Why Hollywood Gave the Golden Globes a Second Chance

Barry star Henry Winkler on the red carpet at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/FilmMagic

What if they threw a Golden Globes and nobody came?

Such was the scuttlebutt ahead of Tuesday’s 80th annual Golden Globes. The previous year’s ceremony had been canceled: Scandals around the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lack of Black members, as well as its payola-esque relationship to awards campaigning, spurred a publicist-led revolt, which in turn led many in Hollywood — including the Globes’ traditional broadcaster, NBC — to cut ties with the organization. The HFPA promised to change, which got the show back on TV, but the comeback was always provisional. NBC gave the HFPA a one-year deal, which Puck’s Matthew Belloni reports is unlikely to be renewed. With the Globes on the ropes, would any A-listers show?

Those fears proved slightly overstated: Most of the night’s winners were in attendance, and even a mega-star like Rihanna wasn’t above making an appearance. (Still, the telecast eschewed the traditional shots of each nominated actor, which might have made it clear how many were skipping out.)

Out of an abundance of caution, many of the A-listers skipped the red carpet, while those who did walk seemed well-briefed on how to handle the inevitable question about the controversy. (Later, Jerrod Carmichael would joke plainly onstage about how and why he ended up hosting the night.) When asked about the thought process that brought them to the Beverly Hilton, many mentioned the need to show up and support their friends and collaborators. Though Judd Hirsch of The Fabelmans didn’t get nominated in Best Supporting Actor, he never thought of missing the ceremony. “It’s like being on a sports team,” he said; you don’t want to let your teammates down. Besides, he joked, the movie’s called The Fabelmans, not The Fabelman. They needed the whole family to be there.

Alexandre Desplat, a Best Original Score nominee for Pinocchio, chalked it up to politeness: “I’ve been nominated many times. Without the Golden Globes, I’m not sure my American career would be the same,” he said. He remembered his first time walking the Globes carpet in 2004 with Peter Webber, director of The Girl With the Pearl Earring. “We went all over the red carpet, but nobody interviewed us. So we went back a second time, and it was the same.” It was good for the ego, he said.

Carter Burwell, a rival Score nominee for The Banshees of Inisherin, would neither confirm nor deny whether he was excited the Globes were back. “I’m not here as a vote of confidence in the HFPA, but I don’t think anybody ever was.” As always with the Globes, he noted, the prospect of an open bar helped.

Neither Desplat nor Burwell wound up winning; the Best Score prize went to Babylon’s Justin Hurwitz. Clad in a mustard-velvet tux that complemented both his eyes and his eventual trophy, Hurwitz explained that, as far as he was concerned, the Globes deserved a shot at redemption. “I’d heard that they’d made good progress on their issues. We can all do better.”

And sometimes, intangible notions of accountability and forgiveness didn’t come into it. “We get to put on nice clothes that we couldn’t usually afford, and get into hair and makeup that we couldn’t do ourselves,” said Hacks actor Mark Indelicato, sporting a glossy gold suit and Edwardian curls.

Barry star Henry Winkler, Best Supporting Actor in a TV series nominee, was well-prepared for the HFPA question, and started answering it before it had even been asked. “America is the land of second chances,” he asked. “They say they want to move forward. We’re here to see.” And if this turned out to be the last-ever Golden Globes, how would he remember them? “It all depends on dinner.”