The Golden Globes nominations came out and…I have not seen 75 percent of these movies. One movie I did see, that I thought was funny, was Girls Trip. It was not nominated for a Golden Globe.
Jada Pinkett Smith is not happy about it, either.
She took to Twitter to express her displeasure with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
I'm not upset about @TiffanyHaddish or @GirlsTripMovie not getting a nom… I'm discouraged about the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press/@goldenglobes wouldn't even WATCH the movie.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
Girls Trip was one of the most successful films this summer & Tiff was hands down the funniest person on screen in 2017 and we couldn't get eyes on the film or a press conference. How could a nom happen & how much more critical acclaim must a movie have to simply get a screening?
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
Shouldn’t the HFPA watch like, every movie? If it’s their job to review/criticize/nominate films, you would think they would screen every single film ever made in order to see if it’s worthy. How do I get this job? I just saw Star Wars on my own dime and I have thoughts. Pay me to see Star Wars and share my thoughts.
But yet… Tiff has been asked to present at their ceremony. This isn't about shaming, this is about the need for discussion of an antiquated system.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
And I dare not invalidate all the many journalist and people from all walks of life who have supported this movie by defining the issue as simply… racism.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
Hollywood has systems in place that must learn to expand its concepts of race, gender equality and inclusion in regard to its perceptions of art across the board.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
Yeah, this doesn’t feel like a race thing to me, although it probably is based on Hollywood being historically racist and sexist. It feels more like a “our system sucks” type of thing.
The fact that the brilliance of @TheBigSickMovie went unnoticed and the fact that one of the most prolific films of the year, @GetOutMovie, is considered a comedy… illuminates the depths of the sunken place… for real.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
Wait, The Big Sick wasn’t nominated? That movie was awesome. And Get Out is kind of a comedy. It’s really genre bending to the point where I’m fine if they created a new genre called the “Get Out” genre. Let’s not get stuck on one definition or way of thinking just because that’s how it’s always been.
Pinkett Smith continued her ranting in an interview with Vanity Fair.
She said that, after reaching out to HFPA members, they claimed that “low interest” was the reason that they didn’t screen the movie or consider it for an award.
What? These award shows are always filled with nominees of films that like 10 percent of people saw. If you want a movie awards show with high interest, Michael Bay would have all the Oscars.
Smith responded to the “low interest” comment by saying, “Why isn’t there any interest? It’s their responsibility to look at the cinematic landscape . . . in regards to drama, comedy, and musicals. What is the criteria that would suggest Girls Trip doesn’t deserve a screening—a proper screening?”
In the end, Smith wonders why award shows exist.
“More than the campaign system, we might have to really re-evaluate why we have awards shows in the first place,” she says firmly—because if awards don’t celebrate the actual breadth of what the industry has to offer, what is the point in pretending they do? Awards ceremonies will cease to be “relevant” if this continues, Pinkett Smith says.
Come on. You know why they exist. It’s so rich people can sit around and verbally fellate each other all night.
Anyway, I’m on #TeamJada. Get award shows out of my life so I don’t have to pretend like I’ve heard of some movie called The Shape of Water or Call Me by Your Name.