As the entertainment industry wrestles with the aftershocks of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal, it seems almost absurd that we look to "awards season" - a two-month calendar of red carpets, recycled gowns and inane questions - for signs of progress.
And yet, while the Los Angeles Police Department is compiling a Weinstein dossier for the district attorney's office, attention is focused on the Golden Globe Awards, a debate over dress (and suit) colour and pressing questions about how the host and other presenters should handle the topic.
There will be a slew of female stars on stage, including Halle Berry, Gal Gadot, Carol Burnett, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Watson, Sarah Jessica Parker and Sharon Stone; the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award recipient is Oprah Winfrey. Avoiding the topic is impossible.
But how should reporters on the red carpet handle actors such as Dustin Hoffman and Jeffrey Tambor who are all defending accusations? Or Geoffrey Rush, who has been accused of inappropriate conduct?
And how should Australian nominees Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Margot Robbie frame their support for Rush?
Should Jason Bateman, whose wife Amanda Anka accused celebrity hotelier Andre Balazs of sexual misconduct, field questions on the subject?
And how should industry titans Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep address the subject when they face the battery of red carpet reporters? Their leadership, more than anyone else's, is desperately needed.
The Golden Globes, with their sometimes patchy 75-year history, may not have the gravitas of the awards season's closing act, the Academy Awards, but as the first major boat pushed out all eyes are on them as the audience looks for a comprehensive response to a scandal which has claimed the scalps of Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, director Brett Ratner, producer Andrew Kreisberg, breakfast show host Matt Lauer and comedian Louis C.K. among others.
What is certain is that Hollywood - and in the first instance, the Golden Globes - must and will respond.
"Everyone I have been talking to is relishing the opportunity to make this kind of visibility and attention more meaningful than simply about the glorification of a single profession," actor Michelle Williams said this week.
The talent agency CAA, which has historically held one of the largest Golden Globes after-parties, has cancelled the bash and instead used the money to fund a legal defence fund for sexual harassment and assault victims, and the Screen Actors Guild - one of several key upcoming events in "awards season" - is planning to use an all-female line-up of presenters.
But perhaps the most visible reaction is a decision by female actors to wear black dresses as a protest. Their male co-stars are being encouraged to wear black tuxedos as well.
"This is a moment of solidarity, not a fashion moment," said actor Eva Longoria, who is part of the push to wear black on the red carpet.
Longoria and a line-up of prominent and influential Hollywood women including Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and Emma Stone are behind the movement, named Time's Up, which also aims to combat systemic sexual harassment in the workplace.
In total more than 300 female writers, directors, producers, actresses and executives are backing the movement.
While the move was met with some scepticism, Longoria hopes it will draw emphasis away from the traditional "who are you wearing?" line of questioning that women have been subjected to on red carpets for decades, and instead provoke a more useful exchange between the media and celebrities.
"For years we've sold these awards shows as women, with our gowns and colours and our beautiful faces and our glamour," Longoria said. "This time the industry can't expect us to go up and twirl around. That's not what this moment is about."
The tone of the night will ultimately be set by the opening monologue, which rests on the shoulders of the show's host, comedian Seth Meyers.
Meyers, who is hosting the Globes for the first time, says he comes to the gig with the advantage of having already tackled the subject, and other sensitive topics, on his nightly talk show; he has also spoken at length with his wife, former Brooklyn district attorney Alexi Ashe.
As a district attorney, Ashe prosecuted misdemeanour sexual assault, Meyers noted.
"I don't know if I would have wanted to do this without her counsel in talking about it, and she's a smart enough woman to know that I probably shouldn't have done it without her help," the 44-year-old talk show host said this week.
Meyers said the most illuminating advice offered to him by Ashe was that women have, in general, "been thinking about this stuff a lot longer than men".
"For a lot of men, this seems like something that just happened. For a lot of women, this is not something that just happened," Meyers said.
"The best thing any man can do right now is listen and try to learn because none of us are experts in this thing that we have not experienced."
The 75th annual Golden Globe Awards air Monday, January 8 live on FOX8 from 11am and repeated at 7.30pm.
AUSTRALIA'S GOLDEN GLOBE FORM GUIDE
Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why
Television performance by an actor, drama
Form: a tough line-up of contenders. Langford's performance is rock solid, but she is up against The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss, Outlander's Caitriona Balfe and the actress most likely to win, The Crown's Claire Foy.
Geoffrey Rush, Genius
Television performance by an actor, limited series
Form: a genuine contender, which, in the current climate, could make an acceptance speech a stunning moment, for better or worse. The ones to beat are Robert De Niro, who dazzled in The Wizard of Lies, and Kyle MacLachlan, who intrigued in Twin Peaks.
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Television performance by an actress, limited series
Form: a likely winner, particularly because Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon will certainly split the vote for Feud: Bette and Joan - though a Sarandon acceptance speech could be compelling. Kidman's only real rival: her Big Little Lies co-star Reese Witherspoon.
Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman
Actor in a motion picture, musical/comedy
Form: another likely winner, particularly as post-premiere talk for The Greatest Showman seems to have ironed out some wrinkles of uncertainty in the buzz. The other contenders - Steve Carell, Ansel Elgort, James Franco and Daniel Kaluuya - lack a winning zing.
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Actress in a motion picture, musical/comedy
Form: it shouldn't be possible against legends such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, but Robbie's performance in I, Tonya is stunning and this could make an Australian trifecta and confirmation that Robbie is the equal of Australia's greatest stars in Hollywood.
