Hollywood Foreign Press tweaks Golden Globe film eligibility due to coronavirus
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organization that puts on the Golden Globes, had announced a change in film eligibility for next year’s awards as a result of the current coronavirus pandemic.
As movie theaters in Los Angeles, where the group is based, are closed, the HFPA has temporarily suspended the rule that a film must be screened in a theater or screening room for journalists. Distributors now may contact the HFPA to arrange a screening date on the official HFPA calendar that meets the timing requirements of the Golden Globes eligibility rules or must provide all 90+ HFPA members with a screening link or a DVD copy of the film so that it can be viewed at home. Rules for a film’s release have also been tweaked. The HFPA will now consider titles that had a theatrical release planned to begin in Los Angeles between that window of March 15 and April 30 but were also made available through pay-per-view services.
“The HFPA will continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on motion picture and television distribution and exhibition and may extend these suspensions of the Golden Globe award rules and/or may make other temporary variations to those rules as it considers appropriate in the future,” the org said in a statement.
The Oscars have not announced any changes in eligibility requirements so far but will hold their annual Board of Governors meeting on April 14, where the top is sure to be at the top of the list.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are set to return as hosts of the 78th Golden Globe Awards, which are set for January 10th, 2021.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- Trailer Watch: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ ‘Dune: Part Three,’ Disclosure Day,’ ‘Wild Horse Nine’ - March 20, 2026
- Six Join 51st Residence of the Festival de Cannes, including Harry Lighton, Mansi Maheshwari, Oliver McGoldrick - March 20, 2026
- American Film Institute (AFI) Announces 2027 Date for AFI AWARDS Honorees-Only Event - March 18, 2026
Trailer Watch: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ ‘Dune: Part Three,’ Disclosure Day,’ ‘Wild Horse Nine’ 
‘Anima’ Review: Sydney Chandler and Takehiro Hira Ground Brian Tetsuro Ivie’s Low-Fi Sci-Fi Road Movie [B+] SXSW 
Six Join 51st Residence of the Festival de Cannes, including Harry Lighton, Mansi Maheshwari, Oliver McGoldrick 
‘Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat’ Review: The Emmy-Nominated Hit Returns as an Hilarious Workplace Comedy [B+]