Said it before, will say it again: I love watching award shows and watching famous people schmooze. It gives the illusion that they are all great friends, though that probably couldn’t be further from the truth (unless they’re like George Clooney, and even so, he isn’t loved by everybody either).
The Golden Globes, being a sit-down dinner and drinking affair, is looser and more relaxed than the Oscars, and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey brought a really down-to-earth, fun vibe to the proceedings. Their monologue really killed it! It’s their third and final year hosting, which is a pity — a sentiment also expressed by Meryl Streep. Whoever is hired next will have awfully big shoes to fill.
- “The biggest story in Hollywood this year was when North Korea threatened an attack if Sony Pictures released The Interview, forcing us all to pretend we wanted to see it.”
- “Steve Carell’s Foxcatcher look took two hours to put on, including his hairstyling and make-up. Just for comparison, it took me three hours today to prepare for my role as human woman.”
- “George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year. Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an adviser to Kofi Annan regarding Syria, and was selected for a three-person U.N. commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”
(Though looking at George Clooney’s filmography, he really has done many wonderful and enjoyable films, while using his celebrity to do humanitarian works and speak out for political causes. The fact that he was actually able to marry *up* is no mean feat.)
The “Who’d you rather” game was another one of the best parts of the monologue too. Edward Norton has aged like fine wine, and Mark Ruffalo is gorgeous, so any joke concerning them which allows the camera to focus on their reactions is more than welcome in my book.
Lots of eloquent speeches were given, including Joanne Froggett’s about being glad she could help represent rape survivors, Common’s speech about solidarity with humanity (I really need to watch Selma), George Clooney’s speech about all of them being privileged for getting to do what they love and “not walk[ing] in fear”, and Michael Keaton’s choked one about his son, his best friend.
For a complete list of winners, see here. Suffice to say, I should find a chance to catch Boyhood, since it looks like a lock to win Best Picture Oscar. Michael Keaton for Best Actor for Birdman, Julianne Moore for Best Actress for Still Alice, Patricia Arquette for Best Supporting Actress for Boyhood and J.K. Simmons for Best Supporting Actor for Whiplash also look like shoe-ins (though Eddie Redmayne could still win, for The Theory of Everything. But I would bet on Michael Keaton because Eddie Redmayne is still up-and-coming, while Michael Keaton is a long overdue for some recognition.)
Am surprised that The Grand Budapest Hotel, released last March, managed to keep its traction all the way until now to play the awards game and win Best Comedy/Musical, but while it will probably be nominated for the Oscars, it won’t win. But it’s great to be able to hear Wes Anderson give a funny speech thanking members of the HFPA with strange-sounding names, thus mocking the Golden Globes and the organisation that gives them out, in a way.
The only real surprise was How to Train Your Dragon 2 winning Best Animated Feature. (And also, The Affair winning two more awards than anybody thought it would, since its fellow nominees are better known and more critically acclaimed.) I thought The Lego Movie would win, or if not that, Big Hero 6. Hope the Oscars do better in that category!
