No Globes mean no parties

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In a major blow to NBC's hopes for star attendance at the downsized Golden Globes, most of the studios and networks cancelled their bashes Monday, hours after organizers cancelled Sunday's ceremony because of the writers strike.

The HBO, NBC Universal/Focus and the Warner Bros./In Style parties were called off, while a representative for the Weinstein Co. said the indie firm was still mulling its options.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. said Monday that not only the NBC broadcast but also the Globes ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel was being cancelled in favour of a one-hour news conference announcing the winners. The event was thrown for a loop late last week after the Screen Actors Guild said its members would not cross the writers picket line to attend.

Observers pegged the cost of elaborate parties at between $750,000 and $1.5 million each. A portion of the money already spent on decorations, food and drinks is nonrefundable. Most vendors have yet to tell organizers how much they already have spent, but an industry source estimated that for the Warner Bros./In Style party, the hosts are in for about $800,000 (406,000 pounds).

A representative for Warner Bros. could not be reached for comment Monday night.

Sources also indicated that the Beverly Hilton has been understanding about the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this year's Globes and has offered to apply some of the rental fees paid by the studios and networks this year toward next year's parties.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter