‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ rocks Golden Globes
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – “Bohemian Rhapsody” pulled a major upset at the close of the Golden Globes on Sunday, taking home the final two top prizes to put itself into the Oscars
conversation along with “Green Book” and “Roma.”
On a night of wins for movies representing minorities, two awards favorites about white people –Dick Cheney biopic “Vice” and musical romance “A Star is Born” – all but struck out, with each picking up just one trophy in the run-up to the all-important Oscars on February 24.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” –which charts the rise of British rock group Queen – picked up best actor for Rami Malek, who plays legendary frontman Freddie Mercury. It also bagged the biggest movie award of the night – best drama.
“I am beyond moved. My heart is pounding out of my chest right now,” said Malek, whose list of people to thank included the Queen singer, who died in 1991.
“Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime. I love you, you beautiful man. This is for and because of you, gorgeous.”
The two trophies were the final prizes in a ceremony that had been expected to be a consecration for “A Star is Born” – starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in the age-old Hollywood fable of an ailing performer and his muse –which went into the night with five nods.
“Star” had to content itself with a statuette for best song, which went to Gaga and writing partner Mark Ronson, while Christian Bale – who plays Cheney – picked up the solo gong for “Vice.”
Civil rights dramedy “Green Book” was the numerical winner – if not the prestige player – picking up awards for best comedy movie, best supporting actor Mahershala Ali and best screenplay.
Criss dedicates triumph to Pinoy mom
Darren Criss bagged the Golden Globes best actor (in a limited series or TV movie) trophy for his performance as Andrew Cunanan in FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
The Filipino-American actorsinger dedicated the win to his Filipino mom.
Speaking onstage while holding his trophy he said, “This has been a marvelous year for representation in Hollywood, and I am so enormously proud to be a teeny tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipino woman from Cebu that dreamed of coming into this country and getting to be invited to cool parties like this.”
Addressing his mom, he added, “Mom, I know you’re watching this, I love you dearly. I dedicate this to you.”
Criss harped on his Filipino lineage again in an interview backstage as reported on deadline.com.
He was quoted as saying, “I’ve said this before, but being half Filipino is one of my favorite things about me. I feel like I have been given a superhero cape and I am glad to step up to that plate.”
Cunanan might be the last gay character Criss will be portraying in a long time.
The awarded actor, who gained fame portraying the gay character Blaine on “Glee,” made headlines in December when he said he would no longer play LGBTQ characters in an interview.
While he admitted gay roles “are wonderful,” he cleared, “I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy taking a gay man’s role.”
The boozy gala at the Beverly Hilton also recognized Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” a cinematic ode to his childhood in 1970s Mexico City, with best director and foreign film honors, while seven movies bagged one statuette each.
“Cinema at its best builds bridges to other cultures,” Cuaron told the audience. “We need to understand how much we have in common.”
Less edgy
Under an azure southern California sky, Tinseltown’s A-listers worked the red carpet with last year’s gender politics still very much in mind.
Many wore “Time’s Up” bracelets in a nod to the movement for sexual equality in the workplace that grabbed the headlines 12 months ago as the industry faced a reckoning about rampant harassment and abuse.
Hosting the Globes were comedian Andy Samberg and actress Sandra Oh, who made history as the first Asian woman to have presented a major awards show while also taking home her second Globe for “Killing Eve.”
As the only awards show where alcohol is served, the evening is usually more colorful than showbiz’s other big nights.
But the presenters set the tone for a less edgy affair than in previous years with a relatively tame opening that gave more time to complimenting the nominees than assailing them with “roast”-style jokes. (With a report from Neil Ramos)