Showbiz History: Madonna at the Grammys, Judy at the Globes, Tilda at the Oscars
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 8:00AM 7 random things that happened on this day, February 24th, in showbiz history...
Judy and Marlon seated together at the Globes; They both won that night.
1955 The 12th annual Golden Globes are held honoring 1954 cinema. On the Waterfront (Drama) and Carmen Jones (Comedy/Musical) took the Best Picture prizes. Both James Mason and Judy Garland (neither of whom ever won a competitive Oscar) of A Star is Born won Globes for their leading work in the Comedy/Musical fields but the fact that the picture lost (when it's a hundred times the film Carmen Jones is) was an ill omen of what would happen later at the Oscars...
1969 The 26th annual Golden Globes are held honoring 1968. The Lion in Winter (Drama) and Oliver! (Comedy/Musical) took the Best Picture prizes.
On that same night across the pond, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring Maggie Smith has its Royal Film performance premiere. A year later Maggie would be up for the Globe, BAFTA, and Oscar for that role, losing only the Globe.
1999 The 41st Grammy Awards are held, one of the only Grammy shows I've watched from start to finish! Why? Because it was Madonna's only big Grammy year, of course. The Queen of Pop opened the show and her album "Ray of Light" won 4 trophies. Titanic's love theme "My Heart Will Go On" won four trophies as well. The night belonged to Lauryn Hill, though, who won 5 Grammys for "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill". I can't tell you how often we listened to those two masterpiece albums -- they were on loop in 1998.
2002 The 55th BAFTA Awards with The Lord of the Rings winning Best Film and Gosford Park Best British Film.
2008 The 80th annual Oscars are held honoring the films of 2007. No Country for Old Men takes Best Picture but this particular Oscar year, 2007, is most fascinating for the glorious stat of "most films ever nominated in the acting categories". There are 20 slots annually and 18 films were represented across the four categories. Wow! Only Michael Clayton had multiple acting nominations, winning for Tilda Swinton's insanely great unravelling lawyer.
2013 The 85th annual Oscars honoring the best of 2012 were held. 'Argo f*** yourself' won Best Picture and Ang Lee became a two-time Best Director winner (despite never directing a film that won Best Picture!). But this was also the night that the Academy stiffed Emmanuelle Riva, ON HER BIRTHDAY NO LESS, giving the statue to Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook. Another historic thing that happened on this night 8 years ago was the most recent tie in Oscar history: Best Sound Editing went to both Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty (there have been only six in Oscar's 92 year history). Neither won Sound Mixing where Les Miserable prevailed. To repeat: 2012 was a crazy "share the wealth" year and we cherish those.
2019 The 91st annual Oscars are held honoring 2018. Green Book wins Best Picture (and Mahershala Ali joins the annals of totally uncessary second supporting actor wins alongside Jason Robards and Christoph Waltz, all of whom were wildly superior the first time they won and undeserving the second time!). Even worse though is that Bohemian Rhapsody takes the most Oscars of the night including the all time worst win for Best Film Editing. Glenn Close also loses on her 7th nomination making her the second most nominated never-winning actor of all time (tied with Richard Burton). The only person who lost more was Peter O'Toole who never won despite 8 nominations (he had to settle for an Honorary which Burton never received and Close hasn't as of yet).
It was a frustrating Oscar night but thankfully the Academy made it up to us a year later with their Parasite fever.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 32nd birthday to soon to be twice Oscar-nominated Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah). He has been building a serious thespian career but he did have one go as the traditional romantic lead with that very R rated duet with Jodie Turner Smith in Queen & Slim.
Bonus Birthday Suit
Happy 55th to Billy Zane who is best known as Titanic's toxic masculine fiance, but who we'll always remember for his androgynous romp with Tilda in Orlando and that sweaty double breakout with Nicole Kidman in the thriller Dead Calm (1989). I mean, can you blame the dog for peeking?
