Hooray for Hollywood
My dad died on Golden Globes Sunday, ten years ago this week.
Only fitting that he would depart the earthly realm during awards season.
Awards season is a seemingly endless period of time which stretches from Thanksgiving, when screeners* start arriving, through the Academy Awards, which this year falls on the 2nd of March.
*a perk of being in one of the Academy Guilds—Writing, Acting, Producing, Directing, Costume, Music, Makeup, Sound, Editing, etc.—is getting to watch films before they are released. Screeners used to be sent on DVDs back in the day but now For Your Consideration films are sent via digital links and/ or the Academy App. In some ways streaming links have slightly democratized the process of smaller films being broadly seen by voting members though in the end it’s more about who has the marketing budget to afford a proper awards campaign and which well connected Hollywood host/hostess champions your project behind the scenes. These are the true power players during awards season, not the shiny faces whose photos populate your social media feed.
Awards season entails endless lunches, dinners, screenings, publicity campaigns and glad handing on behalf of every studio and person who wants to put their name or project forth for consideration. Sundance, SAG awards, BAFTA, New York Critics Awards, etc etc. fall within the bounds of the season.
In the first week of January while most people are in holiday hangover mode, nursing head colds,"circling back,” re-starting their wellness resolutions (dry January, back to the gym, a promise to hydrate more,) Hollywood is in the thick of it. Facialists and personal trainers are fully booked and Erewhon is busier than the 405 at rush hour. I should know, as I’ve just been in LA for a week, hitting my facialist to the stars and multiple Erewhon locations where I spotted numerous slightly passé male movie stars doing their own shopping.