Turned it off. The chatter from whatever those commentators were supposed to be was too painful. Made me think about when the Academy Awards began -- if the founders understood how unique and fragile the movie business was.
Thanks for reflecting on the GG mess -- evoking nostalgia for the way it used to be -- bad as it was most of the time.
We need to find a way to bring audiences back to the theaters before Wall Street closes it all down.
Gosh, why do you subscribe if you hate what he writes? I show up hoping for a jeremiad! For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing we like.
Yes I am familiar, I’m an inaugural subscriber to the newsletter and had a print subscription of Variety as a young child. What elliptical wisdom are you trying to serve here? Richard serves this same bullshit every time he writes about an awards show. He clearly hates the genre and merely uses them as an excuse to preach his geremiads about the genre and Hollywood generally. It’s tired and rings hollow since there is no version of the show he has ever liked. Those of us who love awards shows are tired of it. You don’t see me recapping NFL games and complaining about it being too aggressive.
Ah, Richard. So right. So true. What I found most egregious was the lack of political commentary. It's hard to believe that some of those very progressive -acing folks were muzzled, but it sure felt that way. The GGs are usually a time to let it rip. This was a moment to let Fox viewers (though I don't know how many of them are watching the GG) to hear a different POV. Our objective now is to make sure the corruption and tyranny is fulled understood by all, and movie stars, as we know, have power. And the award for biggest box office? WHAT?! As an indie filmmaker with a good movie with a stunning performance in the lead by an Oscar nominated actor who could not compete in the awards race because of lack of funding but was selected by Variety as one of the "best overlooked films of 2025", I'm inspired more than ever to find new ways. Thanks for all that you do.
I didn't watch it. Having spent 40 years working on set in Hollywood and beyond, I had my fill of awards shows, and gave up on them a long time ago. That said, the GGs have always been preferable to the Oscars, which are one long air-kiss into the makeup mirror, culminating in a giddy orgy of blubbering, onanistic narcissism.
But as for " ... a category to salute 'cinematic and box office achievement'? Why bother voting on that and not just hand it to the highest-grossing film of the year? For that matter, why not have a category for the biggest paycheck of the year, saluting the star who got the most out of a studio?" -- well, the Grammys long ago adopted that utterly transactional model of bestowing awards. It was only a matter of time before the others -- Emmys, Oscars, whatever -- followed.
That said, you make a good point: Hollywood is in another of those challenging transformational periods when the Old Ways don't seem to work anymore, and nobody currently runnng things understands what the New Ways are, or how to effectively "monetize" them. But hey, some genius will eventually figure it out.
Who knows what will emerge from all this chaos -- personally, I'm just glad that I escaped Hollywood before the sands shifted and the temple walls began tumbling down.
Wow, when there is nostagia for a show like Golden Globes, we ARE in a bad way. You are spot on with this article. Their "baby", the Young Artist Awards (created by a HFPA member for child actors) was the same slimey situation for decades. The corruption in the voting, the lack of respect for actual performances, the sloppy show -- it was always disgusting. That show was also saddled with actual child abuse, since "anything goes". It is a pretty short jump, and I have always wondered if Golden Globes had that brand of underbelly.
I'm guessing the adult version exists for the same reason the child actor version exists -- clueless and desperate people will attend and look the other way. If actors would STOP going, there would be no show.
Turned it off. The chatter from whatever those commentators were supposed to be was too painful. Made me think about when the Academy Awards began -- if the founders understood how unique and fragile the movie business was.
Thanks for reflecting on the GG mess -- evoking nostalgia for the way it used to be -- bad as it was most of the time.
We need to find a way to bring audiences back to the theaters before Wall Street closes it all down.
Has The Ankler ever thought of having someone who likes awards shows write about them?
I’m wondering if you know who The (actual) Ankler is. You might wanna Google that.
Hi Ruth. What?
It’s self explanatory. Google “The Ankler.”
Gosh, why do you subscribe if you hate what he writes? I show up hoping for a jeremiad! For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing we like.
Yes I am familiar, I’m an inaugural subscriber to the newsletter and had a print subscription of Variety as a young child. What elliptical wisdom are you trying to serve here? Richard serves this same bullshit every time he writes about an awards show. He clearly hates the genre and merely uses them as an excuse to preach his geremiads about the genre and Hollywood generally. It’s tired and rings hollow since there is no version of the show he has ever liked. Those of us who love awards shows are tired of it. You don’t see me recapping NFL games and complaining about it being too aggressive.
Ah, Richard. So right. So true. What I found most egregious was the lack of political commentary. It's hard to believe that some of those very progressive -acing folks were muzzled, but it sure felt that way. The GGs are usually a time to let it rip. This was a moment to let Fox viewers (though I don't know how many of them are watching the GG) to hear a different POV. Our objective now is to make sure the corruption and tyranny is fulled understood by all, and movie stars, as we know, have power. And the award for biggest box office? WHAT?! As an indie filmmaker with a good movie with a stunning performance in the lead by an Oscar nominated actor who could not compete in the awards race because of lack of funding but was selected by Variety as one of the "best overlooked films of 2025", I'm inspired more than ever to find new ways. Thanks for all that you do.
I didn't watch it. Having spent 40 years working on set in Hollywood and beyond, I had my fill of awards shows, and gave up on them a long time ago. That said, the GGs have always been preferable to the Oscars, which are one long air-kiss into the makeup mirror, culminating in a giddy orgy of blubbering, onanistic narcissism.
But as for " ... a category to salute 'cinematic and box office achievement'? Why bother voting on that and not just hand it to the highest-grossing film of the year? For that matter, why not have a category for the biggest paycheck of the year, saluting the star who got the most out of a studio?" -- well, the Grammys long ago adopted that utterly transactional model of bestowing awards. It was only a matter of time before the others -- Emmys, Oscars, whatever -- followed.
That said, you make a good point: Hollywood is in another of those challenging transformational periods when the Old Ways don't seem to work anymore, and nobody currently runnng things understands what the New Ways are, or how to effectively "monetize" them. But hey, some genius will eventually figure it out.
Who knows what will emerge from all this chaos -- personally, I'm just glad that I escaped Hollywood before the sands shifted and the temple walls began tumbling down.
How do you REALLY feel about Jay Penske, Richard? 😂
Wow, when there is nostagia for a show like Golden Globes, we ARE in a bad way. You are spot on with this article. Their "baby", the Young Artist Awards (created by a HFPA member for child actors) was the same slimey situation for decades. The corruption in the voting, the lack of respect for actual performances, the sloppy show -- it was always disgusting. That show was also saddled with actual child abuse, since "anything goes". It is a pretty short jump, and I have always wondered if Golden Globes had that brand of underbelly.
I'm guessing the adult version exists for the same reason the child actor version exists -- clueless and desperate people will attend and look the other way. If actors would STOP going, there would be no show.