Your First Look at the Hidden Golden Globe Winners' Envelopes

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By Brian Anthony Hernandez2014-01-12 00:45:38 UTC

LOS ANGELES — Tucked away in a guarded location inside locked briefcases are the sealed envelopes containing the names of Sunday's winners of the 71st Golden Globes. And even though technology continues to transform the Globes, the envelopes have remained in paper format — unlike at other award shows that use tablets or teleprompters.

"While some award shows are trending to electronic devices to announce the winners, we have found that many Golden Globe honorees enjoy having the actual envelope containing their name as a permanent memento of this extraordinary career accomplishment," a spokesperson for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) told Mashable.

Above, Ernst & Young gave Mashable the exclusive first look at one of this year's winners' envelopes. It holds the winner of the best drama motion picture category, whose nominees are 12 Years a Slave, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Philomena and Rush.

See also: Instagram Video Booth Will Ask Celebs Your Questions at Golden Globes

Only three executive at Ernst & Young, the firm tasked with tabulating votes cast by HFPA members, know the results before they're announced on NBC starting at 5 p.m. The envelopes are delivered the day of the telecast and make an appearance on the red carpet, carried by Ernst & Young employees, as demonstrated in this photo taken last year:

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also uses paper envelopes for the Academy Awards, citing tradition and security reasons.

"I think the envelope is a really important keepsake," Marc Friedland, designer of the Academy Awards envelopes, previously told Mashable. "This is really the Rolls-Royce of the award shows. It transcends trends, fashion and gadgetry. ... There would be too many security risks if [the envelopes] were to go digital."

Friedland said hackers could leak the winners' names early or change the winners if the announcement process did away with paper envelopes in favor of a tech-based format.

On Sunday, be sure to follow Mashable's associate entertainment editor Brian Anthony Hernandez, who will be providing live coverage on Twitter (@BAHjournalist) and Instagram (BAHjournalist) from backstage, inside the Beverly Hilton, during the awards ceremony.

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Main image: Ernst & Young, the accountants for the Golden Globes, provided Mashable with the photo of one of the winner's envelopes that they will secure and maintain until it is opened on stage at the 71st Golden Globe Awards show.

Topics: 71st Golden Globes, Entertainment, Ernst & Young, Film, golden globes, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Television