After controversies, scandals, and shake-ups, the Golden Globes are back for 2024
For years, the Golden Globe Awards were a fizzy start to the entertainment awards season, boasting irreverent hosts, a boozy atmosphere, and plenty of stars. But after reports by the Los Angeles Times and other sources spotlighted a lack of diversity among members and allegations of unethical conduct by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presented the awards, the Golden Globes looked so tarnished some wondered whether they’d just disappear.
But, Hollywood apparently can’t quit the Globes. The ceremony is back for 2024, on a new network, with a new host, and with behind-the-scenes moves that are seen as an attempt for the Golden Globes to refurbish its image.
In 2022, NBC, the longtime broadcast network home for the Globes, declined to air the extravaganza. The show did return to NBC in 2023, with comedian Jerrod Carmichael as host. Carmichael immediately addressed the elephant in the room in his monologue, bluntly stating that, in his opinion, he was asked to host because he was Black, as Entertainment Weekly and other sources reported.
At the beginning of the 2023 ceremony, Carmichael recalled getting a call asking him to host the show.
I was like, ‘Whoa,’ Carmichael said. One minute you’re making tea at home. The next you’re invited to be the Black face of an embattled white organization.
Following the 2023 show, which saw the ratings drop, NBC announced the network wouldn’t air the Golden Globes going forward. But, like the villain in a slasher movie, the Globes just keep coming back.
In June 2023, as The New York Times reported, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association disbanded, amid what the Times wrote was a complicated reorganization plan that will allow the Golden Globe Awards to continue.
As the Times reported, 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.
All of that backstage drama means that the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards are airing on CBS, not NBC. Comedian Jo Koy will handle hosting duties for the first time, but the 2024 bash will be returning to a familiar location, the Beverly Hilton hotel ballroom in Beverly Hills, California.
As with last year’s festivities (when the largely Portland-made Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won as best animated motion picture), some projects with Oregon connections are among this year’s nominees, which recognize both movies and TV.
Since the Globe movie nominations spread the wealth by grouping features into two categories — drama, and musical or comedy — more films receive nominations. (Major TV nominations are also divided into drama and musical or comedy categories.)
That twofer category approach, however, sometimes means movies that don’t seem particularly hilarious or tuneful wind up in the musical or comedy field.
That’s arguably the case with the Portland-based director Todd Haynes’ May December, which is streaming on Netflix. The movie has received critical praise, but is it a comedy? The category feels like an awkward fit, especially since the film’s story has parallels with the true story of Mary Kay Latourneau, a schoolteacher who had sex with a 12-year-old student, and had two children with him. After serving time for second-degree child rape, Latourneau married the former student.
In the film, Julianne Moore plays Gracie, the Latourneau-inspired character, and Charles Melton plays Joe, the former student who’s now grown, and married to Gracie. Natalie Portman stars as Elizabeth, an actress who comes to spend time with the couple at their Savannah, Georgia, home, as Elizabeth prepares to play a character based on Gracie.
May December is nominated for best motion picture in the musical or comedy category, along with fellow nominees Air, American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers and Poor Things.
In addition, Portman is nominated in the category of best performance by a female actor in a musical or comedy motion picture. Her fellow nominees are Fantasia Barrino (The Color Purple), Jennifer Lawrence (No Hard Feelings), Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves), Margot Robbie (Barbie) and Emma Stone (Poor Things.)
Moore is also nominated in the supporting female actor category, though the supporting performance film categories aren’t split into drama and musical or comedy slots. Moore’s fellow nominees are Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Jodie Foster (Nyad), Rosamund Pike (Saltburn) and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers.)
Though Haynes isn’t nominated as best movie director, May December does have another nod, with Melton being included in the supporting actor category. His fellow nominees are Willem Dafoe (Poor Things), Robert DeNiro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer), Ryan Gosling (Barbie) and Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things.)
In addition to May December, the Oregon-related movie Air, which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, also received two nominations. Telling a version of the story of how Oregon-based Nike managed to make a groundbreaking merchandising deal with Michael Jordan, Air is also nominated in the best picture, musical or comedy category. While Air has its amusing moments, it’s hardly what anybody would consider a knee-slapper, but anyway.
Matt Damon is also nominated as lead actor in a musical or comedy movie for playing Sonny Vaccaro, the executive who, as Air tells it, helped land Jordan for Nike. Damon’s fellow nominees are Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario), Timothée Chalamet (Wonka), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction).
Related: How accurate is the movie ‘Air’? Nike insiders give mixed reviews
Top nominees this year include Barbie and HBO’s TV drama, Succession, with both earning nine nominations. Oppenheimer received eight nominations, and Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things both earned seven nominations.
The 2024 Golden Globe Awards ceremony airs at 5 p.m. PT Sunday, Jan. 7, on CBS. The show will also be available to stream on Paramount Plus.
