Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge acquire Golden Globes; Hollywood Foreign Press Association to wind down
Massive change is coming to the Golden Globes.
Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge have acquired the assets, rights and properties to the annual awards show from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, according to a press release.
This will result in the winding down of the HFPA, a group of international journalists who previously chose nominees and decided winners for the Golden Globes each year, which has come under fire in recent years for a lack of diversity among its ranks.
Additionally, proceeds from this acquisition — in addition to current resources of the HFPA — will be used to form the Golden Globe Foundation to continue the HFPA’s entertainment-related charitable giving.
Dick Clark Productions and its partners will take on the task of planning, hosting and producing the annual Golden Globe Awards, with the 81st annual ceremony set for January 7, 2024.
Helen Hoehne, the current president of the HFPA, said the organization’s membership approved of the move.
“We are excited to close on this much anticipated member-approved transaction and transition from a member-led organization to a commercial enterprise,” Hoehne said in a press release.
Dick Clark Productions CEO Jay Penske said the company’s mission is “to continue creating the most dynamic awards ceremony on live television viewed across the world.”
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association had been the target of controversy even before a 2021 expose from The Los Angeles Times revealed the group didn’t have a single Black journalist among its ranks.
The negative headlines led some stars to publicly flame the group and three-time winner Tom Cruise to return his trophies. NBC pulled the awards show from its lineup in 2022, though it went on without a broadcast, or stars.
The organization vowed “transformational changes,” and the Golden Globes returned for its 80th annual show in 2023.
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