For the first time since the awards were established 65 years ago, The Golden Globe ceremony has been canceled this year.
Admittedly, awards shows in general come across as dry, overlong, and the self-congratulatory orgy of excess for a small contingent of people whose egos are already constantly stroked by all of the media and most of the free world. But for those of us who appreciate a wry acceptance speech from S. Epatha Merkerson every now and again, a chance to clap for and rag on anorexic actresses’ sartorial choices, and the sheer “ooooh, BURN.” humor of some saucy celeb telling Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush to get lost, this whole cancellation thing comes as pretty bad news.
It also doesn’t bode well for those of us hoping our favorite shows will return with new episodes before the end of the season. This strike’s getting messy. Hollywood, just come up off the extra .08 cent per DVD and the Internet airing residuals, so these fine people of the WGA can get back to doing what they do best: helping us all waste our time, thinking about and discussing characters who don’t really exist.
If you’re still wondering how you can find out who’s going to take home the awards this year, the Hollywood Foreign Press has planned to replace the annual three-hour telecast with a one-hour press conference, announcing the winners, at 6 pm PST/9 pm EST on January 13.
… And speaking of awards ceremonies, y’all know the NAACP Image Awards 2008 nominees are out, right? Sure you do! Many have already voiced their outrage over Angelina Jolie’s Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nod for her portrayal of Afro-Cuban-Dutch widow, activist, and author Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart.
Yeah. We didn’t get it, either… but not necessarily because Jolie is White. Not even because it seems that she’s the first White actress to be nominated in the 39-year history of the awards. It’s just… wouldn’t it make more sense just to give an award to Mariane Pearl herself? We’re guessing it’s her life and the grace and courage with which she processed her tragedy that led to the movie deal and to Jolie’s “controversial” portrayal. So why generate more needless controversy with an acting nomination, reminding everybody that a White actress slightly browned her skin and pulled on a curly wig to portray her?
And if you’re thinking, “nominate Pearl for what, pray tell?,” we got you. Did you know that the NAACP has literature categories? Yeah, we didn’t either, really. It does, though–nine of them! Couldn’t they have nominated Pearl for Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography (or Non-Fiction, even) in 2004, when she initially released the memoir on which the biopic is based? She’s the “Colored” one. And it’s her “Advancement” that’s worthy of their “Image” award, right?
In other Image Award news, it’s a big year for the non-African-American nominee, even if you set Jolie aside. America Ferrera, Jimmy Smits, Adam Beach, and Daniel Sunjata are all up for acting awards. Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go got nods in the animation category. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Saving Your Life was recognized in the news category. Mindy Kaling, Krista Vernoff, and Natalie Chaidez (among others) were nominated in television writing categories.
They also gave big-ups to Seal.
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