A nod to a local industry - it's time for the Golden Globe Awards - the third most-watched awards show each year, after the Oscars and Grammys.  It's something that has been going on out here since 1944 - awards for motion pictures and, now, television programs, given out each year at a formal dinner. This year it was at the Beverly Hilton.  Here are some shots from just before it started.

The odd thing is these awards are from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association - that would be eighty-six mostly part-time journalists living in Hollywood and affiliated with media outside of the United States, like Libération and such. Duncan Campbell, a correspondent for the Guardian (UK), put it nicely - "I think it's like one of Groucho Marx's clubs. If they were willing to have me in it, I wouldn't want to join. I've always considered that joining [the HFPA] comes at a dreadful price - your credibility."

But it is part of the film industry's "awards season" which ends each year with the Oscars.  In 1996 these folks signed a new television broadcast contract with NBC, so it's a big deal.

Trivia -

The awards at the ceremony had typically been presented by journalists who were part of the association. However at the 1958 Golden Globes which was the first year of local telecast, in an impromptu action, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. collectively known as the Rat Pack took flight to the stage, allegedly taking over the presenting with whiskey and cigarettes on hand. The action was met with great delight of the audience. The next year the association asked them to present the awards.

In 1963, the Miss Golden Globe concept was introduced, in its inaugural year; there were two Miss Golden Globes, one for film and television respectively, Eva Six and Donna Douglas. In 1964, national telecast was distributed through a special segment on The Andy Williams Show.

The days of Eva Six and Donna Douglas are long gone. The current stars arrive in their mobile tombs.

The avid fans…

Security and communications…

This year's press release -

More than 50 Hollywood stars have been set as presenters at "The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards" to be telecast live on NBC Monday, January 15 at The Beverly Hilton.

Presenters include Tim Allen, David Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Jessica Biel, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Sean Combs, Dane Cook, Courteney Cox, Geena Davis, Cameron Diaz, Tina Fey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Hugh Grant, Adrian Grenier, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hanks, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dustin Hoffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Djimon Hounsou, Terrence Howard, Felicity Huffman, Jeremy Irons, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, Sienna Miller, Sarah Jessica Parker, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlie Sheen, David Spade, Steven Spielberg, John Stamos, Ben Stiller, Sharon Stone, Hilary Swank, Justin Timberlake, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Williams, Reese Witherspoon, James Woods, Renee Zellweger and the cast of "Heroes" (Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, Hayden Panettiere, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Milo Ventimiglia).

Tom Hanks will present Warren Beatty with this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field."

"The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards" will be seen in more than 150 countries worldwide and is one of the few awards ceremonies to span both television and motion picture achievements.

 "The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards" will be produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

No shots of the French motorcycle cops here - in town to lead how the LAPD does things and, for the fun of it, assigned to this event. They were out back in the highly secured "red carpet" area.

The "goody bag" area…

The offices down on Robinson Boulevard

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If you use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me.

These were shot with a Nikon D70 - using lens (1) AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or (2) AF Nikkor 70-300mm telephoto, or after 5 June 2006, (3) AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor, 55-200 mm f/4-5.6G ED. They were modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0

The original large-format raw files are available upon request.

Last updated Saturday, March 10, 2007, 10:30 pm Pacific Time

All text and photos, unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 - Alan M. Pavlik