The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

30 Rock (NBC)
Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc.

Californication (SHOWTIME)
Showtime Presents in association with Aggressive Mediocrity, and Then..., Twilight Time Films

Entourage (HBO)
Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

! Extras (HBO)
BBC and HBO Entertainment

Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Living Dead Guy Productions, The Jinks/Cohen Company in association with Warner Bros. Television

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Christina Applegate - Samantha Who? (ABC)

America Ferrera - Ugly Betty (ABC)

! Tina Fey - 30 Rock (NBC)

Anna Friel - Pushing Daisies (ABC)

Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock (NBC)

Steve Carell - The Office (NBC)

! David Duchovny - Californication (SHOWTIME)

Ricky Gervais - Extras (HBO)

Lee Pace - Pushing Daisies (ABC)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)
A Wolf Films/Traveler's Rest Production in association with HBO Films

The Company (TNT)
Sony Pictures Television

Five Days (HBO)
HBO Films in association with BBC Films

! Longford (HBO)
A Granada Production in association with Channel 4 and HBO Films

The State Within (BBC)
BBC, BBC America

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Bryce Dallas Howard - As You Like It (HBO)

! Queen Latifah - Life Support (HBO)

Debra Messing - The Starter Wife (USA)

Sissy Spacek - Pictures Of Hollis Woods (CBS)

Ruth Wilson - Jane Eyre (PBS)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Adam Beach - Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)

Ernest Borgnine - A Grandpa For Christmas

! Jim Broadbent - Longford (HBO)

Jason Isaacs - The State Within (BBC)

James Nesbitt - Jekyll (BBC)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Rose Byrne - Damages (FX NETWORK)

Rachel Griffiths - Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Katherine Heigl - Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

! Samantha Morton - Longford (HBO)

Anna Paquin - Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)

Jaime Pressly - My Name Is Earl (NBC)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Ted Danson - Damages (FX NETWORK)

Kevin Dillon - Entourage (HBO)

! Jeremy Piven - Entourage (HBO)

Andy Serkis - Longford (HBO)

William Shatner - Boston Legal (ABC)

Donald Sutherland - Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)

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© 2008 by Digital Dogs

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--- Digital Dogs is gather's Los Angeles Movie Correspondent ---

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