That’s neither here nor there, but I just thought it was an interesting fact:
The HFPA has about 90 members who disseminate information about movies and television to the world through their various publications throughout the world. HFPA members attend more than 300 press conference-style interviews and countless movie and television screenings throughout each year.
By comparison, the Academy Awards are selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is comprised of over 6000 people.
I’d imagine that it’s much easier to influence 90-odd journalists than it is to curry favour with rally support among 6000 members of the Academy. I was about to write “not that it really matters”, but apparently these awards do have serious impact on DVD rental and sales volume. So it’s not just a question of who wins the popularity contest. I’m not suggesting there’s a massive conspiracy or anything–I was just surprised by how few people are involved in the selection provess.
UPDATE: I wanted to make sure I was using ‘curry favour’ correctly, so I checked. It apparently refers specifically to ingratiation with a superior. You learn something new every day.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
Aren’t all media awards simply marketing events to produce more sales of their product? If so, there’s way too much money at stake to leave the results of these events up to a panel of “independent” judges.
Chris: Possibly, though I’m unconvinced that the Oscars are regularly rigged.
I had a packet of noodle soup with curry favour last week. It was delicious.
Totally agree that GG is a popularity contest, as are most of the other awards shows however, it’s interesting to see who takes home the honors and these things BECAUSE they influence what we, the common movie viewer, see.
Kirsten: Heh.