Who Votes for the Golden Globes?

The Golden Globes are less than two weeks away, as Hollywood prepares to kick off the awards season honoring the best films of 2017. The winners are chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), a group of less than 100 journalists.

Unlike the Oscars, Screen Actors Guild and other important awards shows, the Golden Globes are not voted on by people who work in the business. The HFPA is made up of about 90 members who are foreign journalists who live in Southern California.

Who exactly those 90 people are today is unknown. In January 2015, Vulture put together a list of as many HFPA members as they could find.

Members are required to attend over 300 interviews and screenings throughout the year leading up to the Golden Globes.

Joining the HFPA isn’t easy. In order to apply, you have to be a resident of Southern California, registered in the Motion Picture Association of America’s International Directory for at least a year and be sponsored by two current HFPA members.

You also have to qualify under the HFPA Active Member definition. You also need proof that you work for a foreign publication based outside the U.S. and examples of your work. There’s also a $500 initiation fee to be paid after you’re accepted.

The HFPA was formed in 1943 and handed out the first Golden Globes the following year. Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes split films by genre in some categories and also includes television and made-for-TV movies.

While the Golden Globes and Oscars are voted on by two different bodies, winning a Golden Globe can do wonders for a film or actor’s awards campaign. The show raises awareness for a project that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Last year’s Golden Globes saw Emma Stone, Casey Affleck and Moonlight all win awards before they did the same on Oscar night.

The HFPA has also been criticized in the past for nominated stars just to get them to come to their party. In 2011, the critically panned The Tourist earned multiple nominations. This year, the big head-scratcher was the little-seen The Leisure Seeker earning a nomination for Helen Mirren’s performance.

The 75th Golden Globe Awards will air on Jan. 7 on NBC, with Seth Meyers hosting.

Photo credit: Lloyd Bishop/NBC