The HFPA’s back in the news, and, as usual, it’s not good news.
There’s a laundry list of problems to fix keeping HFPA members up at night, but their worst nightmare is having to resolve the 100+ publicity firms snapping at their heels. The publicists’ celebrity clients make the Golden Globes show something NBC will pay $60M for annually. If HFPA doesn’t make peace with the PRs, the GG are doomed.
Most news coverage of the HFPA crisis highlights serious issues like only 90-odd members, restricting new memberships, major lack of diversity, encouraging and/or accepting gifts & luxury travel from studios and financial abuses like paying some members to serve on the non-profit org’s committees.
Even if all these serious abuses are resolved with the wave of a wand — which is likely what it would take – the HFPA will still be in jeopardy because the publicists have their own unhappy list – like no more press conferences with embarrassing or abusive personal questions for their clients, no more demands to take selfies with the stars & no more autograph requests.
Bottom line: If HFPA can’t get the publicists to back off, the GG will be off.