Golden Globes Night: 11 Moments. 27 Winners. 3 Takeways.
Monday, January 6, 2020 at 1:17AM by Nathaniel R
How was Globe night for you? We don't plan to rain on your parade if you loved it as we'll focus on the positive herein. That said a dark storm threatened to dampen the jolly proceedings from Ricky Gervais opening monologue. The joke gathering the cloud "I don't care anymore. Kidding, I never did." We have personally never seen an awards show host phone it in as much as Gervais did on the big night -- even James Franco tried harder at his famously disastrous Oscar co-host gig -- so good riddance to Gervais forever and ever. There's insult humor and then there's being a walking insult to anyone who deigns to watch you. BUT ON TO HAPPIER THINGS.
After the jump we'll share the key moments, winners, and takeaways...
10 MOMENTS WE CHERISHED, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
1. Our DVR failed to record (argh!) ruining some delicious plans of images to share with you but the first was Cate Blanchett's decidedly unamused grimace at Ricky Gervais's Epstein joke. To be honest his super-offense jokes were the best ones (comparatively speaking so "best" is still worst) because at least they elicited a reaction from people.
2. We live for the tiny snippets as we head to commercial breaks and in the first of these Meryl Streep talks to an enraptured Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. This image was frameable!
3. A rare glimpse of Elton John's eyes as he takes the stage with his lifelong writing partner Bernie Taupin but can't read the teleprompter through his giant colored lenses. "The Bitch is Back" isn't quite the right song to sing about Elton on this night because, though back, he was full of joy all night... especially when Taron Egerton won.
4. Stellan Skarsgard wins the first acting awards and sets the bar fairly high for speeches with a "where is this going?" story that begins with a drunken Milos Forman impersonation and ends with a punchline that doubled as an ode to his makeup artist.
5. Phoebe Waller-Bridges wins for Fleabag and begins by raving about Andrew Scott and how he could have chemistry with a pebble. This made us so happy as longtime fans of Scott and as longtime advocates that out gay actors can play any type or role, including romantic leads as Scott so expertly did. Later when Phoebe wins again for series she makes it at least partially about Barack Obama putting her on his "top movies and tv show" list. President of Good Taste!
6. We see Elton John's joy and raise you Margot Robbie's utter delight when she gets to hand Quentin Tarantino a Globe for his screenplay. Tarantino, who should never give his own acceptance speeches, ruins it by commenting on this but you can't have everything.
7. Another great pre-commercial glimpse. This time it's Toni Collette laughing heartily. But who is cracking her up? Since our DVR didn't record (Argh again) we have forgotten who was amusing her.
8. Seeing genuinely stunned winners including Stellan Skarsgard, Sam Mendes, and the Missing Link team who were "flabbergasted"
9. Tom Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres. Those tributes wow (Oscar producers were so stupid to drop the honorary Oscars from the broadcast as these tributes can be special). Best of all was Kate McKinnon's ode to Ellen which deserves essays of its own and will surely get them 'round the internet.
10. Michelle Williams gives the most political and brave speech of the night which is beautifully written and dovetails from her career choices and her right to choose. Revealing you've had an abortion when you're very famous might be the only way to wake people up that we must protect a woman's right to her own body. VOTE. As if the speech and the deserving win (she couldn't have been more incredible in Fosse/Verdon) weren't enough, the Globe control room team blessed us with a cutaway to another Michelle, La Pfeiffer, listening intently.
11. Did you feel the love in the room when Brad Pitt won? It was coming off of the TV like waves. Oscar completely locked up. More on Brad soon.
