THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190125
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: MAL VINCENT
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
THE GOLDEN GLOBE Awards, to be telecast at 8 tonight on NBC, is the biggest movie party of the year - with an emphasis on the word ``party'' rather than on credibility. Yes, I say without blushing, I have attended a couple of times.
Even more stars attend this than the Oscars. But, let us hasten to add, it is only because of the Oscars that they attend. If you're nominated for a Golden Globe Award, you'd better attend if you want to be in the Oscar race. Attending is like saying to the Oscar voters: ``I want to win. I pay my dues.''
The Golden Globes are to the Oscars what the New Hampshire primary is to the presidential race. For the past decade or so, a sharp correlation between Globe winners and eventual Oscar winners can be made.
Of course, the Globe voters have a wider range of possibilities because they nominate actors and actresses in both the ``drama'' and ``comedy or musical'' categories. Consequently, they have 10 nominees in each category compared to 10 total for the much more coveted Oscar. (In order to make the party lively, the Globe voters nominate high-profile, big-star names. Hence, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson and Sharon Stone are among tonight's competitors).
At the Globes, the best place to sit is near the rest rooms. I got a seat there one year and ended up with an interview with every major star in the business. Since the event is a wine-and-dine affair, everyone is more relaxed than at the Oscars (where they have to sit in theater seats for more than three hours). At the Globes, everyone gets looser.
I'll never forget the year when a woman practically broke into the men's room as I left.
``Is Tom Selleck in there?'' she yelled, threatening to push past.
``Madame, I'm sure I don't know,'' I answered, ``but I suggest you restrain yourself.''
She countered, ``I'll check and see if Faye Dunaway is in the ladies' room if you'll check to see if Tom Selleck is in there.''
No deal.
It is interesting that the Globes are returning to NBC this year. In recent years, they have been only on cable. When NBC last telecast the event, in 1968, the network was chastised by the Federal Communications Commission, which said, ``The public was substantially misled as to the basis on which winners were chosen.''
Since then, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has hired an independent auditing firm to count the votes cast by the group's 85 voters. (They claim to be leading reporters from Brazil, Egypt, Denmark and other far-flung places.)
Among the past dubious winners were Pia Zadora as ``most promising newcomer'' and Zsa Zsa Gabor as ``most glamorous star'' (in the year she starred in ``Queen of Outer Space'').
But the last time the Golden Globes failed to also name Oscar's ``best picture'' choice was 1992, when it chose ``Scent of a Woman.'' Oscar chose ``The Unforgiven.''
Here's a partial list of tonight's nominees:
Best Picture, Drama: ``Apollo 13,'' ``Braveheart,'' ``The Bridges of Madison County,'' ``Leaving Las Vegas,'' ``Sense and Sensibility''
Best Picture, Comedy or Musical: ``The American President,'' ``Babe,'' ``Get Shorty,'' ``Sabrina,'' ``Toy Story''
Best Director: Mike Figgis, ``Leaving Las Vegas''; Mel Gibson, ``Braveheart''; Ron Howard, ``Apollo 13''; Ang Lee, ``Sense and Sensibility''; Rob Reiner, ``The American President''; Martin Scorsese, ``Casino''
Best Actress, Drama: Susan Sarandon, ``Dead Man Walking''; Elisabeth Shue, ``Leaving Las Vegas''; Sharon Stone, ``Casino''; Meryl Streep, ``The Bridges of Madison County''; Emma Thompson, ``Sense and Sensibility''
Best Actress, Comedy or Musical: Annette Bening, ``The American President''; Sandra Bullock, ``While You Were Sleeping''; Toni Collette, ``Muriel's Wedding''; Nicole Kidman, ``To Die For''; Vanessa Redgrave, ``A Month by the Lake''
Best Actor, Drama: Richard Dreyfuss, ``Mr. Holland's Opus''; Anthony Hopkins, ``Nixon''; Ian McKellen, ``Richard III''; Sean Penn, ``Dead Man Walking''; Nicolas Cage, ``Leaving Las Vegas''
Best Actor, Comedy or Musical: Michael Douglas, ``The American President''; John Travolta, ``Get Shorty''; Harrison Ford, ``Sabrina''; Steve Martin, ``Father of the Bride, Part II''; Patrick Swayze, ``To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.''
Will the Oscar voters be watching? Will someone fall over a table? Is this really the way ``art'' should be honored? ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Mel Gibson is in the running for a Golden Globe for best director
for his movie ``Braveheart.''
by CNB