Certainly the most popular people in town this time of year are the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who present The Golden Globes. A friend of ours lives in the same building as an HFPA member and he’s astonished at the number of gifts delivered to the foreign reporter. Gifts from studios, from talent agencies on behalf of actors, PR people etc. In October there were Halloween gifts – – baskets of wine, exotic coffees, pies, expensive chocolates etc. Big deliveries almost every day! Thanksgiving brought gourmet pumpkin pies, Sprinkles cupcakes (from Nicole Kidman – he sneaked a peek at the tag,) orchid plants galore, pistachio nuts, dozens of Krispy Kreme donuts, and floral arrangements. Our nosey neighbor also observed the delivery of a large $375 Jo Malone candle from England. We happen to LIKE the Foreign Press people and we’re more than a little envious, but now that the nominations have been announced, will the gifts INcrease or DEcrease? The bigger question is: will the writers strike scuttle the event altogether? We still think the Golden Globes is the most entertaining award show of all.
writers will scuttle. and that’s e news.
i HATE THOSE HOUSEWIVES THEY ARE ALL A BUNCH OF UGLY HAGS!
HFP members are a bunch of hags who just like getting their wrinkly asses kissed.
I worked as a writer’s assistant for someone who was a member of the HFP group in the mid-1980s — and back then, it was EXTREMELY easy to become a member. There were a LOT of older folks who hadn’t really written in years, but had an occasional press release published in a foreign publication and VOILA — they got to be a HFP member! At that time, there were less than 50 members. I could have joined but had no desire to… I hope that times have changed since then, that the policies to join are more professional and stringent. I CAN tell you that there were no extravagant gift bags back then — just a simple, modest gift bag for members at the Golden Globe ceremony itself…
^^^
There was, of course, the scandal created when the HFP awarded Pia Zadora “Best Newcomer”
Hilary, I would think as a “writer’s assistant” you would have a better command of grammar. It should be “fewer than” not “less than.” Maybe you’re on Strike.
I can remember that back in the 1980’s there was a hollywood columnist by the name of Gary Deeb. Anyone recall him? Or where he’s at now???
Well they used to publish his column in the Sunday Springfield Republican. And he used to bash the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press, like there was no tomorrow! His views on both the awards show and the Hollywood Foreign Press was that it was all bogus! And a real joke. Like who was the Foreign Press anyway? A bunch of nobody’s that had little or no power in Hollywood. And that they weren’t even Foreign!!
Anyway it was all a big joke to him. A real farce!
Imagine my surprise when the Golden Globe awards started to take off into real prominence in the 1990′
s!
Award shows are so last decade. Nobody watches these snooze fests where reluctant actors receive silly trophies punctuated by endless commercials for hair products, dusters with removable cleaning pads and dog food. Please Janet, get your ‘sources’ (muahhhhh) to work and print some gossip.
Re 10:54 AM:
Gary Deeb. Ugh. Talk about a blast (of pure halitosis) from the past!
He was an embittered, talentless hack.
But the mystery may now be solved regarding his apparent hatred of the HFP and Golden Globes: Deeb was one of the very few people rejected for HFP membership back in the day.