27 WINNERS
Best Picture, Drama 1917
Best Picture, Comedy/Musical Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Picture, Animated Missing Link
Best Picture, Foreign Language Parasite
Best Director Sam Mendes, 1917
Best Screenplay Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Score Hildur Gudnadottir, Joker
Best Song Elton John & Bernie Taupin, "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" from Rocketman
Best Actress, Drama Renée Zellweger, Judy
Best Actress, Comedy/Musical Awkwafina, The Farewell
Best Actor, Drama Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Best Actor, Comedy/Musical Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Best Supporting Actress Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Best Supporting Actor Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Carol Burnett Award (TV Lifetime Achievement) Ellen DeGeneres
Cecil B DeMiller Award (Movies Lifetime Achievement) Tom Hanks
Best Series, Drama Succession
Best Series, Comedy Fleabag
Best Limited Series Chernobyl
Best Actress, Limited Series Michelle William, Fosse/Verdon
Best Actress, DramaOlivia Colman, The Crown
Best Actress, Comedy Phoebe Waller-Bridge Fleabag
Best Actor, Limited Series Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
Best Actor, Drama Brian Cox, Succession
Best Actor, Comedy Ramy Youseff, Ramy
Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette, The Act
Best Supporting Actor Stellan Skarsgard, Chernobyl
3 TAKEWAYS
1. The Irishman went home completely empty-handed. Will that repeat on Oscar night? Scorsese has been there before; Gangs of New York, Taxi Driver, and Wolf of Wall Street lost all their categories on Oscar night.
2. Phoenix, Zellweger, Dern, and Pitt are your probable Oscar winners. Usually once the televised awards begin voters turn hard into autopilot mode, repeating the same acting winners as the awards show before them. That said, only Pitt's speech might be read as an unqualified success in terms of the kind of speech you'd gladly hear again on Oscar night. Murtada has some things to say about Zellweger's speech so we'll save that for a bit later today. That's a very blonde and fifty-something lineup, Phoenix notwithstanding (brunette and forty-something).
3. 1917 really needed that. Now arguably the Globe voters loved Once Upon a Time in Hollywood just as much or more but the win for Sam Mendes war drama might just be the jolt the movie needs as it expands into wide release and as Academy members consider their votes. We still think the Best Picture win on Oscar night is anyone's game.
Reader Comments (73)
surely tom hanks will make into the supporting actor lineup after his speech left no eye undry
[plus taron is coming for that fifth actor spot]
Taron edgerton was the most deserving winner of the night
Yesss! Go for that oscar nomination
i am BEDISE myself for Taron. Hope he slips into Oscar nom.
That Rene speech had some shade; and she was not happy to be cut off.
I half-listened to the show while I was doing something else but that Weinstein line was really something. The rest of Ricky Gervais' delivery was lazy and mean-spirited but that one cut to the quick in a way that felt earned.
Happy to see Awkwafina win, although I missed her acceptance speech. Otherwise, the winners felt kinda rote and the speeches were all over the place.
Zee yess !!!!!!!!!!!
I am on Team Awkwafina definitely. Go get that Oscar nom!
Othiefia Stoleman can go away. Her performance and speech were boring as per usual.
The fact that there is no clear frontrunner for Best Picture will only benefit Parasite.
Does this mean Taron Egerton/Tom Holland goes to the Oscars? Oh, God, no! Please, just no!
Renée was so smug and drugged out. I hope a lot of voters were deterred by that BORING, ENDLESS speech. Seriously, what is she on?!?
Brad didn’t thank his kids, no surprise there
Dern and Pitt are locks to win the Oscars. Pitt always was, but J-Lo could have made things interesting with a Globe win.
I do not think that was an Oscar-clinching speech from Renee at all. I will wait to see what BAFTA does before I declare a winner in that race. I do think that Awkwafina did herself a lot of favors to get nominated, as did Taron Egerton. But both races are both so packed already. I’m also not ready to declare Phoenix the runaway winner. If he wins SAG, it’s probably over, but Adam Driver is right there with the superior performance and in a mega hot streak over the last two years of his career. Who knows?
I also thought Gervais was excellent! Calling out hypocrisy and holding people accountable are good things!
