The popular trend from last summer, known as the Barbenheimer phenomenon, was evident at the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday. Barbie was awarded for her exceptional work in film, while Oppenheimer received recognition for best drama. In addition, Yorgos Lanthimos’s unconventional movie Poor Things was honored as the best comedy at the prestigious event, which marks the beginning of award season.
The highly acclaimed shows Succession, The Bear and Beef were big winners at the television awards, while the global films Anatomy of a Fall and The Boy and the Heron also received more accolades.
The 81st Golden Globe Awards marked a smooth comeback following an investigation by the Los Angeles Times in February 2021, which revealed that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, responsible for overseeing the Globes, lacked diversity with no Black members and was plagued by corrupt practices.
The three-hour ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles marked the first ceremony since the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was disbanded, sold to a private equity firm and Dick Clark Productions, and reformed with a diverse body of 300 international members representing 76 countries.
Jo Koy, a Filipino-American comedian, was chosen as the last-minute host for the ceremony, with an announcement just two weeks before. He stayed true to his promise of hosting an uncontroversial ceremony. In contrast to Jerrod Carmichael’s edgy hosting style last year, Koy steered clear of politics and instead made light-hearted jokes about the nominees. He poked fun at Robert DeNiro, who is expecting another child at 80 (“how did you manage to get her pregnant? CGI?”), Oppenheimer (“it could have used another hour”) and Barbie (“the defining moment for Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet – also known as ‘character actor’ traits according to casting directors”).
Some of the jokes did not receive a positive reaction, causing the 52-year-old to become defensive. “I only got hired 10 days ago, do you expect a flawless monologue?” he stated after receiving a lackluster response. He also made a dig at Taylor Swift, saying “The Golden Globes have one advantage over the NFL – we have less camera shots of Taylor Swift.” This caused the singer to take a serious sip of wine.
Swift was up for consideration for the prestigious award for her successful concert movie, but ultimately lost to the groundbreaking film Barbie, which was directed by a woman and grossed over $1bn at the box office. Upon receiving the award, actress Margot Robbie dedicated it to all those who attended and enjoyed the movie theatre experience. Another new award of the night, best stand-up comedy performance on TV, was given to British comedian Ricky Gervais for his special Armageddon.
Despite losing in the categories of best director and screenplay, Barbie, who received the most nominations of the night with nine, was still able to secure the award for best original song with Billie Eilish and her brother/producer Finneas’s melancholic hit “What Was I Made For?” In a surprising turn of events, “Poor Things” took home the awards for best comedy and best actress for Emma Stone’s eccentric portrayal of Bella Baxter’s coming of age.
Oppenheimer was the recipient of five awards during the event, making him the top winner of the night. These awards included best drama, best actor for Cillian Murphy, best score for Ludwig Göransson, and best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. Christopher Nolan, who won best director, also took a moment to acknowledge his previous acceptance of a Golden Globe on behalf of the late Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight. He expressed that he initially thought accepting an award for himself would be easier, but as a director, his role is to bring people together and encourage them to give their best.
Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon was in competition with Oppenheimer’s drama and managed to win one award for Lily Gladstone’s performance as best actress. Gladstone, who is the first Indigenous actor to receive a nomination and win in this category, began her acceptance speech in the Blackfeet language. Expressing her gratitude, she mentioned how Indigenous actors used to have their English lines played backwards to mimic Native speech.
She said this is for all the young Native children, whether from reservations, cities, or small towns, who have aspirations and see themselves reflected in our own words.
Alexander Payne’s film The Holdovers also received awards for Paul Giamatti as best actor in a comedy and Da’vine Joy Randolph as best supporting actress.
Due to the recent expansion of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s worldwide membership, there were several wins for foreign films. In a surprising turn, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won best screenplay for the French film Anatomy of a Fall, beating out favorites Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Oppenheimer. The Japanese film The Boy and the Heron, said to be Hayao Miyazaki’s last film, won for best animated feature.
The final season of the popular HBO show Succession was the standout of the evening, winning four awards including best supporting actor for Matthew Macfadyen. He expressed his love for playing the eccentric character Tom Wambsgans and was joined in celebration by his fellow nominated co-stars, including best drama actress winner Sarah Snook, known as Shiv Roy. Kieran Culkin, who plays Roman Roy, won best actor over his costars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong. He humbly accepted the award on behalf of the team, a sentiment shared by creator Jesse Armstrong when accepting the award for best drama series. He acknowledged the collaborative effort that went into creating the show’s success.
The TV show The Bear on FX dominated the comedy awards, even though it is not technically a comedy. It won best comedy series, best actor for Jeremy Allen White, and best actress for Ayo Edebiri. During her acceptance speech, Edebiri thanked her agents, managers, and their assistants who respond to her emails, calling them “real ones.”
Netflix’s revenge drama Beef cleaned up the awards for limited or anthology series, with wins for stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, as well as best limited series. Wong, the first Asian-American nominee or winner in the category, dedicated her award to ex-husband Justin Hakuta, the father of her children who “allowed me to be a working mother”, while Yeun acknowledged that he’s “just a recipient of a long line of passion and love and protection and good will”.
The Crown, a perennial favorite at TV award shows, did not receive any recognition except for Elizabeth Debicki’s nomination for best supporting actress in a TV series for her portrayal of Princess Diana.
Oprah, the host of a talk show and the producer of The Color Purple, a nominee in the musical/comedy category, announced the last award of the night for best drama. The award was given to Emma Thomas, the producer of the film and wife of Nolan. She expressed her gratitude to all those involved in making the film a success.
“It is evident that our work involves collaboration,” she stated. “I personally find this to be quite magical.”
Source: theguardian.com
