Want the inside scoop on all things awards? Welcome to Letter From the Awards Editor, our weekly series where Backstage’s Jack Smart takes a look at the latest film and television news, industry trends, and awards projections that matter to today’s working actor.
Dear Backstage reader,
Are you well rested after a holiday break? Settled into a new year and new decade? Good, because this awards season, with a more compressed timeline than any in recent memory, is about to come at us fast.
Yesterday, the second day of 2020, marked the beginning of Phase 1 for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences: Oscar nominating is already underway! All the hard work and jockeying for attention that studio advertisers and publicists have put in these past few months has been for this window of time, Jan. 2–7, when Academy members are shortlisting their favorite films.
If only there were an awards ceremony smack dab in the middle of that timeframe, an opportunity for contenders to be seen in all their gracious glamour! And if only that ceremony were televised. What a minute…. There is one!
Whenever the Golden Globe Awards are discussed by members of the Backstage team, they’re discussed with smiles. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual soirée is a swanky, gaudy affair designed to indulge our desire to see superstars in fancy outfits—before any of the other organizations do so. They kick off the season with a bit of fun. In the family of awards shows, the Globes are the gregarious, eccentric aunt, always good for a laugh and a drink.
The Globes also pride themselves on playing up an edgier, looser, anything-could-happen vibe throughout the show. Case in point: their choice of hosts. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler memorably pushed the envelope with extended bits of pointed ribbing to the well-heeled room, and last year’s pair, Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg, opened the show by flaunting their respective Globe wins. And if NBC was hoping to up viewership with a master of ceremonies liable to use outrageous or outright offensive comedy, they’ve done it this year with returning host Ricky Gervais.
Let’s not forget that rebellious streak also lends itself to opportunities for welcome outspokenness; female attendees dressed in all black two years ago, a powerful statement in support of #MeToo and Time’s Up at the exact moment those movements dominated the national conversation while beginning to challenge the entertainment industry’s sexism.
If none of this appeared on our TV screens, the Globes would have no effect on Hollywood at large. And if they were awarded long before or after Oscar nominating, the Globes might have no effect on the overall film awards race. It’s because the ceremony is well-timed and televised—and now, 77 years in, a longstanding tradition for awards pundits and viewers—that the only 90 or so voting members of the HFPA end up affecting results at the Oscars, SAG Awards, and more.
BRUSH UP: Everything You’d Ever Need to Know About the Golden Globe Awards
Half of the Oscar best picture winners in the last decade first earned either of the two possible Globes for best picture. And especially since the Academy expanded its possible number of best picture contenders, most of the Globe drama nominees also appeared on the Oscar shortlist. (As noted in a previous letter, usually it’s the Globe drama category, not the musical or comedy one, that correlates to Oscar).
And just look at last season: It was the Globes, more than anything, that accelerated the rise to glory of two buzzy-yet-controversial hits, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Green Book.” After earning the two best film Globes, the former ended up winning four Oscars, the most of any 2018 film, while the latter took three including best picture. The Academy’s nominating phase began the morning after the Globes ceremony! Rami Malek and Mahershala Ali, charming speech givers, had a leg up on their Oscar competitors because voters had a recent memory of them onstage holding a trophy.
The same could be said for Olivia Colman of “The Favourite,” whose acceptance speech for her second Globe (after “The Night Manager” two years prior) had audiences both at home and at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in stitches. But wait, you say! Didn’t her primary competitor, SAG and Spirit Award winner Glenn Close of “The Wife,” also earn a Globe and give a fabulous speech that night? How astute of you, reader. I personally think Close’s 2019 Globe acceptance speech belongs in some kind of hall of fame. (In fact, soon afterward I added the all-time great moment to Backstage’s “How to Give an Awards Acceptance Speech,” which you should absolutely read for some very real tips.)
The 9 Best Acceptance Speeches of 2019
But Close has been in the public eye and giving speeches for decades, whereas Colman was lesser known, a perennially reliable onscreen presence whose star felt especially on the rise after “Broadchurch,” “Fleabag,” and of course, the announcement of her casting on “The Crown.” I am not acquainted with all 8,000-ish voting members of the Academy, but I can’t imagine Colman’s delightful Globes breakout didn’t cross their minds when considering the irresistible prospect of crowning her themselves.
It’s those kinds of moments, like the underdog win or a charming, off-the-cuff (and possibly tipsy) acceptance speech, that are the essence of the Golden Globes. For better or worse, they can throw a wrench in the film awards system, causing ripple effects that keep things unpredictable for pundits. I’ll be tuning in for those moments this Sunday, Jan. 6—with a cocktail—and Hollywood certainly will be, too.
Sincerely,
Jack
Some More Smart Stuff:
- Also on the radar between now and your next letter from the awards editor…film nominations for the Writers Guild of America Awards, Directors Guild of America Awards, Producers Guild Awards, and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards—plus the Critics’ Choice Awards ceremony. Buckle up!
-
This week’s Backstage cover star is SAG Award nominee Jharrel Jerome, recognized again for his Emmy-winning “When They See Us” performance. Check out that story here.
-
Are you subscribed to Backstage’s “In the Envelope” podcast? This week we aired an episode featuring a discussion of the SAG nominations and best acting of 2019, plus a fabulous interview with Golden Globe nominee and certified Avenger Paul Rudd!
Check out Backstage’s film audition listings!