I generally can handle Ricky Gervais, but he was overall just dreadful tonight. His comments in his opening about famous people shouldn't give political speeches only further ignites the talking points of right-wing media. Ugh.
Joaquin Phoenix is such a weirdo, and not in a particularly endearing way IMO. Renee seemed drunk. They better get their speeches together if they indeed win leading Oscars.
Was thrilled for Awkwafina - would love to see her nominated for best actress. Hopefully her win will inspire some Academy voters to watch their screeners of The Farewell and vote for her.
I look forward to Murtada's take on Zellweger's speech. For me, it could almost cost her the Oscar, so self-obsessed it was.
Absolutely elated by Phoenix’s win (and loved hearing Cate Blanchett’s passion for his performance when she introduced the clip). Hopefully this puts him back in the frontrunner position that Driver seems to have taken. Seriously, Phoenix and Banderas are towers above any of the other leading men this year.
I think Dern and Pitt have their Oscars all locked up now. Phoenix has gotten closer, though Zellweger still doesn't seem a sure thing. While drama going to 1917 seems understandable, didn't see Mendes for the win coming from a distance. Really felt the Globes were the most suited to honour Joon-Ho and make his Oscar bid stronger.
i agree with the commenters. Zero comments on the globes is correct, Unless we want to talk about the Oscars and Phoenix/Driver, Zellweger/Anyone (The academy could still balk at rewarding her Judy), Dern and Pitt's wins. Or Michelle William's speech. To quote myself, "That's all..."
Did we need the Phoenix and 1917 wins ? I don't think so.
Pitt is ready for his Oscar, his speech was great.
The most boring Globes in a long time or maybe it's just that J-Lo not winning totally ruined my night.
I'm getting used to see Patricia Arquette and Michelle Williams winning awards and delivering great speeches so I pick Cox and Skarsgard as my favourite winners of the night.
Thank you so much for getting on this right away and posting so soon after the show was over. I really appreciate and enjoy your feedback on an award show and I know it can't always be easy doing it so quickly.
Michelle Williams sure gives an amazing speech!!!
Zellweger/Phoenix/Dern/Pitt looks like the surest quartet in a while. Feels like it belongs to another decade.
Michelle Williams has been nailing her speeches since her Emmy win last year. Gervais advised actors not to get political if they won but why shouldn’t they when they’re as eloquent and thoughtful? Hope Michelle wins awards for the next 40 years and I kinda think she will.
We were in a sports bar last night in Hell's Kitchen watching our basketball team lose their gane when the wait staff switched one of the TVs to the Golden Globes (who would have thought it can happen in a sports bar). What stood out for me was the beautiful speech of Bong Joon-ho: moviegoers need to see beyond subtitles to appreciate the great cinematic stories in other territories where English is not spoken.
Despite the noise of the bar and competing games simultaneously playing in 30 other screens, I thought:
- the audience love for Brad Pitt was palpable; there was a tiny moment when the camera showed Jennifer Aniston listening to him intently with her knuckles on her cheeks
- how great to see Awkfina give a shout-out to Zhao Shuzhen and the loud applause after that (get that Oscar nomination, Zhao!)
- the acceptance speech of Joaquin Phoenix -- so awkward, so riveting to watch
- Glenn frickin' Close as presenter
- Jennifer Lopez adorably struggling to pronounce the name of musical score winner Hildur Guðnadóttir for Joker
- amusing to watch the unamused faces of people when Gervais was onstage
- the übercuteness of Roman Griffin Davis when his name was called as nominee; didn't notice Taika Waititi in the crowd. Taika should host the GG next year.
Too bad the GG show was competing with the raucous voices of sports announcers and drunk sports fans so I didn't hear other speeches, but it's funny how bar patrons' attention was divided despite (or maybe because of) the incongruity of the show's telecast in that rowdy bar. There were scattered applause every time Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and 1917 wins an award.
Renée Zellweger: "The top doesn't matter". I mean, I died.
