‘NOMADLAND’ MAKES GLOBES HISTORY
US ROAD movie Nomadland made Golden Globes history on Sunday as Chloe Zhao became the first female director to win the awards’ top prize for best drama with her film about a generation of marginalised Americans roaming the West in vans.
Zhao also bagged the best director Globe, making her only the second woman to do so in the history of Hollywood’s traditional awards season opener, which was a mainly virtual ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The late Chadwick Boseman won best actor for 1920s blues drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, six months after his death from cancer at age 43, in a night of emotional moments interspersed with technical glitches, awkward jokes and a row over the lack of diversity among event organisers.
Semi-fictional film Nomadland stars Oscar winner Frances McDormand alongside a rag-tag bunch of non-actors who truly live on the open road, working mostly menial jobs to scrape by off the grid.
“I especially want to thank the nomads who shared their stories with us,” said Beijing-born Zhao, 38.
“For everyone who has gone through this difficult and beautiful journey at some point in their lives – this is for you. We don’t say goodbye. We say see you down the road,” she added later on, after the film won top honours.
Usually a star-packed party that draws Tinseltown’s biggest names to a Beverly Hills hotel ballroom, this pandemic edition of the Globes was broadcast from identical sets at the Beverly Hilton and New York’s Rainbow Room, with essential workers and a few A-list presenters among the few in attendance.
The night’s most poignant moment came with Boseman’s win.
“He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifice,” said his widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepting on his behalf.
“He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice that tells you you can, that tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing at this moment in history,” she added.
Unlike the Oscars, the Globes split most movie categories into drama and “musical or comedy”.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,a sequel about the fictional Kazakh journalist, won the comedy section’s best film and best actor prizes for creator Sacha Baron Cohen.
“Hold on, Donald Trump is contesting the result. He claimed a lot of dead people voted, which is a very rude thing to say about the HFPA,” joked Cohen, referring to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organises the Globes.
Cohen also had a couple of zingers for Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was tricked into a fake hotel room “interview” with an attractive and flirtatious young woman, played by nominee Maria Bakalova.
“I mean, who can get more laughs out of one unzipping? It’s just incredible,” asked Cohen.
Best comedy actress went to Rosamund Pike for Netflix’s dark thriller I Care A Lot.
“I had to swim up from a sinking car. I think I still would rather do that than have to be in a room with Rudy Giuliani,” said Pike.
The biggest upset came as Andra Day won best drama actress for her portrayal of the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday in The United States vs Billie Holiday.
Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 had been tipped for multiple Globes but had to settle for best screenplay, while Mank – an ode to Citizen Kane – left empty-handed despite topping the nominations.
Jodie Foster won best supporting actress for Guantanamo legal drama
The Mauritanian, while Korean-American immigrant family drama
Minari won the Globe for best foreign language film.
Pixar’s Soul – mispronounced by presenter Tracy Morgan as “Sawl”, to widespread amusement among the various stars appearing on videolink – won best animated feature, as well as best musical score.
In the television categories, the latest season of The Crown continued the show's multi-year dominance at the Globes, with three acting awards and best drama series honours.
Netflix scored further wins for
The Queen’s Gambit, for best limited series and best actress with Anya Taylor-Joy, while Schitt’s Creek followed up its Emmys sweep with best TV comedy. |