Hollywood is a land of contradictions. In the aftermath of the sexual impropriety scandal that has engulfed the entertainment capital, the Golden Globes Awards ceremony found itself immersed in the aftereffects of the #MeToo movement, with themes that took the form of black fashion dominating the designer palette, professional presentations being replaced with surreal sanctimony, and a former daytime TV queen toying with a future presidential run.
The sudden explosion of sexual harassment allegations has resulted in a string of unexpected consequences for the entertainment business, including the unceremoniously exiling from the Academy of former Oscar master Harvey Weinstein and the digitally redacting of actor Kevin Spacey from an Oscar hopeful film "All the Money in the World."
It is expected that the Oscars telecast will follow the lead of the other awards shows and make Hollywood’s sex scandals a frazzled thread woven throughout the proceedings.
Of concern for the Academy, though, is something involving actor James Franco, who in taking home a Globe award managed to increase the awards season buzz for his chances of also snagging an Oscar. Franco additionally won the Best Actor award at the Critics’ Choice Awards, boosting his inflated profile even further.
Franco is scheduled to attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards (prior to the Academy Awards) on Jan. 21, where he is nominated for lead actor.
The Hollywood star has been viewed as an actual contender, not only for a nomination for an Academy Award for his work in "The Disaster Artist," but also as a top tier candidate for a Best Actor trophy at the Oscar telecast.
Critics are raving about Franco’s portrayal of the real-life director of "The Room," which is said by critics and fans to be the worst film ever made.
The particular predicament for the Academy, at this extraordinary time in Hollywood history, are some allegations that have been raised against Franco concerning sexually inappropriate behavior. Five women have accused him of inappropriate or sexually exploitative conduct, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times.
Franco may regret his decision at the Golden Globe ceremony to wear a pin that supported Time’s Up, the initiative recently formed by 300 women in the entertainment industry with the ostensible purpose of combating workplace sexual harassment. The sight of Franco’s donning of the pin during the Globe telecast prompted several women to call out the actor via their Twitter accounts.
Two of the women cited by the L.A. Times sent out tweets, as did actress Ally Sheedy, who posted the following, "James Franco just won. Please never ask me why I left the film/tv business."
The actress had appeared in the "The Long Shrift," a 2014 off-Broadway production that Franco directed. Sheedy subsequently deleted the tweet.
Franco has denied the allegations. Whether or not he receives a nomination will be decided by the actors’ branch of the Academy, which is the largest group of voters, with over 1,200 members.
Nominations are scheduled to be announced on Jan. 23, and Franco will be facing some stiff competition from other heralded A-list actors, including Gary Oldman for "The Darkest Hour," Denzel Washington for "Roman J. Israel, Esq.," Timothee Chalamet for "Call me By Your Name," Daniel Day-Lewis for "Phantom Thread," and Daniel Kaluuya for "Get Out."
There was a great deal of consternation when another actor, Casey Affleck, took the Academy Award for Best Actor last year for his performance in "Manchester by the Sea," despite the fact that he had two sexual harassment suits that he settled out of court.
But that was long before the Weinstein story broke and changed Hollywood forever.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read more reports from James Hirsen — Click Here Now.
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