It was the most unusual Golden Globes award since 2008, when the writers’ strike forced producers to scrap it in favor of a press conference. But this year, the program has strived, in the words of executive producer Barry Adelman, to be as ‘Golden Globes-y’ as possible.
That means we have to embrace unpredictable moments, like when Catherine O’Hara’s husband added sound effects from his phone to the “Schitt’s Creek” star’s acceptance speech, or when Daniel Kaluuya, a Judas and Black Messiah star, per accidentally made his laptop on dumb it was quickly corrected).
“All night long there were a number of surprises where people suddenly popped up in situations that you had no idea were happening,” Adelman said. ‘I thought it made the program extremely interesting. You suddenly saw children walking into the frame, you saw dogs. Jodie Foster and her wife and their dog were a total surprise and a wonderful picture. ”
Critics were not so friendly, and the television broadcast was poorly rated and the ratings dropped to the 2008 level, as the audience may be tired of watching celebrities accepting awards in Zoom boxes. (The Globes have held steady in the ratings so far this year, but not all commitments are in these COVID times).
This year’s ceremony, however, had its important and memorable moments, such as the emotional speech of Chadwick Boseman’s wife, Simone Ledward Boseman, who won the victory of the late star’s best drama actor for ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’.
“There were about five or six moments that were extremely memorable and that would make the highlight of Golden Globe performances,” Adelman said. “Even in a virtual world, we could get humanity, and we could get emotion. Which is always for me, along with humor and unexpected moments, the highlights of any award. “
Variety asked Adelman, CEO of TV at Dick Clark Prods., And Linda Gierahn, CEO of Shingles, to share some goodies and answer questions about Sunday night’s 78th annual Golden Globe Awards. The highlights:
• Fiber optics is everything. Anyone who has had a Zoom call knows that it is impossible not to step on each other while talking, but Amy Poehler, the Globes host, and Tina Fey managed to avoid it most of the time, even though they the opposite coast was. (The only notable hiccup was when both introduced the acceptance of Norman Lear’s Carol Burnett award.) Part of that was due to lightning-fast fibers between both coasts that kept the time delay to a third of a second.
“With our hosts on the different coasts, we wanted to keep it as seamless as possible,” Gierahn said. ‘And what that means was really so much preparation with an army of technical producers that we worked on both coasts. We’ve expanded our schedule to make sure we have the right time to go through everything, to make sure it works. And we looked at it in both places so that it could look seamless at the top of the show. ‘
Adelman added: ‘It’s easy with them, because they have such an amazing chemistry with each other, that 3000 miles means nothing. Their timing remains the same. If you were going to do this with two people, these are the two I would choose. ‘
• The Globes normally cram hundreds of contestants into every corner of the Beverly Hilton ballroom. This year, the audience was just 42 in Beverly Hills and 32 in the Rainbow Room in New York. The mix of first responders and essential workers was pre-screened and consists of a wide variety of people, including teachers, flight attendants and workers in restaurant and grocery stores.
Gierahn said the audience’s response was not sweetened because “they were so excited to be there and so enthusiastic, and they were loud.” However, they were not fed. “We just can’t deal with the LA rules right now,” she added.
• Candidates all received their own isolated feed at home. Some virtual participants required additional equipment, while others used their own computers. Producers had the ability to muffle and muffle the people at home, but there were opportunities, such as Kaluuya’s muted laptop, that were beyond their control.
• Most of the resignations were live, but a few were given the option to record in advance – including Lear’s speech. “Norman Lear, of course, at age 98, as he was soon to be 99 years old last night, we wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for him,” Adelman said. “He is still sharp and vital as he showed last night. But we thought it was a more convenient arrangement for him to paste it in advance, and although it was pre-recorded, he certainly made the most of the moment. ‘
• Before most commercial interruptions, candidates in different categories were shown talking to each other. It was the idea of director Louis J. Horvitz, who came up with the concept of showing category candidates together in a virtual holding room and arranging them so that they could talk to each other.
“What we were trying to do there was to somehow bring about the same fun and camaraderie you get at the Globes when it happens live in the ballroom,” Adelson said. ‘Some of people’s favorite parts of the Globes are watching people jump on the table and talk to each other. These are all fans of each other. They all know each other’s work, and that gave them the chance to do it as if they were going to see each other at the show. ”
Gierahn said the production team communicates directly with each nominee and makes it clear when they are on and when not. “Of course they were very nervous, so they wanted to ask, ‘Am I on or am I not going? “But we definitely communicated with them throughout the process,” she said.
• Some of the winners’ choices during their acceptance speeches surprised the producers. When “Soul” producer Dana Murray and co-director Pete Docter accepted the award, they also stopped an iPad with a pre-recorded thank you from co-director Kemp Powers. Fortunately, the sound worked, but ‘I had no idea what was going to happen,’ Adelman said.
Ditto, as mentioned above, was crazy about O’Hara when she accepted her best TV comedy actress award for ‘Schitt’s Creek’. Adelman said: ‘Her husband, who had the phone, played for her applause or music that was not phonetically translated for us, but there was something going on that we had no idea about. It was completely impromptu and we did not know where the sound was coming from. We knew it was not in our system and then we finally saw what he was doing there. This is the pleasure of live television. ”
• Personal presenters were given the option to stay in their cars, and then jump out and take a specific social distance to the Globes stage. In some cases, if someone was needed more than once for the show, they were offered a stopover where they could wait. “We’re really trying to keep our numbers as small as possible and have essential crew on site,” Gierahn said. ‘It actually comes down to the individual situation and what people are comfortable with. But mostly in and out as fast as possible. ”
• TikTok star La’Ron Hines was recruited by Poehler and Fey to do a segment with toddlers holding their movie titles. “La’Ron has a huge following on TikTok and online, and I think Tina and Amy ran into him,” Adelman said. “They love them, and they said we should do something about this young man. They talked to him and came up with this idea, and it sounded good to us. Linda and her team made sure it was COVID safe. ”
• Poehler and Fey made the decision to address the HFPA controversy over the lack of black members alone. “I will tell you that we have a practical policy on monologues,” Adelman said. “Once we hire our hosts, they can say what they want to say. Just like our presenters, and also everyone who is going to give a speech. That’s part of our philosophy in this show, and that’s all Tina and Amy were, they said what they wanted to say and we made them say. ‘
• The HFPA also briefly gave their promise to improve the inclusion of membership during the segment they have annually on the television set. “The HFPA always has a moment in the show where they can discuss issues they want to tackle,” Adelman said. “There were already a number. It now goes back almost decades. They have addressed other issues in the past that were in those addresses at the right time, and it was a timely issue and that is their place. ”
• Adelman is not opposed to trying the bicoastal setup again. “I’m open to anything in the area,” he said. ‘I do not want to give Linda sleepless nights, but I would consider doing it again under the right circumstances. Obviously we did it because of the circumstances of this unusual year … if it makes sense again, I’m open to anything. ‘