I'm sad about the four acting categories being locked up. Especially in the leading categories. I thought it was a very rich year for acting and giving the price to Joaquin Phoenix feels lazy. It's a good performance, although I would argue that he gave a very similar and more nuanced performance in The Master, but I feel like it's getting rewarded just because it's the one most people have seen (cue last year and Rami Malek, which I didn't even think was a good performance). Stop voting for something because it's popular! I'm ok with a nomination, but a win? It'll be a bit of a letdown given the stellar year for male acting.
I am no big fan but you get what you pay for with Ricky and one person's offence is another person's funny.
I could have done without Patricia's speechifying,leave war out of an award giving ceremony.
Felt sorry for the meat eaters with the vegan food.
The dresses were universally bad except for 1 or 2 shame on you Jennifer and Charlize
Is Taron a thing then in Best Actor
Is Fleabag that good.
Well deserved to Brian Cox.
Olivia does have someone else's award Glenn's.
Hanks was pure class
Does Brad Pitt have a disintergrating picture in his attic
Yes Renee you show them all.
Laura Dern for her 1 dimnensional skit over worthier competition esp Lopez,it's sewn up for her
Murphy losing that's done then.
The Legend Elton John.
Chris Evans tux
Hi Cate nice to see you out
Awkwafina GG history maker.
in general, i have nothing against these four actors winning oscars, i like them all well enough, but none of these performances moved me enough to root for them. if we're in for a season of renee and joaquin stumbling through speeches towards no end goal... then it won't be an easy one.
do folks think that the lack of best picture mojo last night helps parasite? i can't see any other movie that was helped towards the BP oscar. i just can't imagine 1917 happening, the irishman and marriage story were totally out, and it seems odd to me that they'd give quentin best picture for his 4th or 5th best film.
1917 winning feels very Babel/Avatar in that I suspect its Golden Globe win will be an anomaly, and it won’t win anywhere else along the way to Oscar night and won’t even be regarded as much of a factor in the Best Picture race by then. I just don’t see it winning PGA, DGA, or BAFTA (and obviously not SAG since it wasn’t nominated). Maybe I’m wrong, but 1917 just does not feel like it’s contending for the win, and I’ll remain unconvinced of its chances unless/until it wins something else.
You get what you pay for with Ricky and one person's offence is another person's funny.
Arquette should have left the speechifying to someone else,war shouldn't be part of shiny award giving.
Does Brad Pitt have a disintergrating picture in a home somewhere
Dern winning for her 1 dimensional skit over worthier competition inc Bates inc that press conference scene she's still got it.
Chris Evns tux
The Legend Elton John.
Bring back the honoary Oscar at the ceremony,Hanks was gold plated class.
Is Taron a thing now for Best Actor
The ladies dresses shame on you Jennifer and Charlize.
Awkwafina History Maker.
Wll Done Brian Cox,shows GG's can make good decisions.
Hi Cate nice to see you out.
I can't find Fleabag funny at all
Felt sorry for the meat eaters in the room.
The giving Meryl an Award break was welcome
Olivia you do have someone else's award Glenn's.
I thought Gervais was a horrible host this year. Yes- I know in the past this scathing attack on the Hollywood elite is funny but for me, this year in particular, it felt a bit pro-right wing attack.
Also to have a host who does not give a crap about awards in the years where award shows are having to fight for continued relevancy seems an odd pair. I am not saying there was nothing that I agreed with him saying but if felt more uncomfortable than usual especially that Apple TV bit. It also made the entire award show somehow fell “less than”? I don’t know. I was in my usual celebratory awards season mode but the starting the show out that way to me felt odd.
I thought Phoenix’s speech was incoherent and again celebrated white male toxicity. I would like to see Coleman deliver a speech not drunk.... just once.
Loved the Pitt win.
Disappointed of course that Streep did not win but glad Arquette won and not Helena.
