Hollywood Foreign Press Association

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Logo of the HFPA

Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is an organization comprised of journalists who work in the film industry. The group is perhaps best known for the Golden Globe Awards, of which it is the creator and on-going organiser. The group was founded in 1943 by a correspondent for the Daily Mail, a UK newspaper. The chief aim was, and is, the dispersing of news about Hollywood to countries outside North America.

According to the New York Times, the HFPA "functions like an exclusive club, admitting a maximum of five new members a year, though more often...accepting only one. Any single member may object to a new member, making it extremely difficult to join. The association does not represent internationally renowned publications like Le Monde or The Times of London -- indeed, it has repeatedly rejected applications from a Le Monde correspondent, while accepting applications from freelance writers from Bangladesh and South Korea" (article here).

[edit] Nick Douglas controversy

On December 20, 2005, The New York Times published an article pondering the liability of the HFPA for the death of celebrity photographer and voting member Nick Douglas, who hanged himself two weeks earlier. The suicide provoked controversy about the HFPA because some of those familiar with Douglas, including Barry O'Kane, the editor of Big Buzz (the Belfast magazine where Douglas used to work), and Karen Martin, another HFPA member, attributed the suicide to the columnist's despondency over the loss of his livelihood, a loss prompted by actions taken by the HFPA.

Douglas's employment problems began with his suspension by the HFPA in August 2004. Douglas was disciplined by the association for various reasons, including his sale of a photograph of himself and Tom Selleck and an incident at a reception thrown by MGM where Douglas reportedly took unopened beers. Such actions violate association rules, rules the HFPA instituted in an attempt to improve their image. The suspension meant his photograph-laden column for Big Buzz had to end, since Douglas was dependent upon his HFPA membership for celebrity access.

The suspension ended in September 2005, but he was banned for a further five months from press junkets and trips to film festivals paid for by the association. According to O'Kane, who saw Douglas two weeks before his death, Douglas believed that other members of the HFPA were out to get him and that he would end up in trouble again.