HFPA announces stripped down version of the 79th Golden Globe Awards; no celebrity presenters, focus on philanthropy

With less than a week to go, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), who put on the annual Golden Globe Awards, have announced what this weekend’s ceremony will look like or more importantly, what it won’t look like.

Winners of the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be revealed on January 9, 2022, from the Beverly Hilton at 6 p.m. PT. In addition to recognizing 2021’s best in film and television, the Golden Globe Awards will shine a light on their philanthropy work, showcasing a range of grantees during the program. Nominations for film and television can be found here.

After a yearlong battle with publicists, talent and Hollywood itself over the Hollywood Foreign Press’s lack of Black members and transparency, as well as their well-recorded history of accepting extravagant gifts and trips from studios and networks finally catching up with them, NBC announced they would refuse to telecast this year’s ceremony until dramatic changes were made within the organization.

Over the last eight months, the HFPA has overhauled its bylaws, implementing sweeping changes from top to bottom addressing ethics and code of conduct, diversity, equity and inclusion, governance, membership and more. In October, the HFPA admitted its largest and most diverse class to date with 21 new journalists, all of whom were first-time Golden Globe voters. But, in a letter released by Variety earlier today, it was revealed that no celebrities or talent had agreed to appear on the show in any form. A full list of the HFPA’s reforms can be found here.

Because of the current pandemic surge, there will not be an audience on January 9th, only select HFPA members and philanthropy grantees will be in the room. There will be no red carpet and media credential requests for the event will not be accepted, the org said. Among the precautions that are being taken for select members and grantees include proof of vaccination and booster shot, along with a negative PCR test within 48 hours plus, guests will be masked and socially distanced at all times while inside the ballroom.

During the program, Kyle Bowser, Senior Vice President of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, will further discuss the “Reimagine Coalition,” a joint five-year initiative to increase diversity, equity and inclusion across the global entertainment industry. Each year the HFPA and the NAACP Hollywood Bureau will collaborate on, fund, and support a series of trailblazing initiatives, with the overall goals of ensuring visibility of projects from artists of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds; increasing diverse representation in the industry; and building pathways to inclusion for young artists and journalists of color.

“Over the past 25 years, the HFPA has donated $50 million to more than 70 entertainment-related charities, film restoration, scholarship programs and humanitarian efforts; incredibly impactful organizations, many of whom were hit hard over the last two years as a result of the pandemic,” the org said.

It is still unknown whether there will be a livestream of the event as the HFPA did with the nomination announcement or if the winners will be announced on social media.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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.

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