The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs , given out each year during a formal dinner. Run since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the awards are a major part of the film industry's "awards season" which culminates each year with the Oscars. This is particularly true since 1996 , when the HFPA signed a new television broadcast contract with NBC (prior to that, they were aired on TBS); the broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards generally ranks as the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars and Grammys, and movie studios actively solicit support from HFPA members and mention nominations and awards in their advertisements.

The Golden Globes are awarded early in the year, based on votes from (as of 2005) 86 mostly part-time journalists living in Hollywood and affiliated with media outside of the United States.

Unlike the Academy Awards, for which the eligibility period begins January 1, the eligibility period for the Golden Globe Awards begins October 1.

Contents 1 History 2 Award categories 3 Criticism

History

The first Golden Globes Awards were held in 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studios. It has since been held annually, at various locations throughout the next decade, notably the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hollywood Knickerbocker Club and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. It was during the early stages of the 1950s that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish a special award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. To give importance to the award and recognize its subject as an international figure in the entertainment industry the award was presented to Cecil B. DeMillein 1952, the official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The award was then first presented to Walt Disney the following year.

The awards at the ceremony had typically been presented by journalists who were part of the association. However at the 1958 Golden Globes which was the first year of local telecast, in an impromptu action, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. collectively known as the Rat Pack took flight to the stage, allegedly taking over the presenting with whiskey and cigarettes on hand. The action was met with great delight of the audience. The next year the association asked them to present the awards.

In 1963, the Miss Golden Globe concept was introduced, in its inaugural year; there were two Miss Golden Globes, one for film and television respectively, Eva Six and Donna Douglas. In 1964, national telecast was distributed through a special segment on The Andy Williams Show.

Award categories

Golden Globe Awards were limited to motion pictures until 1956, when awards for television were added.

Motion picture awards:

• Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
• Best Animated Feature; will be first awarded in 2007 at the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards if eight films qualify for the category
• Best Director - Motion Picture
• Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
• Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
• Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
• Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
• Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
• Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
• Best Screenplay
• Best Original Score
• Best Original Song
• Best Foreign Language Film
• The Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures.
• Best Documentary Film; last awarded in 1977 at the 30th Golden Globe Awards

Television awards:

• best drama
• best comedy or musical
• best actor in a television series in drama and in a comedy or musical;
• best actress in a television series in drama and in a comedy or musical
• best mini-series or motion picture made for television;
• best actor and actress in a mini-series or motion picture made for television;
• best supporting actor and supporting actress in a series, mini-series or motion picture made for television;

Criticism

The significance of the Golden Globes is sometimes tainted by criticism of the HFPA:

• Membership in the HFPA is not based on journalism credentials and continuing accomplishments. Members are only required to be paid for four published works each year, and the only penalty for not meeting that minimal level is being moved to "inactive" status for that year. Many live on their pensions rather than their work as journalists; as of 2004, some are in their nineties, several others in their eighties. Perhaps only two dozen are working foreign journalists; a larger number are longtime members who freelance infrequently for small overseas publications. Conversely, many celebrated publications, such as Le Monde and The Times, have no representatives in the HFPA. Many members make their living at other professions, including teaching, real estate, automobile sales, and film promotion. Duncan Campbell, a correspondent for The Guardian, cites a well-known comment from Groucho Marx: "If they were willing to have me in it, I wouldn't want to join. I've always considered that joining [the HFPA] comes at a dreadful price — your credibility."
• The number of members is arbitrarily restrictive; it has historically been limited to around 90 members, and can grow by no more than five members a year. Membership requires sponsorship by two existing members, and an applicant can be blackballed by just a single member.
• Members appear at times to be more motivated or influenced by the perks and attention they receive than the quality of the work they are evaluating. Movie studios annually arrange elaborate meals where HFPA members can mingle with directors and actors. In 1975, during a media get-together in Dallas, Texas, several members admitted that they "always remember which studios are extra nice to us." In 1981,Pia Zadora received an award after her husband, Meshulam Riklis, flew the HFPA to Las Vegas. Even into the 21st century, studio-run screenings for the HFPA usually feature cocktails or dinner or both, which is not the case for other media screenings. Its members are invited to every premiere, which is not the case for other journalists.
• A disproportionate number of members are photographers. Anita Weber, thirty-year veteran of the organization, noted that "everyone comes in as a writer but many eventually become photographers as well, because there's more money in photos." Studios require actors to pose for individual photos with every HFPA member who attends, the access to which makes such a career shift more lucrative.

In 1996, a former HFPA president founded the International Press Academy as a more open, broader-based, "less easily manipulated" operation than the HFPA.

In recent years the HFPA have made an effort to reform their association and address some of the criticisms. Gifts are now limited to bottles of champagne, flowers and movie trinkets. A recent HFPA president, Dagmar Dunlevy, was a bona fide journalist, rather than an occasional freelancer. With the income from the NBC broadcasting deal, the association has been making substantial donations to film-oriented charities.

An L.A. Weekly film critic noted in the documentary The Golden Globes: Hollywood's Dirty Little Secret: "Even though the Golden Globe people are by and large idiots, they often make better choices than the Oscars."

Until 2003, the awards dinner had been scheduled so that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sent out their ballots for their awards only days after the Golden Globe award winners are announced.