Golden Globes: The Show Must Go On ... Sort Of

Golden Globes fans across the country and around the world were weeping Sunday, January 13, as they flipped on their TVs to watch the popular awards show on NBC.

The normally glitzy and glamorous ceremony was transformed into a simple, severely condensed and celebrity-free event due to circumstances concerning the Writers Guild of America strike. This two-and-a-half month strike resulted in the Screen Actors Guild deciding to show its support by asking its nominated members not to cross the planned picket line at the Golden Globe Awards. Unlike the writers’ strike, the Golden Globe Awards, Hollywood‘s first big awards show, was over in a flash. The one-hour announcement-style broadcast, hosted by Access Hollywood‘s Billy Bush and Nancy O’Dell, bored viewers to tears and delivered the show’s lowest ratings in thirteen years, with NBC’s viewers declining 71% from last year’s Globes. The absence of celebration and celebrities also accounted for about $80 million in lost revenue for the Los Angeles economy through the estimated costs of hairstylists, limo drivers, party caterers, gown designers, and of course the much loved bling-jewelry renters. Though the Golden Globes honored such films as the tragic romance Atonement, the crime saga No Country for Old Men, and the bloody musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, viewers and critics wonder what this all means for the ever-popular Academy Awards show in February. No matter what happens in labor talks, the Oscars will still be given, although not necessarily on February 24, the scheduled date for the ceremony. Postponement remains one option. Hopefully Hollywood‘s derailed awards season can get back on track and continue moving forward to pick up the famous awards shows that so many look forward to each year.