Silent film’s awards speak volumes
Los Angeles – Silent-era film The Artist and family drama The Descendants were the top film picks at the Golden Globe Awards in a loose-lipped show that even had host Ricky Gervais walking onto the stage with a drink in his hand.
The Descendants, starring George Clooney as a man steering his family through a tragic time when his wife is in a coma, won two Golden Globe trophies, including the top honour of best dramatic movie and another for Clooney as best dramatic actor.
On stage, he thanked writer/ director Alexander Payne and backstage told reporters, ‘‘he knows how to tell stories. He knows how to make something funny and how to turn it around’’.
Clooney called the movie ‘‘a coming-of-age film for a 50-year-old and a lot of us have dealt with people like that’’.
The Artist, a romantic tale about a failing actor who finds love at a time when movies were changing from silents to talkies, won three awards, including best musical or comedy, and best actor in a musical or comedy, for its star, French actor Jean Dujardin.
On stage, Dujardin did the most appropriate thing – gave his speech, thanked his colleagues, then signed off by not saying a word.
And true to stealing almost every scene of his in the movie, little dog Uggie detracted from an emotional speech by the film’s director, Michel Hazanavicius, by begging for a treat.
Other key winners included Meryl Streep for best actress in a film drama with her portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.
Streep, who is typically reliable with a funny acceptance speech, had a difficult time reading it this year when she forgot her glasses.
Michelle Williams took the trophy for best actress in a comedy or musical with her role as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn.
Woody Allen was given a Golden Globe for his screenplay for Midnight in Paris and Steven Spielberg won best animated film with his rollicking The Adventures of Tintin.
The Golden Globe Awards are given out by the roughly 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at what annually is among the key events during Hollywood’s awards season be-
it cause of the media exposure brings.
Many of the winning movies and stars at the Golden Globes go on to compete for Oscars later this year.
The Artist, which was the mostnominated film coming into the Golden Globes with six nods overall, will certainly become a frontrunner for the world’s top film honours, as will The Descendants and The Help.