Tonight the Hollywood Film Awards® will make their television debut on CBS, but what exactly is this show that has actually trademarked the tagline “Official Launch of the Award Season™” and declares they “launch the awards season” and that “[o]ver the past 17 years, prior honorees have gone on to garner many Oscar nominations and wins”? Well, it’s just that, it’s a so-called “awards” ceremony where the “winners” are more-or-less hand-picked by publicists. They aren’t necessarily awards as much as they are curated attempts at headlines on the campaign trail.
Carlos de Abreu is listed as the Founder and Executive Producer of the HFA. His bio lists him as “an Internet pioneer” (whatever that means) and founder and CEO of the Hollywood Network® Inc. He was also a jet pilot in the Portuguese Air Force, but perhaps most importantly he has experience in brand marketing, which is pretty much all the Hollywood Film Awards are.
So who decides these awards? Awards that were, in previous years, announced beforehand and saw Star Trek Into Darkness take Best Hollywood Film last year, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 before that, and while some may be happy to see films such as Inception and The Dark Knight have also won the not-at-all-coveted “Hollywood Movie Award”, those two films stand in the esteemed company of previous winners including 300, World Trade Center and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
As for the committee, well you need look no further than their official site for the lowdown:
Our award/tribute recipients are selected by our Advisory Team which is comprised of a cross section of Hollywood professionals.
The selection process for our honorees takes multiple elements into consideration and involves attending pre-press private industry screenings, press screenings, festival screenings, and research. It also includes the support and participation of established entertainment industry executives, from agents, critics, directors, managers, producers, publicists, screenwriters and studio execs to members of the craft guilds.
Agents, managers, publicists, producers, producer reps and studios are invited to submit their clients or films.
So yes, agents, managers, publicists, producers, producer reps and studios submit their clients and films and who exactly are they submitting them to? Best of luck finding out because, as the HFA site says, “The HFA Advisory Selection Team includes film industry insiders and executives. We do not disclose Selection Team member names to protect their privacy.”
In an article at the Los Angeles Times they suggest the committee making the decisions is bogus. “It’s just Carlos … and maybe his wife,” said one Oscar consultant, who requested anonymity to protect his clients from fallout. On top of that, De Abreu would not comment for the “Times” story.
So what are the Hollywood Film Awards? First and foremost, as an “awards” ceremony, they are an embarrassment. Second, and most important for the industry, they are a stop on the awards season campaign trail. Look no further than a couple years ago when Quentin Tarantino was given the award for Best Screenplay for Django Unchained and said, “It’s kind of strange to get an award while you’re still in the editing room for a movie… Now when my editor wants to cut down a long section of dialogue I can say, ‘You want to take a line out of my award-winning screenplay?'”
At the same time Diablo Cody called the a charade while Seth Rogen asked, “Who voted for these things? I’m told someone named Carlos. I’m going with Carlos the Jackal.”
I’m sure if you ask Carlos de Abreu about the Tarantino win he’ll look at you seriously and say, “Well, it went on to win the Oscar didn’t it?” Feigned ignorance… it must be blissful.
The show was pretty much ignored last year once the organization stopped bombarding inboxes with advance notice of their winners, but this year they have a shiny primetime slot with Queen Latifah hosting and a list of attendees that already include: Amy Adams, Gerard Butler, Steve Carell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Johnny Depp, Laura Dern, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Simon Helberg, Jonah Hill, Ron Howard, Randy Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley, Michael Keaton, Jared Leto, Jennifer Lopez, Julianne Moore, Mike Myers, Jack O’Connell, Robert Pattinson, Chris Pratt, Eddie Redmayne, Chris Rock, Hilary Swank, Kristen Stewart, Channing Tatum, Jean-Marc Vallée, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley.
Looking at that list it would seem we can expect some wins for Unbroken (which no one has seen), because Jolie doesn’t show up for an awards show for no reason. It would also seem Wild is very well represented as is The Imitation Game. Foxcatcher also clearly has it’s representation and with Downey and Duvall showing up is it possible they would give the much-loathed The Judge an award? Perhaps a lifetime achievement for Duvall awarded by Downey?
I guess the Hollywood Film Awards are the official “launch of the awards season” and it will give you a good idea of just how hard exactly some studios and publicists are pushing what films and performances. Hopefully you won’t look at them as actual awards though… because they’re not. However, while there is little transparency when it comes to the inner-workings of the Hollywood Film Awards, perhaps they do offer a window into the behind-the-scenes bargaining when it comes to the awards season at large.