Yes- Streep was mostly talking to Gerwig, Noah, Driver, and Margot last night in all the photos. Wondering if a next project is brewing or if Streep is coming on board for their Barbie movie?
I love that this broadcast contained Ricky Gervais' transgressive swipes at woke culture, AND some passionate advancements of that same culture from Williams, Arquette, etc. Those things existed alongside each other, not one at the expense of the other. It felt like a big tent.
Smart film lovers are an audience with a wide range of views on a lot of issues...not a single, sacred set of perspectives rubberstamped by Film Twitter. Progressives assume that as they've swung to the left since 2016, every skeptical liberal has swung with them.
OUATH will be the Best Picture winner. It's a star-filled nostalgia trip about Hollywood (they love movies about themselves), and a Tarantino pic has never won. Tarantino will likely win Best Director as well; it's odd he's never won.
I do wonder if Ronan could be a shock Best Actress winner. She won AACTA, and that award tends to be predictive when it goes to a non-Aussie. Plus she'd be a four-time nominee (with four strong nominations) who has never won, and Little Women is popular with both critics and moviegoers and is peaking at the right time.
I don’t think Zellweger’s speech was self involved, for someone to have been outside of the limelight and then also ridiculed globally for her appearance that may have led people to consider her a hasbeen or a past her prime actress , I thought it seemed genuine. People are going on on twitter about her accent as well. Can we leave her alone for once.
Michelle Williams' speech is one for the ages.
I do hope Awkwafina and Taron Egerton make the Oscar short list.
The less said about the host, the better.
I still miss the old, marble-based statuettes. The new ones are so ugly!
Best Actress isn't competitive but it is crowded. It's a top 7, not a top 6, and that was always going to happen when somebody won the Comedy Globe—and it was always likely to be Awkwafina. I wonder what % of Oscar nomination ballots were submitted before the ceremony.
There was a brief moment before Patricia won where I thought "Wow, we might get a Meryl speech tonight!" Apart from Ramy Youseff they didn't throw any curveballs in the TV categories this year, despite plenty of opportunities. It's basically the Emmys part 2.
I will be heartbroken if The Farewell gets no nominations.
I rewatched it last night after Awkwafina's win. Her performance just keeps getting better. And her speech last night hopefully will grab her a nomination.
Is there ANY excitement for Erivo?
Phoenix was white male toxicity?
Lol, seriously.
I wish JLO won. Her performance in Hustlers is the definition of a star turn, surprised the Globes didn’t go for it. It’s underwhelming that Dern is going to win for Marriage Story.
I promised Professor Spouse I'd see Joker with her if it got nominated. Sigh.
Also eh at Renee taking this. Her speech was a mess and her career does not warrant two Oscars. Same with Sam Mendes. I can’t believe he may win two Best Director Oscars while Tarantino (worst speech of the night?) has 0 and Scorsese only has 1.
Peggy Sue -- that got a bit laugh in our room, too.
With no favorite in the Actress race (unless Alfre or Mary Kay somehow come through), I didn't mind RZ's acknowledging her own comeback. Pitt, Dern, and RZ feel like locks now and color me surprised that the Globes didn't jump on a chance to bring JLo up on stage. Half the fun for me watching the GGs is seeing who might convince the room to get on board for a nomination. So, thanks to Awkwafina for singling out Zhao Shuzhen.
I'm sad for Jennifer Lopez. Happy for Laura Dern to take the rest of them but I wanted J Lo to get that Globe and thought she would.
Leave Renee alone. I second Rizz. It felt genuine. I doubt she ever thought she'd be back up there again. Did any of us?
@jules -- yes, i could see a ronan shock win, too. but i don't know, perhaps it's just wishful thinking because i loved the performance so much? she'll have to get nominated first...
Four thoughts on Joaquin Phoenix/Joker:
1. I have never cared for Phoenix as an actor and he's always been off-putting as a person/celebrity. Last night he seemed to be on drugs; If he has a problem I wish him well conquering it.