Other showbiz birthdays: Oscar nominee Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver, Battlestar Galactica), Oscar nominated writer/directors Todd Field (In the Bedroom, Little Children), Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Cougar Town), Oscar winner Chris Buck (Frozen, Surf's Up), Billy Zane (Titanic, The Phantom) and Michael Radford (Il Postino, 1984), Director Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou, Harriet), O'Shea Jackson Jr (Straight Outta Compton, Ingrid Goes West), Fala Chen (Shang-Chi, Heading South), Deborah Jo Rupp (That 70s Show, WandaVision), Ben Miller (Bridgerton, Paddington 2), Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie, Generation Kill), actress/director Helen Shaver (Desert Hearts, Law & Order: SVU), Martha Kelly (Marriage Story, Baskets), and writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects)
And late greats like Emmy nominees Steven Hill (Law & Order, Running on Empty), Abe Vigoda (Barney Miller, The Godfather), James Farentino (Jesus of Nazareth, Dynasty), as well as Oscar nominees Marjorie Main (The Egg and I, Dead End), and Emmanuelle Riva (Amour, Hiroshima Mon Amour), Oscar winning composer Michel Legrand (Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Yentl), plus Apple giant Steve Jobs, and Mexican film star Carlos Navarro (Doña Perfecta, Corazón Salvaje)
Reader Comments (51)
Obviously it should be Christoph Waltz not Christopher Walken.
Walken only won SAG in 2002 didn't he.
.It was a real shame Q and S didn't get more love,both leads were great.
Ray of Light is Madonna's masterpiece and I wish she'd make another like it.
Grace Kelly had a banner year and a great performance. Many prefer Judy which is understandable, but I keep the Academy's tastes and whims in perspective. A wonderful piece of work won an actress an Oscar. I'll allow it. Wasn't Grace Kelly one of the first award season sweepers? Folks always like to overlook that shit. Putting yourself into the year without hindsight, she seemed like a pretty fucking strong lock.
True on Close finally winning soon. If Hillbilly can get her in their resistance is worn thin. Should've been Colman vs McCarthy that year anyway, so Close must be liked to be a surely handful of votes from upsetting a very deserving winner.
Many may think Robards was better in All The Presidents Men, but comparitive to the fields it's a worse win than Julia. Funnily enough his best nominated performance is his only losing bid, but the field was far too strong for a miracle third win.
Trying to figure out who is Othiefia Stoleman. Is she a new contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race?
Tilda's one of the only people I can think of whose career is too big, important and unusual for her Oscar record to matter in the least. Still, I love that she won on her first (and to date, only) nomination.
It seems completely irrelevant (to her and to cinema) that Tilda Swinton is an Academy Award winner but I'm still so glad she is.
I forgot that stat about the breadth of 2007 films with acting nods--wow, indeed!
I love that 2007 stat. And you could even make it 20 out of 20 if you swapped out Clooney for Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl and Wilkinson for John Travolta in Hairspray.
A Mawmaw triumph is what I need from Ampas to completely mend what happened two years ago, even if I know closedeniers are smiling at HE critics reception
antonio -- please dont encourage him!
JF -- true but i do think it's important to cinema that iconoclasts and genius occassionally get noticed by the mainstream.
the void -- there weren't awards sweepers back then quite in the way that there is now since there were so few awards... but i never stated that Garland was expected to win. You've projected that onto the text. Kelly won the NYFCC (the only critics award back then but she won it for all three of her 1954 films -- it was her peak of popularity year -- rather than specifically for The Country Girl), same deal at the NBR as a cumulative honor for a great year (not a critics awards). She then won the Globe and received a BAFTA nomination. Judy also won a Globe and later received a BAFTA nomination. There were only those four prizes besides the Oscars. Kelly went 3/4 and Judy 1/4.
p.s. i deleted your second comment because it was one expletive after another with some misogyny thrown in. I know tourettes is a real thing but it doesn't happen to fingers so please try and calm down while typing.
Mark -- I actually think Ray of Light began Madonna's best stretch. I think she did her best albums from 1998-2004. but that said, yes, lately they haven't been that strong. I'd rank them like so.
cant live without they're just great from start to finish
RAY OF LIGHT
MUSIC
CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR
LIKE A PRAYER
super
MADONNA
EROTICA
mixed bags but great stuff here and there..
AMERICAN LIFE
REBEL HEART
MDNA
BEDTIME STORIES
i have mixed feelings
MADAME X
LIKE A VIRGIN
rarely listen to them...
HARD CANDY
TRUE BLUE
The talented Daniel Kaluuya is becoming a new Denzel Washington. Multiple nominations and OSCAR victory(possibly). If he keep choosing projects this well. I think AMPAS has long been looking for a new Denzel, like a new Streep, Day Lewis, etc. And taking the statuette this year he paves the way for Anthony Hopkins to receive his well-deserved number two.
About Glenn, I honestly don't think she'll take It this year. But I may be wrong. But even if she takes Golden Globe and Sag I will only believe it when they read her name at the Oscar ceremony.
