‘Nomadland,’ ‘Borat’ big winners at Golden Globes
NEW YORK: With homebound nominees appearing by remote video and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on different sides of the country, a very physically distanced 78th Golden Globe Awards trudged on amid the pandemic and amid a storm of criticism for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, with top awards going to “Nomadland,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “The Crown” and “Schitt’s Creek.”
The night’s top award, best picture drama, went to Chloé Zhao’s elegiac road movie “Nomadland,” a Western set across economic upheaval and personal grief. Zhao, the China-born filmmaker, became the first woman of Asian descent to win best director. She’s only the second woman in the history of the Globes to win and the first since Barbra Streisand won for “Yentl” in 1984.
“’Nomadland at its core for me is a pilgrimage through grief and healing,” said Zhao, accepting the awards remotely. “For everyone who has gone through this difficult and beautiful journey at some point in their lives, this is for you.”
With a canceled red carpet and stars giving speeches from the couch, Sunday’s (Monday morning in Manila) Globes had little of their typically frothy flavor. But they went on, nevertheless, with some winners in sweats and dogs in laps, in a pandemic that has sapped nearly all the glamor out of Hollywood.
Facing scant traditional studio competition, streaming services notably dominated the Globes like never before — even if the top award went to a familiar if renamed source: Searchlight Pictures, the now Disney-owned specialty label behind “12 Years a Slave” and “Birdman.”
Amazon’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” — one of the few nominated films shot partly during the pandemic — won best film, comedy or musical. Its star, guerilla comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, also won best actor in a comedy.
Netflix, which came in with a commanding 42 nominations, won the top TV awards. “The Crown,” as expected, took best drama series, along with acting wins for Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles), Emma Corrin (Princess Diana) and Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher). “The Queen’s Gambit” won best limited series, and best actress in the category for Anya Taylor-Joy. “Schitt’s Creek,” the Pop TV series that found a wider audience on Netflix, won best comedy series for its final season. Catherine O’Hara also took best actress in a comedy series.
Chadwick Boseman, posthumously won best actor in a drama film for his final performance, in the August Wilson adaptation “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — a Netflix release.
Boseman’s wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, tearfully accepted the award.
Apple TV+ scored its first major award when a sweatshirt-clad Jason Sudeikis won best actor in a comedy series for the streamer’s “Ted Lasso.”
Jane Fonda, the Cecil B. DeMille Award honoree, spoke passionately about expanding the big tent of entertainment for all.
“Art has always been not just in step with history but has lead the way,” she said. “So, let’s be leaders.”
Other awards included Pixar’s “Soul” for best animated film; Rosumund Pike took best actress in a comedy or musical film for “I Care a Lot”; Aaron Sorkin (“Trial of the Chicago 7”) for best screenplay; and, in the night’s biggest surprise, Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”) for best actress in a drama, besting Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) and Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”).