Golden Globes Announces Rule Changes For 2021 Awards
by Brent FurdykThe Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced some big rule changes in the qualifications required for Golden Globe nominations in some categories.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest rule changes follow on the heels of earlier changes that suspended its requirement that a film must premiere theatrically in order to be considered, a rule change that also applies to foreign-language films as well.While those changes responded to the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down theatres and led studios to either delay release dates or debut movies on VOD platforms, the latest changes are actually not pandemic-related.
One key change, notes THR, is in the category of TV anthology series, and what that actually means. Some anthologies — such as “American Horror Story” and “Fargo” — tell a different story each season, with the storyline carrying through a number of episodes. Others, such as “Black Mirror”, feature a different self-contained story in each episode.
The new HFPA rule now declares that “anthology series will be accommodated with the expansion of the best limited series/TV movie category, to become best television limited series, anthology series or motion picture made for television, and the lead acting categories thereof.”
This also applies to supporting actors in anthology series, “defined as those who appear in less than 50 per cent of the running time of the anthology series,” and will now compete with supporting performers from every sort of TV series in unified categories, encompassing best performance by an an actor in a supporting role on television and best performance by an actress in a supporting role on television.
Meanwhile, Variety reports on another rule change that came about due to Disney+ “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian”.
Star Pedro Pascal wears a helmet masking his face throughout most of the show, but briefly showed his face in the season finale. Under current rules, he would be eligible for consideration, albeit barely.
Under the new rules, however, an actor whose face isn’t seen, even if the actor is physically present in the scene, would no longer be eligible, and could only be nominated in the voice actor category.
