Before the Golden Globe

Interview with Anikó Návai

filmhu: As a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) you voted in this year’s Golden Globe Awards. What can you tell us about the upcoming awards gala?

Anikó Návai: Yeah, quoting nominee Jack Nicholson, the Golden Globe gala is gonna be again the "funnest party in Hollywood". The list of attendees is super! Without naming all, some stars will come on the arm of her/his spouse such as Barbra Streisand (with husband James Brolin nominated for the lead in The Reagans), Catherine Zeta-Jones  (with husband Michael Douglas, this year’s recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award), Susan Sarandon (accompanying boyfriend Tim Robbins nominated for Mystic River), Melanie Griffith (with husband Antonio Banderas, nominated for the TV movie Pancho Villa Starring As Himself) – plus the whole gang from The Lord of The Rings including, of course, Director Peter Jackson, Elton John, Sting, Nicole Kidman (not sitting with nominee Tom Cruise), Jude Law, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, Charlize Theron. Johnny Depp, Jessica Lange, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves... and, of course, the ladies of Sex and the city. The awards presentation is followed by studio parties in all the rooms of the Bev Hilton. And I hope, my guests, Westel’s András Sugár and his wife will have a ball at the Globes where you can only go by invitation. Tickets are not for sale ever – that makes it even more the hottest party in town. Unfortunately, Hungarians will not be able to peek into our fun because the telecast has not been licensed for Hungary.

filmhu: This year, two Eastern European-themed movies have been nominated in the foreign film category. Do you think there is increasing interest in films with such themes?

A.N.: It’s not what the movie is about, but how well the movie is made that breaks or makes a film. I must tell you, in 2003 the quality of foreign movies shown to us has far superseded the Americans. It was rather painful to give up on so many great foreign flicks but with the limited number of nominations, in the end it all came down to leaving out the Slovak King of Thieves, the Czech Zelary, the German Rosenstrasse, the HungarianDown By Love and A Week in Pest-Buda, the Polish Pornografia, and I could go on and on. Do I see a growing interest by Hollywood in Euro content? Depends on the movie. The German Goodbye Lenin put a spin on the political changes in Germany, and while Return brought up a universal theme it echoed the darkness of the Russian spirit. I completely go with Harvey Weinstein who told me recently that Hollywood emerged from East Central Europe that has remained a treasure house of creativity to this very day.

filmhu: Several members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are expected to attend the 35th Hungarian Film Week. Please tell us how this came to happen.

A.N.: It’s a two-way street, really. Over the years, Hun filmmakers have come to recognize what difference a Golden Globe nomination can make. The Hun Film Unio presses forward to strengthen its ties with Hollywood. As for the HFPA, there is nothing new about us going places and learning more – that’s what journalists are about. We are doggedly pursuing every single opportunity to see foreign movies, we go to festivals to make our life easier both as journalists and GG voters. Three of the four HFPA members coming with me to Budapest have never been in Hungary, but they all have great knowledge and respect for Hun movies and filmmakers.

filmhu: In your view, how is Hungary seen in Hollywood, how do the Hollywood film professionals think of the international prospects of the local film industry?

A.N.: This is such a huge subject that I can only give you a very short and concise answer. Since the Hun Film Law became breaking news, the Hun Film Commission that I rep in LA has feverishly been responding to calls coming in from Hollywood and organizing the schedule of Hun producers coming to town.

filmhu: The Hungarian film industry expects the Film Law to increase the resources and the possibilities for Hungarian film. Which segment of the industry do you think will have the best chance to work with Hollywood?

A.N.: Good question, thank you. The first boom, I expect, will come as a result of the production service tax incentives and will impact the technical crews and English speaking actors by securing an ongoing relationship and steady work for the industry. This relationship will open up a door for the above-the-line talent, including directors and writers to connect with American filmmakers. I intentionally avoid limiting it to Hollywood since Miramax, Tribeca and Focus are New York-based and are just as important partners for the Hun industry as the majors in Los Angeles. Once production executives and producers embrace Budapest as a production paradise, it will be only a question of time to pitch and develop joint projects.

filmhu: You have been covering Hollywood events for the American and international media for years. Would you tell us a few secrets about the workings of the HFPA?

A.N.: The HFPA does not have an agenda other than accomplishing what the association has been established for – to help its members in their work as foreign journalists based in Hollywood and give back to the community as much as we can. We have an office and a staff here in LA that helps us set up interviews and regular trips to press junkets in New York, and to festivals including Sundance and Toronto. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of the money the HFPA makes on the Golden Globe Awards telecast go to benefit film schools and film related projects in America and abroad.  The Golden Globe Awards are our crown jewel and our annual icing on the cake where the members all work very hard. Our team books talent, schedules seating in the ballroom, supervises security, greets  and escorts the stars on the red carpet, etc. etc. And when the awards presentation is over, we celebrate the end of a successful year and the dawn of another that will hopefully be just as good as the one before.