That One Time The Golden Globes Did Not Take Place

The annual Golden Globes occur with plenty of pomp and circumstance, with celebrities gracing the stage to announce or accept awards, giving speeches that occasionally ramble, in fashion designs that delight or disgusts the fashion police and bloggers. This year was not very different as we just recently saw, however, one year the award show did not air in its usual format.

Learn about the one time that the Globes did not air with the usual fanfare to honor some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Brief History Of The Golden Globes

The Golden Globes dates back to 1944 when 20th Century Fox served as the location where actors and actresses received a scroll as their award. The Golden Globes explains that the following year, members of the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association, the precursor to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, “Held a contest to find a design for a statuette,” leading to the design of the statuette that Golden Globe recipients receive.

The Globes quickly took on a new persona, with the second Golden Globes becoming a full gala event. Over the years, the Golden Globes eliminated some categories, added new categories and divided others into separate categories, with today’s Globes honoring recipients in 25 categories.

One Globes event did not happen, the only year that fans and celebrities did not see the usually celebrated event.

Basic Facts About The Writer’s Guild Strike

Although not the first strike by the Writer’s Guild, the strike that occurred in 2007 had a major impact. The strike began on November 5, 2007, and ended on February 12, 2008. The impact of the strike affected several awards presentations, including the 65th Golden Globes.

The 65th Globes That Did Not Happen

Although the intention is to honor film and television stars every year, this did not happen for the 65th annual Golden Globes. Scheduled to air on January 13, 2008, some sources seemed to feel that the show would go on, while it appeared obvious to others early on that the Globes may not happen. One of those sources was People, who announced in December 2007 that the on-going strike by the Writer’s Guild could potentially impact the airing of the Golden Globes.

Even after the Writer’s Guild denied a request for writers to work on the Golden Globes, Dick Clark Productions still seemed optimistic that the Golden Globes would go on as usual. However, it was apparently not meant to be since the 65th annual Golden Globes ceremony did not happen.

Some people may argue that some of the actors and actresses played a role in the Golden Globes not happening. This is because many members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) stated they planned to boycott the Golden Globes ceremony to demonstrate support for the Writer’s Guild strike.

The Emmys division of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences announced that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association allotted a one-hour press conference on NBC for the announcement of the Globe winners. There was no gala event, no red carpet, no fanfare, and celebration.

Repercussions Of The Awards That Did Not Happen

Like many other major television events, advertisers spend millions of dollars on advertising their brands and products during the airing of the Golden Globes. Reuters pointed to the fact that less than six million viewers tuned in to the press conference announcing Golden Globe winners, approximately one-quarter of the number of viewers who tuned in one year earlier.

Reuters also provided the bad news from a source who estimated that advertisers lost as much as $15 million as a result of the usual Golden Globes gala not happening.

The Golden Globes did occur the following year and every year since, with its usual fanfare and gala event intact, likely pleasing fans and advertisers alike.