When the Golden Globe Awards are televised live Sunday night, millions of viewers will either tune in to watch the entire production, view bits and pieces, or ignore it entirely.
And being no stranger to entertainment’s production side, Rob Kennedy knows what to expect come Sunday night.
“I like to watch award shows,” the James Madison freshman said. “I’m into filmmaking - I used to have my own public access show last year.”
However, Kennedy admits he doesn’t sit to watch the whole three hour-long show, only the highlights.
With the arrival of the Golden Globes comes the official start of the film awards season, regardless of what some may think of the show’s worth. Long considered to be a precursor to the Academy Awards, Sunday’s statuette winners may very well be holding Oscars by March.
And it wouldn’t be the first time it has happened.
In recent years, “American Beauty,” “Life is Beautiful” and perennial award-winner Tom Hanks have won Golden Globes before moving on to Oscars in the same year.
“I’m very impressed with their ceremony,” said Erik Lunde, an MSU professor of American Thought and Language who also teaches film. “Over the years it’s grown enormously in prestige.
“Clearly, while all ceremonies aren’t the same, it does predict where things will go with the Academy Awards.”
While the Oscars may be considered the more prestigious of the two, Lunde said audiences have grown tired of the pomp involved with handing out Oscar statuettes.
“In recent years, the Academy Awards production has gone too long, and it’s been uneven,” he said.
Lunde said the March awards show no longer meets the needs of its target audience.
“It’s lost some of its old show business grace,” Lunde said. “The Golden Globes have retained that, and the people involved are enjoying themselves.”
One of the main reasons for this may very well be the difference in the way nominees are decided - winners of Academy Awards are typically determined by industry insiders such as producers, actors and directors while the Golden Globes are determined by the entertainment audience.
More specifically, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization formed in the mid-1950s, has the final say in who will take home a Golden Globe each year.
It was originally formed by non-American journalists keeping an eye on the overseas Hollywood. In its early days, the goal was to recognize young actors likely to achieve international stardom.
At first the awards were a measure for Hollywood’s success in outside countries, with early recognition given to Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
As the world became smaller and foreign markets became more lucrative, the association’s importance grew. Today, when it gives out its annual awards, more than just films poised for international fame are honored.
“It’s nice to combine celebrating television comedy and drama along with film,” Lunde said. “What I don’t like about the Academy Awards is they need to reshape their categories.”
Lunde said television dramas have become superior and cinematic and should be recognized along with feature-length films.
“(Television dramas) are beautifully filmed, photographed, and directed. So why not celebrate?” he said.
And there are plenty of ways to celebrate.
Among the “Best of” categories in place this year are dramatic motion picture, dramatic television series and television motion picture. Add to that actor, actress and supporting role awards in many of those same genres and you have a total of 22 golden ornaments in a single evening.
But unlike previous years, there is no clear winner.
Battling for best dramatic picture are “Billy Elliot,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Gladiator,” “Sunshine,” “Traffic” and “Wonder Boys.”
The best musical or comedy film could also easily go to any of the five nominees - “Almost Famous,” “Best in Show,” “Chicken Run,” “Chocolat” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
English sophomore Tanner Higgin said this year’s toss-up results mainly from the poor quality of products released this year.
“My favorite movie?” he asked. “Well, this is a horrible year for movies. I’m a big Steven Soderbergh fan.
“I trust in him to deliver the goods, so “Traffic” would be my favorite. But I haven’t seen it yet.”
The movies themselves may leave something to be desired, but there have been more than enough milestones in acting this year.
Julia Roberts in “Erin Brockovich” will be battling Bjork’s singing and dancing in “Dancer in the Dark” for best dramatic actress, while Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” will be going head-to-head with Russell Crowe’s performance in “Gladiator” for best dramatic actor.
Mel Gibson’s nomination for best actor in a musical or comedy in “What Women Want,” is clearly the right choice for electrical engineering freshman Nick Stark.
“He did a great job in the film,” he said. “What I liked was his ability to get into the part and really act out the way he was feeling in terms of the power he got. That is, hearing everything women think.”
Emmy Award standbys “ER,” “The Sopranos” and “The West Wing” - to name a few - will be competing for the honor of best dramatic television series, while other Emmy hopefuls as “Ally McBeal,” “Frasier” and “Sex and the City” will compete in the best musical or comedy category.
Gary Hoppenstand, film professor and associate chairperson of the American Thought and Language department, said the hottest race - that of best dramatic picture - will be decided by, of all things, Hollywood’s values.
“It’s going to be between ‘Gladiator’ and ‘Traffic’,” he said. “The buzz seems to be those are the hot films.”
But whether viewers tune in or out for Sunday’s awards ceremony, one thing’s for certain: There’ll be more to come.
“It really is representative of how we desire certification in our lives,” Hoppenstand said. “We admire the specialist, we admire the certification, we admire the awards.
“It’s becoming an industry unto itself - you have to be cautious. In music, (the awards shows) seem to be cropping up all over the place.”
