January 09, 2008

Golden Globes: Do They Still Matter? Snoop Dogg, Angelina Jolie, More Weigh In On Stripped-Down Show

By Shawn Adler, with additional reporting by Larry Carroll (MTV.com)

For the striking writers, it's seen as a victory. For NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it's seen as something of a public-relations nightmare. But for the nominees and invited guests of the ceremony, the recently announced cancellation of the Golden Globes is nothing short of "a shame," insisted Hairspray director Adam Shankman.

Best-actress nominee Nikki Blonsky, the star of Hairspray, agrees with the director. "It's kind of like you've got your dress, you're getting ready for the senior prom, you've got your hair and your makeup, and somebody goes, 'Prom's canceled!' " she told MTV News. "That's what it's like. This was going to be a super-crazy prom. But it's not going to be."

"It's really disappointing," echoed Katherine Heigl, who is nominated for her supporting work on Grey's Anatomy. "It's an amazing night to be with people you respect and admire and to celebrate a year of work and a year of entertainment. I'm gonna be missing it on Sunday, and I'm gonna be sad."

NBC and the HFPA announced Monday plans to turn the annual event - often called Hollywood's biggest party because of its laid-back vibe, where celebrities sit and drink at dinner tables - into a news telecast, with the winners announced at a press conference Sunday evening.

But do the Globes carry the same luster without a proper ceremony to go along with them? In other words, if an award is handed out in the middle of a strike, and nobody's around to receive it, does it make a sound?

"It's great to have these honors and these nominations coming out," said director David Silverman, whose The Simpsons Movie is up for Best Animated Feature Film. "But the writers' strike certainly does put sort of a little pall on everything."

Why a pall? Well, because the Globes as they exist now aren't just about celebrating greatness (sometimes), but about celebrating greatness publicly, Snoop Dogg reasoned.

"It's the only time we got all the people in one room at one time, and it's all about who did the best this year," he said. "[But] it's all about peers respecting and paying homage to themselves and to others around them that do what they do."

"It's the first time I've ever been in a movie that's been nominated for any type of Golden Globe," said Amanda Bynes, who co-starred in Hairspray, which has also been nominated for best musical or comedy, and best supporting actor (John Travolta). "I was definitely excited to go."

If there's any question as to whether the newscast format lessens the awards, there was little doubt among the people we spoke with whether the awards show is lessened.

"I think it does lessen the show [if nobody shows up]," The Office actress Melora Hardin contended. "The show is the show because of the stars and because of the entertainment. ... They call it an awards show, and there's a reason for that. It's not an awards documentary or an awards sit-down, read-a-book - it's an awards show. Why would anyone watch if they don't get to see the stars?"

Which, in the end, hurts most the very people that the Writers Guild of America is charged with representing, an incensed Shankman said.

"It's wrong. I have just too many friends who worked too hard this year, and [the cancellation] is denying everybody a platform to say their cause," the director said. "[Juno screenwriter] Diablo Cody has a great shot, she's been through so much, and she's got the greatest story in the world, and to not be able to trumpet that is terrible. It just doesn't smell right to me."

"I support the writers," a calm Angelina Jolie countered.

Indeed, Shankman was in a minority (of one) when it came to placing blame on the writers. But with regards to the Globes, even disappointed stars, writers and directors all seemed to agree on one thing.

"Worse things have happened in the world, and people are being hurt a lot worse than me because of the strike," best-actress nominee Ellen Page sighed. "I hope it gets resolved soon."