What is the Difference Between the Awards Shows for Film?

Starting at the end of the calendar year, speculation abounds about award nominations for work in movies, music, and television. Watching them each season, especially in more recent years, yields similar results time and time again. Why are there so many awards shows? What is the purpose of each one? Are they really different?

Academy Awards - Oscar

The crowning jewel in every actor's crown has always been the coveted Oscar statuette, as it is the highest level of achievement. It is also the oldest award given to films. These awards are for distinctive achievements during the previous year in cinema. The Academy Awards were first presented during a small, private ceremony, with twelve categories represented. Now, it is the biggest telecast, complete with hours of Red Carpet interviews and photo ops of high fashion, followed by the presentation of twenty-five awards.

Active members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are sent ballots in December, to be returned in January. Then, nominations are sent out to voting members, and the results are unveiled at the awards show in February. Nominations can only be made within each person's specific category: actors vote for actors, directors vote for directors, editors vote for editors, etc. All members are able to nominate Best Picture. Final voting can be made by any voting member who has seen all five movies in each category.

Members of the Academy must have previously demonstrated their own personal high achievement within the motion picture industry. The minimal way to do this is to have an Oscar nomination. They are invited by the Board of Governors, and must be sponsored by at least two current members. This means nominees join the ranks of the best of the best.

Golden Globe Awards

The Golden Globe awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The Association goes back as far as the early 1940s when people were desperately seeking distraction from the Second World War. Journalists based in Los Angeles, who were stationed overseas, decided to band together to provide information to each other. They then decided it was time to publicly acknowledge their choices for the best in film, including actors and actresses. In 1955 they added nods to greatness in television.

The awards were originally given out by the journalists, until The Rat Pack stormed the stage in 1958 and took over. From that point forward, performers have been giving out the awards, and an air of a relaxing party took over. A total of twenty-five categories are given a statuette, including eleven in TV and fourteen in film. Many consider a Golden Globe win to lead directly to an Oscar win.

The HFPA also raises money for charities related to entertainment, including nonprofits and schools.

Screen Actors Guild Awards - SAGs

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are much newer, starting back in 1995. The uniqueness of this show is that it is strictly dedicated to the actors of both film and TV. Nominations are made each year by a randomly selected panel of 2100 members of the Screen Actors Guild. Nominations are then sent to all members of the Guild for final selection. Thirteen awards are given to performers on both the big and small screen. The annual Life Achievement Award has been awarded since 1964.

The Screen Actors Guild is a union dedicated to preserving the rights of actors and performers. It was started back in 1933 to protect actors from long-term contracts with studios. Actors can join after performing a principal role in a Guild production. Members also work toward promoting literacy in schools.

When watching the SAG Awards, one of the most common phrases uttered during the acceptance speech is, "This means so much more coming from you, the actors." Peer recognition means so much more than the sharp tongue of the critics, as peers are often more critical.

Critics' Choice Awards

The Broadcast Film Critics Association consists of broadcast film critics who regularly provide their opinions and subjective analysis of current movies being released in theatres. Starting in 1995, they decided to start their own awards show giving a nod to the previous year's achievements.

The Critics' Choice Awards take place in early January, often following the night after the People's Choice Awards, in which the general public chooses their favorites. Nominations and awards take into consideration the best picture in each category, acting talents, makeup, effects, editing, and costume.

A portion of the proceeds from the night also benefit the Starlight Children's Fund.

Similarities and Differences

Each one of the four major awards shows is sponsored by an organization of professionals who are highly fluent in the film industry and provide charitable contributions from the proceeds of each. They are all televised within the first two months of the new year, reflecting on the achievements of the previous year. Stars come out in full force, dressed to the nines, to network and have fun, while hoping to take home the big prize.

Though each show nominates and chooses winners from a different point of view: established icons, journalists, peer review,and critics, the nominations tend to be the same every year. Winners are often the same, as well, throughout each show. There are few surprises and upsets each year, once the awards train gets rolling.

Resources:

"About the Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture & Sciences. Retrieved 1-31-10 from http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/about/index.html.

"About the HFPA". The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 1-31-10 from http://www.goldenglobes.org/about/.

"About the SAG Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved 1-31-10 from http://www.sagawards.org/about.

"Critics' Choice Awards" Critics' Choice Awards. Retrieved 1-31-10 from http://www.bfca.org/ccawards.php.

"Guild Info". Screen Actors Guild. Retrieved 1-31-10 from http://www.sag.org/content/guild-information.