The 2008 Golden Globes Go Dark

In the wake of the writer’s strike, the 2008 Golden Globes have effectively been cancelled. In its place, a one hour Hollywood Foreign Press Association press conference will be held to  announce the winners in 25 categories. The conference will take place at The Beverly Hilton and will air on NBC at 6:00 p.m. PST on January 13th.

According to E! Online, things fell apart for the Golden Globes when the WGA (Writers Guild of America) refused to issue a waiver that would have allowed writers to work on the show. With plans for the WGA to picket the ceremony and the Screen Actors Guild announcing that none of the nominated actors would attend the event in support of the writers, there apparently seemed no point in going on with the show.

On the official Golden Globes website, Jorge Camara, President of The Hollywood Foreign Press Association stated, "We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007’s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television. We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year’s Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled."

Prior to the press conference announcing the winners, a special Dateline presentation will air, featuring interviews with many of the nominees.

While at first glance this seems to only effect the actors, studios and networks, there is a ripple effect to the cancellation of the highly anticipated Golden Globes. First, most of the after parties have been scrapped, including soirees hosted by the Weinstein Co., NBC Universal-Focus Films, HBO, Warner Bros., Fox Searchlight and E! Entertainment. Which means a loss of jobs and income for many food and beverage workers, hotel and event venues, security personnel, etc.

Next, fashion designers who count on these types of award shows for advertisement are feeling the effects as well. According to the USA Today website, "For a designer such as [Monique] Lhuillier, who dresses stars such as Katie Holmes and Hilary Swank but doesn’t advertise much, the Globes and other awards shows raise awareness of the brand. A photo of a celebrity wearing her gown can end up printed in fashion magazines for an entire year, and no red carpet means ‘loss of exposure.’"

And then there are the always-popular gift suites. While many are still going on as planned, like Nathalie Dubois’, who stated "We decided not to cancel this gift lounge, despite the Globes’ cancellation, as we thought some of the nominees and our guests will be happy to receive amazing gifts and to be introduced to new brands," there are several that have been called off. According to USA Today, Michael O’Connor of Platinum Guild, said, "It made sense to skip the suite after studying the mood of celebrities and discussing the situation with Platinum Guild and security."

And with no gift suites, the same issues arise with loss of work for the people who run and work the suites as well as a loss of exposure for the vendors.

The ripple effect continues on to the many well deserved charities who participate in the gifting suites and award ceremonies themselves. As these events are a prime opportunity to secure celebrity signed items for auction, many charities are missing out on the chance to get their message out, as well as raise money for their causes. One such example is Clothes Off Our Back who auction off outfits worn by the stars who walk the red carpet and donate the proceeds to children’s charities.

Since no one knows how long the strike will continue, there is concern it will affect the mother of all award ceremonies, The Oscars. While that is still up in the air, Academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger assured E! Online, "We are moving forward with planning for our show for Feb. 24, and at this point in time we’re doing all the things we normally would be doing. There’s voting, we’re having meetings about the red carpet and the usual things are in the works."

Stay tuned to see how the writer’s strike continues to unfold, but in the meantime, you can catch all the winners of the Golden Globes on NBC at 6:00 p.m. PST on January 13th.