9 Australians can now vote for the Golden Globes – but Aussiewood came up empty
- Written by Andrea Jean Baker, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Monash University
Nominations galore, but no wins for Aussiewood at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday.
Formerly, the Golden Globes were voted on by the nonprofit Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which consisted of about 100 entertainment journalists based in California and writing for foreign publications.
In 2023, the association rebranded as the Golden Globe Foundation and opened up its voting to entertainment journalists based anywhere in the world.
This year the awards were judged by 334 journalists from 85 countries, including nine Australians.
It’s an elite club compared to the 9,000 voters for the Oscars.
The award show is known for its hilarious, brutally honest tone. This year comedian and Golden Globe nominee Nikki Glaser became the first solo woman to host the ceremony.
Aussiewood presence
Five Australians were nominated for Golden Globes: three for motion pictures and two in television.
Nicole Kidman has won six times, and received her 20th nomination, this time for Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for her role as Romy Mathis, a middle-aged CEO of a tech company seduced by a young male intern in Babygirl. The award went to Fernanda Torres in I’m Still Here.
Guy Pearce was up for his second nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Drama, as the wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren in The Brutalist. Kieran Culkin won for his role in A Real Pain.
However, The Brutalist proved to be one of the big winners for the night, and so a favourite at the upcoming Oscars. The film won three Golden Globes in the drama categories for best motion picture, best director (Brady Corbet) and best actor (Adrian Brody).
The Australian animated feature Memoir of a Snail, from director Adam Elliot, was nominated for best animation, but lost out to Flow. Featuring all Australian voices, Elliot’s film is a melancholic tale about Grace Pudel (played by two-time Golden Globe winner Sarah Snook) who hoards snails. Her twin brother, Gilbert, is played by another past winner, Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Naomi Watts and Cate Blanchett were nominated for their work in television. This was Watts’ second nomination, this time as publisher and socialite Babe Paley in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.
Blanchett was nominated for the 14th time, and what could have been her fifth Golden Globe, as documentary journalist Catherine Ravenscroft in Disclaimer.
Unfortunately, neither won, rounding out a disappointing night for the Australian contingent.
The changing face of the Golden Globes
Beginning in 1944, in recent years the Golden Globes have been riddled by media and actor boycotts, conflicts of interest, diversity issues, and the Hollywood writers and actors strike.
In 2021, a Los Angeles Times investigation exposed a lack of diversity among the voters, and raised concerns about its ethics and financial practices.
The awards are now run by the Golden Globes Foundation, a nonprofit organisation which manages the awards, film restorations, philanthropic activities and promotes freedom of the press.
Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano won best supporting actor on television for Shogun.
EPA/CAROLINE BREHMAN
Voters can be entertainment journalists working anywhere in the world. To become a voter you must be an experienced entertainment journalist working for a recognised media organisation.
Writers need to be sponsored by a current Golden Globe voter and submit at least five examples of published or aired work within the past 12 months. Most voters are now based outside the United States.
This year, Australia’s voters included film critic David Griffiths, the Saturday Paper’s Andy Hazel and Jenny Cooney, a long time voter and legacy member who has spent her career covering Aussies in Hollywood for various presses.
A rocky road ahead
In 2023, the Golden Globes was sold, and they are now owned by Penske Media Eldridge, the owner of Variety, Rolling Stone, Deadline Hollywood, Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter.
Since then, there have been allegations Jay Penske, CEO of Penske Media Corporation, has a “near-monopoly” of the celebrity press, while Todd Boehly, CEO of Eldridge, is “profiteering” from the awards.
Demi Moore won best performance by a female actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy for The Substance.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
More recently, Boehly has been accused of fraud by former members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in his co-takeover of the Golden Globes.
Unlike previous years, this year Boehly did not allow Golden Globe voters to attend the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton’s ballroom.
Instead, legacy members from the Golden Globe Foundation (those who were previous members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and now play a role in supporting the foundation’s activities, particularly its charitable and philanthropic efforts) were invited to watch the ceremony via a “viewing party” in an adjacent, small function room.
After the controversies were exposed in 2021, some asked if “Hollywood’s party of the year” was over.
Given the jubilant success of the 82nd Golden Globe awards these worries seem to be allayed. But institutional integrity is needed to ensure sustainability of the foundation, and the continuation of the awards.
Authors: Andrea Jean Baker, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Monash University
