June 14, 2023
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of entertainment journalists from abroad who, despite frequent missteps, built the Golden Globe Awards into a marquee event, died on Monday, June 12, after a series of scandals. It was 80, reports The New York Times.
The end of the embattled H.F.P.A. was announced after California officials agreed to a complicated reorganization plan that will enable the Golden Globe Awards to continue.
Eldridge Industries, a holding company owned by the billionaire investor Todd Boehly; and Dick Clark Productions, which is part of Penske Media,; agreed to buy the foreign press association’s Golden Globe assets for an undisclosed price. The proceeds will go to a new nonprofit, the Golden Globe Foundation, which will continue the H.F.P.A.’s philanthropic efforts; it gave more than $50 million to entertainment-related charities over the past three decades.
Members of the foreign press association—primarily freelance entertainment journalists—will become employees of a yet-to-be-named for-profit entity that will try to expand the Golden Globes as a brand, according to an Eldridge spokesman. The former members (there are fewer than 100) will earn $75,000 annually for five years, with duties that include watching films and television shows, and voting for the awards; and producing promotional materials, including writing articles for a Golden Globes website. It was unclear if the members could continue freelancing (mostly celebrity interviews) for publications overseas.
The Los Angeles Times discovered in 2021 that the H.F.P.A. had no Black members—setting off an outcry in the entertainment industry that resulted in NBC canceling the 2022 Globes telecast. The ceremony returned to NBC in January under a one-year agreement. Eldridge and Dick Clark Productions, which has produced the Globes telecast for decades, have since been looking for a new broadcast network or streaming service partner.
The 81st Golden Globe Awards ceremony has been scheduled for next January 7.
In a statement, Mr. Boehly called the dissolution of the H.F.P.A. a “significant milestone in the evolution of the Golden Globes.” He thanked the association’s former president, Helen Hoehne, for helping push through reforms, including “a robust approach to governance” that had helped professionalize an awards entity long known for infighting and scandal.
“We have a great team in place to grow this iconic brand,” Jay Penske, the chief executive of Penske Media, said in a statement.
Research contact: @nytimes