This day has been coming for a long time, and now it’s official: the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is disbanded. Who was the HFPA? A mysterious, insular group of journalists who voted on the Golden Globe nominees and winners, along with running philanthropic projects for the entertainment community. And they knew how to throw a party (hint: serve alcohol). Per their website, the HFPA was founded in 1943 by a group of journalists (led by the British correspondent for the Daily Mail, I enjoyed that detail) under the motto “Unity Without Discrimination of Religion or Race.” This motto has been up on their website, without any sense of irony, through decades of the HFPA overlooking non-white talent, culminating in the LA Times reporting in February 2021 that there were no black members in the HFPA at all.

In truth there were a myriad of problematic practices happening with HFPA, including sexual misconduct and blatant bribes. Last year NBC refused to air the Golden Globes altogether in protest, and while the awards did return this year (with host Jerrod Carmichael effortlessly skewering the HFPA), they were relegated to a Tuesday night, the Siberia of award shows. So Monday’s announcement that the Golden Globes had been purchased in a transaction that ended the HFPA was not much of a surprise:

And the Golden Globes go to… Dick Clark Productions.
The California nonprofit announced Monday that it and asset management company Eldridge acquired all the assets, rights and properties of the Golden Globes from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but the deal will result in the end of the HFPA and its membership.
Dick Clark Productions, which runs the Billboard Music Awards and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, will now plan, host and produce the annual Golden Globe Awards show. The company has also formed the Golden Globe Foundation, which will continue the HFPA’s legacy of entertainment-related charitable giving.
“As stewards of the Gold Globe Awards, our mission is to continue creating the most dynamic awards ceremony on live television viewed across the world,” said Jay Penske, CEO, chairman and founder of Penske Media and CEO of Dick Clark Productions. “We have a great team in place to grow this iconic brand and captivate new and existing audiences to celebrate the very best in television and motion pictures.”

[From CNBC]

And the New York Times had some further reporting that I found very curious:

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 last 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.

[From The NY Times]

So the HFPA is disbanded, but current members will remain employed for 5 years with a $75,000 annual salary to watch tv and movies?! Sign me up! And there’s more that’s iffy: Dick Clark, Pemske and Eldridge–the entities that now own the Golden Globes and will produce the show–combined have ownership of the Beverly Hilton (where the awards have traditionally taken place) and most of the leading Hollywood trade papers (see here for a great breakdown). It’s quite the monopoly. And add to that the fact that they haven’t yet announced who will actually take over the voting with this new deal.

Is this development an improvement? A win for diversity and inclusivity? We’ll see, but it’s an inauspicious start. In the meantime, may I humbly offer as the new motto: “Unity Without Discrimination of Tequila or Rum.”

Note by CB: This is Helen Hoehne, the president of the HFPA, and Neil Phillips, their chief diversity officer, appointed in 2021.
Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos from the 2023 Golden Globes courtesy of Backgrid and via Instagram