Not so Golden Globes?

What happened

The Golden Globes awards show will be replaced by a news conference this year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced on Monday. Because of the ongoing writer’s strike, some of those who would normally be seated at dining tables at the gala black tie event will likely be picketing outside of the conference instead this Sunday, and many top actors have agreed not to cross the picket line.

What the commentators said

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This is a smart move by the WGA strikers, said Lynn Elber in the Washington Post. The Golden Globes is “a huge promotional showcase for the entertainment industry.” Throwing a wrench into “the awards show season” is a way for the guild to “flex its power and attempt to bring producers back to the table to resume talks.”

And are we really missing out on anything? said Ramin Setoodeh in Newsweek.com. So “nobody will get to see Jack Nicholson smiling like the Cheshire Cat over a bottle of wine at Hollywood’s biggest frat party this year”—big deal. Still, the “assassination of the Globes” isn’t exactly “a victimless crime.” The Golden Globes are “the Iowa caucuses of the awards season,” and the studios need the “free publicity” to “kick off their Oscar marketing campaigns.”

It’s starting to look like the Academy Awards ceremony might not happen this year, said Jenny Booth in the Times Online. The television broadcast of “the film industry’s highest honors” is scheduled for February 24, but so far “no new talks are scheduled” between the studios and WGA members. “The strike has cast a growing shadow over Hollywood’s annual awards season,” leaving the “fate of the Oscars” in serious “doubt.”

If anyone should be “concerned” about all of this, it’s the Hollywood Foreign Press, said the blog Film.com. “Without the stars to distract us,” we “might start asking questions," such as: “Just what the hell is the Hollywood Foreign Press?” or “Who in their right mind would nominate Julia Roberts’ awful (AW-FUL) performance in Charlie Wilson’s War?”