Golden Globes, No More

LA, I'm sure, must be in a tizzy about the latest fall out from the writers' strike--the cancellation of the star-studded, glitzy, self-congratulatory, fashion show, freak show, known as the Golden Globes. This award show, created by Dick Clark, is a booze-filled night where the winners can, sometimes, give surprisingly candid speeches. But really, it's the night that kicks off a three-month long extravaganza, the culmination of which ends up with people holding parties to see the Red Carpet stroll of actors at the Academy Awards. This night is the unofficial holiday for the city of Angels.

But with the cancellation of the Golden Globes, and potentially, the Oscars, one forgets how many industries are hurt by such a calamity. The trickle down effect (such an 80's phrase) on the city's economy is huge, and not really reported. Yes, the Wall Street Journal did a woeful assessment of all the designers, whose wares will not be seen draped or strapped into the nearly perfect bodies of Angela Jolie, Cate Blanchett, and others. But think about the vast numbers of people, those responsible, for the Goddess or God-like images that are splashed across the television screens around the world, later recycled in the pages of half a dozen magazines, and soon replicated by the likes of AB Schwartz for teenag girls to buy for their upcoming proms.

Not only are designers the ones suffering. There are the stylists, whose jobs of procuring the perfect gowns for their celebrity clients, must now be put on hold indefinitely. What about the hairstylists? The jewelers? The nail salons? The caterers? The limousine companies? The alterations people? The valets? The grunts who put up the stadium seats outside the halls? The hotels? The restaurants? The liquor stores? The trainers? The colonics specialists? The facialists? The body waxers? The make up artists? The photographers? Joan Rivers and her annoying daughter? The E Channel? The musicians? The dancers? The tanning salons? The dry cleaners? Those people whose job it is to put together those ridiculously exorbitant swag bags together? Wolfgang Puck?

Can you see how this non event for the rest of the country is such a humongous deal in LA? Yes, the primaries are going on, but really, THE GOLDEN GLOBES HAVE BEEN CANCELED!!!!! I'm sure every coffee shop, every deli, every restaurant in Beverly Hills is all abuzz about this. And rightfully so once we realize what a huge industry these award shows have become for the entire city's economy, particularly the blocks west of Doheny Drive.

But that is the cost of a one industry town, which LA is, for better or worse. Hollywood, although not the driver of the economy in the city, has the perception of being the main industry. Therefore, any blips such as the cancellation of an awards show will feel cataclysmic for the entire city, especially in Beverly Hills.

It will be interesting to watch the Academy Awards, if they occur, from a distance. It will, more than likely, be put into the proper context. It will be something we may, or may not, watch, but not an event that we have to participate. I doubt we will go to any party where we will bet on the winners or losers. Again, I somehow don't see that happening here. I'm sure we will be nostalgic about how this non-event is such a big deal there. But that may not happen this year since they may not occur at all. God Forbid for Los Angeles.