The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is charging ahead in its attempt to rehabilitate its reputation in the wake of a damaging expose published last February by the L.A. Times that resulted in an industry-wide boycott of the HFPA and the cancellation of the 2022 Golden Globes.
The organization’s first draft of reforms proposed in May was widely panned as insufficient, given the depth of its murky business practices and the complete lack of diversity in its membership. This week, the HFPA approved a new set of bylaws that calls for the replacement of most of its leadership and additional flexibility in its membership requirements with the goal of expanding diversity among its members.
This includes the elimination of current requirements that members live in Southern California and have a sponsor from within the HFPA. All current members will need to meet the new membership requirements and new members will be eligible immediately to vote on Golden Globes nominations. The outcome of these efforts remains very much in doubt, given the outpouring of negative sentiment about the HFPA since the L.A. Times story dropped six months ago.
See also: HFPA Plan To Send Members On Pricey Trip To Venice Film Festival Scuttled By Covid Restrictions (Deadline)