HOLLYWOOD—My favorite time of year is about to kick into gear, but at the same time it can be so damn exhausting. If you’re in the entertainment industry, you know what I’m referring to; I’m talking about Awards Season. Yeah, the nominations for some of the upcoming festivities have already been announced, but the actual ceremonies are about to kick off in a few days and from there it will be a race to the finish leading up to the Academy Awards.

Sunday kicks off the Golden Globes which has been sort of absent from the circuit for the past few years as a result of that scandal with its membership. That led to actors, actresses and big names in the industry boycotting the ceremony. It got to the point where it didn’t air and people didn’t care about its potential to impact further award shows. I will watch the event to see if there have been changes, but I’m not putting high expectations for the GG. I’ve always hated the separation of categories with drama, musical/comedy. I mean some of the movies that fall into that category are NOT actual comedies, so that needs to be fixed.

Next week, after the Golden Globes, you have the Screen Actors Guild nominations, which are huge. There always tends to be a snub or two, but also a dark horse or two that give a stronger indication of who and what films might earn nominations when it comes to the Oscars. I’m sorry sue me, but I love an awards season that is unpredictable. I don’t like familiarity, I like surprises and I particular love it when things are competitive. It feels like that all changed in the last decade or so, where you could almost always pinpoint who would be the big actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director or movie that would clean house during awards season.

You could win the Golden Globe on Sunday, but not be nominated for a SAG award come Wednesday. It can happen, it really can, and has countless times in the past and I can see it again in 2024. I love the SAG Awards because its peers’ highlighting their own peers, so it means a bit more, but the chaos just keeps moving because the Primetime Emmy Awards (which were delayed as a result of the dual writers and actors strike) and the Critic’s Choice Awards both air within a matter of days.

I totally forgot about the Primetime Emmy Awards and to be honest I really don’t care that much because we already know “Succession” is going to clean house. I mean it really was the best TV show of 2023 and the acting was fantastic on all fronts. The Critic’s Choice has never been relevant to me and the fact that the critics get to stick up their nose is so annoying. They all agree anyway, how many actual critics do you see that actually go against the grain when it comes to cinema? Not many and that’s mainly because they get those screeners and the opportunity to see movies without actually having to pay for a movie ticket like most Americans.

The one awards ceremony that matters, the Academy Awards doesn’t unfold until March, but the nominations will be released Monday, January 22, and I love seeing the shocked faces of actors, actresses or movies that missed the mark. It says a lot when you see who was included and who wasn’t included. I hate to say it’s a popularity contest, but let’s face it; it is a popularity contest.

However, before the Oscars are unveiled, you have the BAFTA nominations and awards, you have the Writers Guild of America, Director’s Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, in addition to countless other guilds that deliver their accolades. There is the NAACP Image Awards, hell there are a lot of ceremonies, but there is one for the first time in years I’m not going to watch; the Grammy Awards.

The Grammys have been out of touch with the American public for decades, I mean decades. Who you think should win never wins and why is this ceremony that only hands out like ten awards like four plus hours long? Makes no sense when you have the Oscars handing out 24 awards with musical performances and they can keep things under three and a half hours, but the Grammys can’t?

I can already see it now, Taylor Swift picks up her fourth, I mean fourth Album of the Year Grammy, but you have someone like Beyoncé who delivered an exceptional album in 2022 and guess what she still lost the big prize after being nominated so many times before. That is the one awards ceremony that irks my blood and because of that I’m no longer wasting my time on it. Whoever wins music’s big prize congrats, I don’t care anymore.

After all the hoopla, we have the Oscars that is the big one, that is the trophy or prize that anyone who is anyone wants to walk away with because the accolade is so huge, but if you think about it, is it? I mean winning an Oscar tends to be a death curse for many actors and actresses. Can you name one who won the prize and didn’t see a massive decline in quality movie roles? I can name a select few where the roles got better and it ain’t a lot. It is like winning an Oscar is the worst thing that can happen, being nominated and NOT winning is a great thing, especially if people in the Academy and American public suspect you were robbed of a win that was deserved. That is Oscar for you, you never win for the performances that you should win for, you win after people feel you are DUE or long overdue.

What people have to remember when it comes to Awards Season is that people are voting, people are making a choice. So if someone has more friends than others they are likely to win, if someone plays the awards circuit they might win over someone who doesn’t. Yeah, I know many of you are thinking, this guy is crazy for unleashing all these secrets, but this is no secret, this is just how the game is played in Hollywood. You just have to know how to play it. Happy Awards Season people, it is about to be a hectic two months!