Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Greed Loses: Golden Globes Put In Their Place by Court

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The Hollywood Foreign Press has lost its lawsuit against Dick Clark Productions. The HFPA–paid over $6 million a year to license its name by NBC–had contended that Dick Clark had no right to negotiate with NBC without them. Today senior US District Judge A. Howard Matz ruled that he disagreed with them. The ruling follows. This is a blow to the HFPA, a greedy group that has suffered numerous scandals over the years. The ruling means The Golden Globes are now in the backseat. Dick Clark Productions can produce the show through 2018, and continue to make deals with NBC as long as the network wants  the  show. The HFPA will have to accept their deals.

In the end, it was just a story of greed. The HFPA consists of about 80 people, many of whom have no credentials and don’t see all the movies every year. In past decades, they were broadcast on cable, then moved to CBS. CBS kicked them off the air during a scandal involving “actress” Pia Zadora, and NBC picked them up. I’ve written over the years about the group’s many crazy stunts, their domineering attitude, and the questionable credits of certain of their members. In the meantime, they’ve used the annual fee they receive from NBC to bankroll their arrogance. The movies they’re supposed to see, and the choices they make, are no different in the end than dozens of other critics’ groups. There’s nothing special about the HFPA. But they’ve managed to turn it into a tax free business.

Now this smug little group is no longer in the drivers’ seat. It’s interesting, too, because their judgment stems from an agreement made by an ex-member, Mirjana Blaricom. She was the head of the HFPA until the current gang forced her out in the mid 90s. She then started the Satellite Awards. It must be a sweet victory for her to see her old friends hung on their petard–and by her design. Bravo.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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