Not a pandemic, social unrest, or Harry and Megan leaving the Royal Family can stop the Golden Globes! Last January we left the Beverly Hilton expecting to see the booze soaked Golden Globes again in January 2021. And then COVID-19 hit and swept the country. As we all know, during this pandemic, time has no meaning. It feels like the last Golden Globes were five years ago. But, the Hollywood Foreign Press pushed forward and the first awards show in the 2021 awards season finally happened Sunday night.
The show was different than shows in past years for several reasons. First, the show was bi-coastal. Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the Globes from the Rainbow Room in New York and the Beverly Hilton in Hollywood, respectively. Many of the stars Zoomed into the ceremony from home while the venues were peppered with first responders.
While Fey and Poehler are my favorite Globes hosts based on their previous hosting duties, this year the just fell a bit flat. I don’t know if it was because they were in different venues, but it just lacked the spark of previous years. The highlight of their monologue was when they explained the differences between TV shows and movies on streaming services (i.e. British people playing a Brit =TV, British people playing Americans = Movie). However, there were plenty of lows too (see Kenan Thompson and Maya Rudolph playing a songwriting duo who are very special, shall we say).
While the voting body for the Golden Globes does not have any overlap with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Globes are a very good indicator for how the Academy will vote come Oscar night. Early indications have shown that Nomadland, Chloe Zhao’s beautiful story of American wanderers, was the movie to beat. The Globes have now cemented that by naming Nomadland as the Best Motion Picture – Drama, and anointing Chloe Zhao as Best Director.
Also, as expected, Chadwick Boseman was awarded Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, posthumously, for his intense portrayal of Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Upon winning the award his wife gave a moving speech with suppositions of what he would have said and how uplifting the speech would have been. It was a beautiful moment, and the perfect tribute to a talented actor gone too soon.
The surprises of the night came in the various actress categories. Andra Day won for her brilliant portrayal of Billie Holiday in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Jodie Foster won in the supporting category for her work as an attorney defending a Guantanamo Bay detainee in The Mauritanian (which is yet to be released), and Rosamond Pike picked up an award for her work at a despicable guardian in I Care a Lot. None of these performances were nominated for the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards, which made them such surprises. Perhaps a Globe win will propel them into the Oscar race. I guess we will just have to wait until March 15 to see…
-Ariadne Ansbro
See below for a full list of winners
Movies
Best Motion Picture, Drama
“Nomadland”
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Best Director, Motion Picture
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Andra Day, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Rosamund Pike, “I Care a Lot”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Jodie Foster, “The Mauritanian”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Daniel Kaluuya, “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Aaron Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste, “Soul”
Best Original Song, Motion Picture
“Io Sì (Seen),” “The Life Ahead”
Best Motion Picture, Animated
“Soul”
Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
“Minari”
Television
Best Television Series, Drama
“The Crown”
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
“Schitt’s Creek”
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
“The Queen’s Gambit”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Emma Corrin, “The Crown”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creek”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Supporting Role
Gillian Anderson, “The Crown”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Mark Ruffalo, “I Know This Much Is True”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Supporting Role
John Boyega, “Small Axe”
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