It’s pretty fair to say the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have had a bumpy road in recent years. Accusations of bias within the organisation, racism and even being taken off air for a year resulted in a (much needed) major reshuffle in the organisation as well as a reflection on their policies to prevent voting fraud and a lack of diversity in the company. With an expansion of over 100 members from a wide range of backgrounds, there has been a noticeable change in the past couple years in terms of who and what gets nominations.

I’m going to use this change in tide as an opportunity to discuss the highs, as well as the lows, of the Golden Globes history.

RIGHT! – Celine Song, Best Director Nomination – 81^st Golden Globes

Going with a very recent one here. This was the first year we saw the “new” version of the Golden Globe in full swing with their nominations for the upcoming 81^st ceremony. Oh boy! This was a hell of a choosing. They really impressed us all with really inspired picks such as “Anatomy of a Fall” in Motion Picture, Drama – the first foreign language movie to make it into a Best Film category. I really struggled deciding but I’ve chosen Celine Song getting a Best Directory nod for “Past Lives” as my favourite nomination of this year. A slow, thoughtful, emotional drama with half of the dialogue being spoken in another language getting a Director nomination is not something I’d had ever expected from the Globes two years ago.

WRONG! – Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Category

Sorry guys! But it’s another one from this year. In theme of the upcoming ceremony being under a week away I could not let this get a miss. Difference here is it’s not a single nomination, it’s the idea of the category itself! The whole point of the HFPA expanding their membership was to diversify their voting body as well as their nominees. Moreover, many viewed it as an opportunity to see smaller, less typically Globes-ee picks getting in come nomination morning, and in lots of ways, this was a success. Why on earth they thought this category was going to go down well is beyond me. I know the obvious answer is to try and get more audiences to tune in, but since when has this mind set ever worked? After doing so much to change and show they can be different and appreciate all ranges of art, it seems they really let themselves down here. Let’s hope this is the last we see of this category.

RIGHT! – Taron Egerton beating Leonardo DiCaprio – 77^th Golden Globes

This is what I’m talking about! They had EVERY opportunity to go with the obvious pick, Leonardo DiCaprio in “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”, and no one would have been surprised or batted an eyelid, but to do the right thing and give Taron Egerton the award for his astounding performance in “Rocketman” is what it’s all about and why we love these ceremonies. It’s for the pleasant surprise of seeing our favourites be acknowledge for their hard work. Whilst it’s a shame Leo still beat Taron for the nomination at the following Academy Awards, this is still an awesome nomination for an awesome performance that’ll go down in history.

WRONG! Sam Mendes beats Bong Joon Ho – 77^th Golden Globes

We all remember this moment. We were ready to see Bong win his first major award for his incredible “Parasite” and waltz all the way to the Oscars. But the HFPA went (I’m sorry) simple and picked the one-take war epic “1917” for the win in Director. Whilst things worked out VERY well for Bong-hive come night of the Oscars, it’s safe to say the explanation here is that their thinking was one take = great direction.

RIGHT! Brad Pitt beats Kevin Spacey – 53^rd Golden Globes

Crazy and out there beating traditional, love it! That’s exactly how I’d describe this win. I think name value is what pushed Spacey over the line for the Oscar win eventually, but my god did the Globes get it right! The facial expressions, the voice, the mannerisms, Pitt kills it as Jeffery Goines.

WRONG! Aaron Taylor Johnson wins Supporting Actor – 74^th Golden Globes

It’s not so much the win that’s wrong here, more the politics behind it. This win was completely unpredicted as Taylor Johnson’s performance in “Nocturnal Animals” wasn’t nominated ANYWHERE else during awards season, but I think we can all easily explain this. Turns out director Tom Ford had “gifted” each HFPA member two very expensive bottles of cologne, of which each member had to return one as it exceeded the gift allowance. Call it a gift all he wants, another word beginning with B comes to mind, and I think this heavily explains the completely random win that night.

RIGHT! Brokeback Mountain beats Crash and Capote – 63^rd Golden Globes

Interestingly enough, the Globes have a pretty good record of award Best Picture to more deserving picks then the Oscars. “Saving Private Ryan” beating “Shakespeare in Love” at the Globes (unlike the Oscars) is another example of this.

With this win, what is more interesting is that “Crash” didn’t even get a NOMINATION in Motion Picture – Drama. Whilst the “Crash” Best Picture upset will be an all time low for the Academy, at least ‘Brokeback got some recognition, so thanks HFPA!

WRONG! Bohemian Rhapsody beats all its other nominees – 76^th Golden Globes

Cheesy, sloppy editing, sloppy screenplay and an inaccurate and disrespectful look at the life of Freddie Mercury, how this movie beat ALL of “Black Panther”, “Blackkklansman”, “If Beale Street Could Talk” AND “A Star is Born” is beyond any of us. 2018 wasn’t much of a great year for movies admittedly, but at least all these other nominees had a meaning and purpose. Without a director or screenplay nomination this must have really squeezed the win here. Looks like feel good is what the Globes like, and what they’ll vote for!