Michael Buckner for PMC
Just days after the latest awards ceremony held by the Hollywood Creative Alliance (formerly the Hollywood Critics Association and before that the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Association) and the Critics’ Choice Association (formerly the Broadcast Film Critics Association), Hollywood Reporter I learned that the CCA Board of Directors has notified CCA members who are also HCA members that they must now choose one or the other.
The CCA board says it discovered “evidence that an HCA representative incorrectly suggested to at least one studio (and we believe more) that it could influence voting for the Critics’ Choice Awards,” and that this “prompted this studio to reach out to the CCA and request that action be taken.” necessary to protect the integrity of our awards.”
The CCA board insists that the HCA threat “was hollow, but the CCA cannot ignore this,” which is why it felt compelled to implement a new policy preventing HCA members from retaining their CCA membership. “We are taking this action to protect our organization and to reassure everyone who supports our awards programmes.”
Over the past few years, the HCA has suffered from external criticism and internal dissension, but talent continues to emerge at its awards ceremonies. It remains to be seen how this latest development in the HCA saga will impact turnout in the future, if at all.
The full text of the CCA Board’s letter to its members who are also members of the HCA appears below.
Dear Critics’ Choice Society member,
We are sending this email to inform you that Critics’ Choice has instituted a new policy prohibiting members of the Hollywood Creative Alliance (formerly the Hollywood Critics Association, formerly the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society) from maintaining Critics’ Choice membership. If you are currently a member of HCA and CCA, please let us know if you would like to remain a member of CCA. This will require confirmation from you that you have successfully resigned from the HCA and are no longer on the membership list as published on its website.
The reason the CCA is taking this action is because we have evidence that an HCA representative incorrectly suggested to at least one studio (and we believe more) that it could influence voting for the Critics’ Choice Awards in a way that prompted that studio to reach out to the CCA and ask that action be taken to protect The integrity of our awards. Of course, HCA’s threat was empty, but CCA couldn’t ignore that. In light of HCA’s admission of voting irregularities in the recent past and the evidence we have that voting for its awards can be improperly influenced, we are taking this action to protect our organization and to reassure everyone who supports our awards programs.
Please notify (designated CCA employee) when/if your HCA membership is successfully terminated.
The Commission