2. I have never cared for comic book movies and so Joker has very little to offer me personally. While it's not aimed at me I don't rule out the possibility that it is well-made and the performance is revelatory in all the ways critics and audiences have said.
3. I'm suspicious of the knee-jerk negativity Joker received from the moment the trailer dropped, which seems aimed at negating/invalidating certain types of art no matter how much technical achievement or resonance they possess. It seems wrong to let bloggers dictate which stories are worth telling and which ideas are too dangerous to convey in film.
4. I cannot think of a worse messenger for that film or its complicated place in the cultural arena than an apparently drugged out, incoherent, disheveled Joaquin Phoenix.
Me- compared to Taran’s wonderful acceptance- yes.
Bad enough Phoenix is winning for a role -that Hollywood is always weirdly fascinated with?- that makes one feel sorry for how the world treats fragile white masculinity - then he goes and gives a speech where he really could care less, does not even want to talk about the win or the character backstage to reporters, swears though his whole speech and has no interest in playing the awards game. He just felt burdened.
My advice is to get out of the game then. And I used to love Joaquin in the past.
If enough voters see 1917 on a big screen it could win the Oscar. The timing is sadly perfect for an antiwar film, and Hollywood is prone to award something that simply must be seen in a theater.
Michelle Williams winning awards reminds me of Julianne and all the Game Change wins,A potential Oscar winner always needs a narrative and some times it starts a few years before they finally win something.
I thought Pitt was the best speech of the night.
Some takeaways:
Renee and Joaquin are likely winning Oscar, but damn if they didn't give the worst possible speeches last night. Of the 4 acting categories, Renee is probably on shakiest ground so this stumble could cost her, but there isn't a hard-charging candidate like Colman was to Close (you could argue ScarJo but I don't think so).
The love for Sam Mendes feels real. He's been such a consistently-solid but underrated director that you forget just how many of the people in the business have worked with him, including several present last night. He has made a great career after his now 20-year old debut Oscar win. I believe he's the front-runner.
OUATIH is the closest QT will get to Picture and Director wins since Pulp Fiction, but it still feels like it will come just short. But then again it could become a default choice unless 1917 starts bulldozing through the Guilds. I haven't seen Picture so fluid in maybe ever - with at least 7 films feeling like they could win.
So many no-show nominees, the most surprising for me being Pesci. Hopkins, Thompson and Bale are probably not getting nominations so it doesn't hurt them as much but I wonder if Pesci's absence will be noticed among voters, or if they will even care. Still he's at best in 3rd position right now with several potential spoilers.
A very activist ceremony - one can only hope that it's the most political of the season because if not it means our geopolitical landscape is still headed towards a cliff. Heaven help us all.
The surprisingly-competitive races and the Laura Dern coronation are the only keeping me interested in the season. So many rewarding films and performances seem to have been cast aside this year. I know it happens every year but it feels like almost all the pre-ordained front runners have coasted through the fall except those crafted or led by women and minorities. Just Mercy and Harriet are not perfect films but they're certainly no worse than Green Book or Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen & Slim, The Farewell, and Us are much better. And the inexplicable lack of traction for my 2nd favorite film of the year, Marielle Heller's wonderful A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood really bums me out. I'm not banging the drum for inferior films made my women and/or minorities to be championed but when the films are clearly worthy and still not selected alongside titles from white men who have had more of their fair share of accolades, then I can't help but feel like the talk of awards diversity and inclusion remains just that - talk.
Please tell me that Marriage Story is not the next Boyhood winning best supporting actress and nothing else.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé brought their own champagne? Barf barf. Annoying when true celebrities are considered artists (especially Yoncé).
And Ellen's loving of these celebrities is exactly why I'm no fan of hers. Was and is a great standup, and seems genuinely a nice and decent person, but barf barf.