A Golden Globes statue is seen in the ballroom during preparations for the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, Jan 2, 2025. Photo: AFP
Hollywood’s blue-collar workers — camera operators, costumers, lighting technicians — have been hanging by an economic thread. They were collateral damage in two strikes. In the aftermath, studios have cut way back on production.
TV, film, news and streaming companies laid off an estimated 15,000 people last year, on top of 21,400 the year before.
Movie theatres have lost a quarter of their audience since the pandemic. Cinemas in the United States and Canada sold 740 million tickets last year, according to EntTelligence, a research firm. Between 2005 and 2019, they averaged more than 1 billion a year.
But the swag apparently must go on.
Winners and presenters at the Golden Globes ceremony Sunday — 100 people, A-listers all — will be offered gift bags valued at up to US$1mil (RM4.5mil) each. The 28 freebies were procured by the Globes and Robb Report, which are both part of Penske Media. Luke Bahrenburg, a Penske executive, said in a statement that the items include “meticulously curated travel adventures” and “rare, indulgent treasures.”
Among them:
— Five days on a luxury yacht in the Coral Triangle near Indonesia.
— A private helicopter flight in Finland to see the Northern Lights.
— A nonsurgical stem cell face-lift from Dr. Simon Ourain in Beverly Hills, California.
— A dance-focused Forward_Space workout and “wellness experience.”
Some of the swag is available to all 100 celebrities. Others are given on a first-come, first-served basis. Ourain, for instance, only chipped in one of those face-lifts, which cost US$40,000 a pop. Beach Exclusive is offering nine stays in a villa at the Reserve at Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos (US$507,492 each). – The New York Times
