Production studios’ schemes to influence Golden Globe nominations

GOLDEN GLOBES – If the clichés of “Emily in Paris” on the French capital had made speak, that did not prevent its double appointment at the 77th edition of the Golden Globes which will take place this Sunday, February 28. Even more surprisingly, the HBO series “I May Destroy You” yet voted “best TV show of 2020 ″ by several major titles, such as Guardian and the Time, was not included in the list of nominees.

This is probably what prompted the journalists of the Los Angeles Times to investigate the practices of production studios with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). On Sunday February 21, the American daily revealed a “culture of corruption” among members of the HFPA. Composed of 87 journalists from all over the world, the organization is notably in charge of the votes for the Golden Globes.

In its investigation, the newspaper tells that the Paramount Network, original production of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris”, would have invited about thirty members of the HFPA, to a luxury trip to Paris. This revelation calls into question the validity of the nominations for the series at this year’s ceremony.

An “all inclusive” trip

According to LA Times, the production studio of “Emily in Paris” invited thirty members of the HFPA in 2019 for “two nights at the five-star hotel Peninsula Paris whose prices can reach 1400 euros per night”. The latter were also offered “a lunch at the Museum of Fairground Arts ”and had the privilege of benefiting from“ a private tour of the museum filled with rides dating from 1850 ”reports the LA Times.

“They treated us like kings and queens,” said one of the HFPA committee members of this trip to Paris. As evidenced by the survey of Los Angeles Times, there seems to persist in Hollywood the idea that “members can still be influenced by special attention”. These attentions would therefore have influenced the decision of these thirty voters when choosing the nominees. Contacted by the American newspaper, neither Netflix nor Paramount Network reacted to these accusations.

HFPA practices already called into question

This kind of controversy, however, does not date from yesterday. In 2011, for example, the ex-press secretary of the HFPA, Michael Russell, lodged a complaint, saying he had been sacked for having questioned questionable practices in the organization. In the complaint, which was the subject of a confidential amicable settlement, Mr. Russell assures that the members of the “HFPA abuse their position to enter into questionable and potentially illegal agreements and arrangements amounting to a system of bribes ”, remind our colleagues of BFMTV.

One of the major scandals in the matter concerned the actress Pia Zadora during the 39th edition of the Golden Globes. Indeed, the latter had won an award for her performance in “Butterfly” which had not yet been a huge success compared to that of Elizabeth McGovern in “Ragmtime” or Kathleen Turner in “Body Heat”. It was later revealed that Zadora’s husband, a wealthy businessman, Meshulam Riklis, had a few weeks earlier invited all voters to his Las Vegas casino for a screening of the film. Members had of course denied that this guided their decision.

But, the exchange of good practices is obviously not specific to the Golden Globes. In 2014, the LA Times had also investigated a controversy arising from the revelations of two members of the Academy of Oscars. The latter had, moreover, admitted having voted for “12 Years A Slave” by Steve McQueen, without even having seen the film. According to the American daily, an overly intensive promotion of “Oscar films” which sometimes leads to this type of practice.

See also on The HuffPost: Did you recognize all the locations from the “Emily in Paris” series? ”