The organization behind the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday announced $2 million to a journalism consortium and a media rights group as it hoped to combat growing threats to press freedom.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which runs the first gala of the awards season, announced that it would donate $1 million each to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The association’s president, Indian journalist Meher Tatna, said that the group had been founded to cover entertainment but had expanded its mission to defend journalists amid rising attacks on their work.
“As artists, you bravely tell stories that enable us to see the world through the eyes of another. These stories are our best hope of reflecting the kind of world we want to live in,” she said.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a Washington-based network that supports in-depth cross-border probes into corruption and abuse of power, said the grant would support “the public’s need for openness and transparency.”
“This generous donation will allow us to bring scrutiny to repressive and dangerous regimes and to systems designed to channel more and more of the world’s resources into the hands of the rich and powerful,” the consortium’s director Gerard Ryle said in a statement.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, which defends the rights of journalists worldwide, also voiced gratitude for the donation.
The Golden Globes come amid growing concern over the preservation of a free press, with President Donald Trump incessantly denouncing “fake news” and journalists facing an array of dangers as they report out of conflict zones.
“The Post”—one of the nominees for best drama at the Golden Globes—depicts The Washington Post’s publication in brazen defiance of then president Richard Nixon of The Pentagon Papers, the US Defense Department’s secret history of the Vietnam War.
As expected, Hollywood’s biggest celebrities and A-list stars descended on The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California Sunday night (in the US) for the 75th edition of the Golden Globes.
The red carpet was a sea of black gowns, a symbolic statement of solidarity with #MeToo campaign and Time’s Up movement.
#MeToo, represented by its founder Tarana Burke who walked the red carpet accompanied by “All the Money in the World” star Michelle Williams, is an online awareness that encourages victims of sexual misconduct to speak up, while “Time’s Up” stems from the Harvey Weinstein scandal that rocked Hollywood in October last year.
While a handful of male attendees wore pins that read “Time’s Up,” no male winner or presenter spoke about the global movement during the ceremonies, probably leaving everything to program host Seth Meyers.
“Good evening, ladies and remaining gentlemen. There’s a new era under way. I can tell because it’s been this long since a white man has been nervous in Hollywood,” the host started.
“It’s time to address the elephant not in the room: Harvey Weinstein is not in the room tonight. I’ve heard rumors he’s crazy and difficult to work with. He’ll be back in 20 years when he’s the first person booed during the In Memoriam. For the men in the room, this will be the first time in three months where it won’t be terrifying to hear your name read out loud.”
A-list actresses, from Natalie Portman to Jessica Chastain, served up jokes about gender inequality in their industry. Portman, presenting the award for best film director, made a point of saying all the nominees were men. With AFP
“And here are the all-male nominees,” Portman said while the camera panned to each of the nominees namely Martin McDonagh, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro, who won for the film,“The Shape of Water.”
Before Portman’s jab at at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the non-profit organization of journalists and photographers that hands out the awards at the Golden Globes, the show also honored Oprah Winfrey with the Cecil B. DeMille award for her contributions to the world of entertainment throughout her career. The media mogul is the first black woman to win this award.
In her very impassioned acceptance speech, she spoke about the power of the press in revealing corruption and injustices, then shifted the focus to the biggest topic of the evening: sexual harassment.
“I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon,” she said. “When that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘me too’ again.
Below is the list of winners for the 75th Golden Globe Awards, which were handed out on Sunday in Beverly Hills:
FILM –
Best film, drama: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best film, musical or comedy: “Lady Bird”
Best director: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Best actor, drama: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Best actress, drama: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best actor, musical or comedy: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Best actress, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best supporting actress: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Best screenplay: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best foreign language film: “In the Fade”
Best animated feature: “Coco”
Best original score: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”
Best original song: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”
TELEVISION –
Best drama series: “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Best drama actor: Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”
Best drama actress: Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Best musical or comedy series: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Best musical or comedy actor: Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Best musical or comedy actress: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Best limited series or TV movie: “Big Little Lies”
Best limited series or TV movie actor: Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”
Best limited series or TV movie actress: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”
Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie: Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”
Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie: Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies.” With AFP