The Golden Globes have a reputation that’s unique among awards shows. In recent years, the ceremony, honoring some of the best in film and television, has become known as the rowdy party of awards season. While there is booze at the Oscars, it’s…
The Golden Globes have a reputation that’s unique among awards shows. In recent years, the ceremony, honoring some of the best in film and television, has become known as the rowdy party of awards season. While there is booze at the Oscars, it’s relegated to a bar outside the auditorium. At the Globes, the alcohol flows freely at the tables, and hosts roast both the guests and nominees. The body that runs and votes for the awards are a group of 88 international entertainment journalists, and to many, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is a relatively enigmatic bunch whose choices sometimes confound others in the industry.
But the HFPA’s current president, Meher Tatna, wants to change all of your perceptions about the group and the Globes. It’s not that she wants to take away the fun and frivolity of the ceremony, surely, but she also wants you to know that the HFPA is more than just its often-eclectic taste in movies. In fact, the organization’s growing philanthropic endeavors are its new heart and soul, a move Tatna mandated upon her election. Two years into her presidency, she’s managed to increase the HFPA’s profile as a charitable institution and she calls it « the best » aspect of her job when we speak over the phone a few days before the 2019 ceremony, hosted by Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh.
« We’ve done a lot of events as a charity, » she says, « And representing the organization at those has really been the most rewarding part. »
Over the last 25 years of its 76-year history, the HFPA has committed over $33 million in donations to entertainment-related nonprofit organizations, humanitarian work, film preservation, restoration, and scholarships, according to Tatna. Recipients include such groups as Veterans in Film & TV, Women in Film, Women Make Movies, Los Angeles LGBT Center, GlobalGirl Media, and more. At the 2018 Globes ceremony, the HFPA committed $1 million to both the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, a clear statement in the era of #fakenews.
« Those are things that I am really, really proud of, » Tatna says.
