Golden Globes defer Spielberg honor

By Gregg Kilday

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg will not receive the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award at this year's stripped-down Golden Globes, which NBC will broadcast in a press-conference format Sunday night.

Instead, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. has decided to postpone its tribute to Spielberg until next year, an HFPA spokesman confirmed.

The annual honor recognizing "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field" was announced November 14. Normally, the recipient is treated to a package of film clips recapping his career as well as praise from colleagues at the annual Globes ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

But now that the 65th annual Golden Globes has been reduced to just an hour-long press conference, produced by NBC News, the HFPA had decided to defer the Spielberg segment until the 2009 ceremonies, so that the tribute can play out before a full audience.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter