Golden Globes 2018: All eyes on Hollywood for a different reason this year

Hollywood is holding its breath as final preparations are made for the 75th annual Golden Globe awards being held Sunday night in Beverley Hills, and seen in Australia around midday tomorrow.

The gala put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is always considered the official “kick off” to the awards season, and will be the first major celebrity gathering since the sexual abuse scandal rocked the cinematic world.

This year, possibly overshadowing the celebration of the movie and television industry, will be how the Hollywood community deals with the current sexual harassment allegations that have brought down stars and moguls alike.

All ears will be on Seth Meyers, the late-night TV talk show host who will MC the event. 

The former Saturday Night Live comedian will likely be facing a room full as actors and actresses dressed in black, as many are expected to heed the call to go dark in solidarity of the “Times Up” campaign for gender equality, not just in film but across the board.

The host’s monologue at the Golden Globes is often noted for controversy. Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler drew gasps between the laughs when they trod on sacred territory by poking fun at Hollywood’s big names.

But Meyers has a bigger challenge as he tackles the recent scandal that has scarred the industry, in a monologue that is normally filled with humour and the roasting of many a main player.

He told The New York Times it’s a challenge he embraces as he attempts to tackle the elephant in the room. 

“It’s an issue you have to address, and it’s pretty delicate,” he told the newspaper.

“When you’re dealing with something that has affected so many people in a negative way, you just want to make sure you can talk about it in a way that doesn’t magnify the negative element of it.”

“Ultimately, it’s just a monologue, “ he said.

“It’s eight minutes of jokes. That’s what I try to tell myself when I start to spin out.”

But the night will not all be about the current Hollywood turmoil. The Globes are often seen as the precursor as to who will win the big prize at the Academy Awards in March, with voting done by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a small group of about 90 international journalists based in California.

Judging by the various predictions for the Golden Globes, there don’t appear to be many clear-cut winners; although Big Little Lies and The Handmaids Tale are expected to dominate the television categories.

For films, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,  and The Shape of Water have garnered the most nominations; the first is the story of a mother who takes on a small town's authorities over her daughter’s unsolved murder.

In the film category, The Shape of Water leads the way with the most nominations.

It’s a fantasy drama set in the 1960s, where a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity at a top secret research facility.

But Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is not far behind in the nomination stakes, with star Frances McDormand as a mother who takes on a small town’s authorities over her daughters unsolved murders.

And of course, Steven Spielberg’s story of the Pentagon Papers is also up there with two giants of the industry Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks picking up nominations for their roles in The Post.

Two coming of age films - Ladybird, a coming of age film about a young woman and her turbulent relationship with her mother, and Call Me By Your Name - are also garnering a lot of attention.

There’s a respectable showing of Australians up for gongs as well.

Nicole Kidman is up for Best Actress in one of the television categories for Big Little Lies,  while Margot Robbie is already garnering Oscars buzz for her Globes-nominated role as disgraced Olympic skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya.

Perth-born newcomer Katherine Langford is up in another television category for her role in the controversial 13 Reasons Why ­- the 21 year old took to Instagram to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Aussie acting stalwarts are also in the Globes mix, with Geoffrey Rush nominated for his role as Albert Einstein in National Geographic’s Genius, and Hugh Jackman hoping to take away Best Actor in a musical or comedy film for The Greatest Showman.

For a full list of the nominees click here

Aside from the actual gong winners, the spotlight of every award show is the red carpet as designers vie for the names to carry their brand.

This year is expected to be dominated by black as part of the call to arms in the fight against sexual harassment and for gender equality. 

A representative of a Los Angeles fashion showroom told the Hollywood Reporter that every request they’ve received so far has been for black.

This - along with reports that many brightly coloured gowns which have been worked on for weeks - are being put back on the rack in exchange for last minute black dresses.