Hollywood festivities return as ‘Barbie’ vies for Golden Globes

By Lisa Richwine

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) – Margot Robbie, Oprah Winfrey and Leonardo DiCaprio will mingle with other top stars on Sunday at the Golden Globe awards, Hollywood’s first big celebration since twin strikes shut down most of show business last year.

The red carpet, champagne-fueled awards ceremony will honor the best of film and television selected by a new group of 300 entertainment journalists from around the world, part of reforms made after a diversity and ethics scandal among voters.

“Barbie,” the summer blockbuster starring Robbie as the iconic doll, leads all nominees with nine nominations. Historical drama “Oppenheimer,” about the making of the atomic bomb, follows with eight nods.

The Globes kick off Hollywood’s annual awards season, which culminates with the Oscars on March 10, and will bring top stars together after six months of strikes by actors and writers in 2023. The ceremony will give celebrities the chance to shine a spotlight on their films and TV shows after months when promotion was prohibited.

“I’m a little biased, but this is the best awards show and we’re going to have fun,” said comedian Jo Koy, who will host his first major awards show starting at 8 p.m. ET (0100 GMT on Monday).

The ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS and streamed simultaneously for subscribers to Paramount+ with Showtime.

Acting nominees include Robbie and “Barbie” co-star Ryan Gosling, plus “Oppenheimer” stars Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro, who starred in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” also are up for trophies.

Winfrey is among the night’s presenters. Pop superstar Taylor Swift also may join the A-list crowd as a nominee for “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” her concert film that is in the running in a new category for cinematic and box office achievement.

In the television field, “Succession” is expected to win accolades for its final season about the high-stakes battle for control of a global media empire. It leads all nominees with nine nods, followed by restaurant dramedy “The Bear” with five.

There are 27 first-time nominees for this year’s Globes.

Known as a boozy celebration more relaxed than the Oscars, the Globes nearly became extinct. A 2021 Los Angeles Times report revealed ethical lapses and a lack of diversity among the roughly 80 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that previously voted on the Globes. The 2022 ceremony was scrapped while the organization made reforms.

Last year, the Globes were sold to new owners and the association was disbanded. Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions now operate the awards, with a voting body of 300 journalist members from 75 countries with 60% racial and ethnic diversity.

The changes appear to have persuaded Hollywood’s top talent to embrace the show and its new members.

“They’re trying to announce that they’re new and improved,” said Joyce Eng, senior editor at awards website Gold Derby. “I feel like people are more receptive to them.”

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