The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Tuesday it is moving the date of its annual Golden Globe Awards back by one week. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the ceremony, which has taken place on the third weekend in January, will now take place on the last Sunday of the month.
By moving the ceremony to Jan. 25, the Golden Globe Awards will now take place just two days before the Oscar nominations are announced on Jan. 27. But while the HFPA, which has long been accused of attempting to influence Oscar nominations balloting, will no longer affect the Oscar nomination process, they may still have some impact on the Academy’s final vote.
The Golden Globes dinner, which is held annually at the Beverly Hills Hotel and telecast on NBC, has in recent years taken place before the balloting closed for Academy nominations. But now Oscar voters will choose their winners starting Feb. 4–just one week after the Golden Globes.
The Globes have proven to be a significant barometer of the Oscars. Since 1943, 44 of the Academy’s Best Picture winners previously won Golden Globes for either best drama or best comedy or musical. But some say this is an easy call, since the Globes give two best picture awards each year.
The Academy’s new schedule has caused quite an impact on other award ceremonies. The 2004 Grammys, for instance, switched from its usual late February date to Sunday, Feb. 8 to avoid a head-on collision with the Academy Awards.
The American Music Awards, meanwhile, are set to move from early January to Nov. 16, 2003 so the show can air during sweeps. In its January slot, the AMAs found itself competing with too many awards shows.
The Orange British Academy Awards (previously known as the BAFTAs) were also impacted. Organizers last week announced they were moving that annual awards show from Feb. 8, 2004 to Feb. 15 so as not to compete with the Academy’s lunch scheduled for Feb. 9, according to the Reporter.
