Golden Globe Award

The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to recognize utstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, i.e. the best in motion pictures and television.

The 1st Golden Globe Awards were held in January 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles. The 66th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 2008, were presented on January 11, 2009 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. This has been the venue of Golden Globes since 1961. In terms of prestige, Golden Globe Award ceremony is considered at par with Oscars, Grammy and Emmy Awards.

In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish a special award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. To give importance to the award and recognize its subject as an international figure in the entertainment industry, the initial award was presented to director and producer Cecil B. DeMille. The official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

In 1955 the Golden Globes began honoring achievements in television as well as in film. The first honorees in the Best Television Show category that year were Dinah Shore, Lucy Desi, The American Comedy and Davy Crockett. In 2007, The Golden Globes initiated the category Best Animated Feature Film and the first year nominees were Cars, Happy Feet and Monster House. Today, the Golden Globes recognize achievements in 25 categories; 14 in motion pictures and 11 in television.

Each year HFPA members interview more than 400 actors, directors, writers and producers, as well as reporting from film sets and seeing more than 300 films. Members also attend film festivals in other countries in order to find out interesting and innovative foreign language films and establish cultural bonds with directors, actors, jurors and fellow journalists around the world. Membership meetings are held monthly and the officers and directors are elected annually. A maximum of five journalists are admitted to the organization each year. All members are accredited by the Motion Picture Association of America.