AMPAS never took Judy Garland seriously as an actress. They could have nominated and awarded her other times. When they could finally have done it, well ... there was Grace Kelly halfway there. You can't take the Oscar from Grace Kelly. Period. End of discussion. AMPAS did wrong with Judy Garland, ignoring her great talent as much as they could.
I've never gotten Madonna in any way unlike most people here, but even I can say that Ray of Light is a good song and so I suppose Madonna's best.
Whatever happened to Billy Zane, truly? He's not the greatest actor but he's as good as many, and he's certainly good to look at. I don't think I've even see a photo of him pop up online in years. It's rather odd. He couldn't have been Weinsteined, could he?
I don't think Judy really could have won. While I think Country Girl is super boring, at the time it was nominated for Best Picture and was well thought of, plus Grace Kelly was inevitable. Audrey Hepburn won the year before and here was another beautiful ingenue to vote for. Besides, the studios didn't like or want any more of Judy.
Carmen Jones winning makes sense and was probably "bold" at the time, but I can't get over having both the main actors dubbed when they were terrific singers. I'd rather have them fake the opera and sing in their real voices. I wish this was a case where there were versions of Carmen Jones sung in their original voices that could be slotted into the movie. Oh well. At least we have them moving around in their sexy costumes.
Is Dead Calm any good? Is It watchable? Never seen. Isn't one of those terrible movies where they put Nicole Kidman between a masterpiece and a good median movie? Now I'm interested. Felt like that dog. (My favorite Billy Zane is Orlando. Incredibly wonderful and inventive film).
Glenn Close has made so many incredible movies and now - it seems like - they're going to give her the Oscar for a supporting role... in Hillbilly Elegy?... Oh, God ... Everyone keeps saying that 2021 will be better than 2020, but ...
You rank the True Blue album at the bottom? Nathaniel, please return your gay card to my desk by 5 PM.
What the hell happened at the Oscars in 2019? Why was Green Book up for any awards at all? Cooper was snubbed for director. Stone has to be one of the worst examples of category fraud ever, right up there with Timothy Hutton and Tatum O'Neal. Malek winning Best Actor still makes me ill, along with the other wins for Bohemian Rhapsody. Hawke has to be one of the worst snubs for Best Actor of all time, up there with Sutherland for Ordinary People and Irons for Dead Ringers. Gaga, Colman and King's wins, as well as those for Black Panther, were very bright spots. I felt so bad for Julia Roberts having to read that envelope. Sigh.
Giovanni -- what do you mean by this ?
Do you simply mean you're glad she has one or that the performance was great because i'd beg to differ on the latter. Judy runs circles around her (and the other competitors). Grace Kelly is beautiful and a good actress but i've never thought that all movie stars need Oscars and I dont think Kelly was ever worthy of one in her very short career... but she did have a fabulous year iin 1954. She's way better in Rear Window than in Country Girl though.True Blue so low and Music so high,Madonna fans are a strange bunch.
Can't live without R Of L,Confessions,T Blue,Erotica
Many high but a few lows Like a Virgin,American life,Like a Prayer,Bedtime Stories,Music
Misguided with the odd good song Hard Candy,American Life,The 1st Album,Rebel Heart
Why Madonna Why MDNA,Madame X
"twice Oscar-nominated Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah)". Wait a minute, Mr. Kaluuya was nominated for the first, but the Oscar nominations are not announced until March 15, 2021, or are you anticipating a sure thing? And I loved "Carmen Jones" over "A Star is Born."
...soon-to-be twice Oscar-nominated...
marcy and working stiff -- yes "soon to be" is right there in the sentence :) though maybe i should have italicized it.
Madonna named her first greatest hits collection The Immaculate Collection because she's a diva but also because she knows what's true.
Her discography is peerless, and right up there with ABBA's and MJ's in the pop lexicon. Hell, she shaped at least half of that lexicon all on her own damn self.
Not only that, but she's one of the few pop artists to believe in "deep cuts", consistently releasing albums where it wasn't just the singles that were worthy of a listen, but the collective package.
Erotica, Bedtime Stories, and Confessions on a Dance Floor are my favorites, but frankly, even I can sit with Like a Virgin, my least favorite, and marvel at how lucky we are that Madonna exists at all.
Unrelated: Someone able to explain what the appeal of Kaluuya's acting is? I see nothing.
Oh, I didn't see that. Thank you.
Manny, check it:
https://www.sfgate.com/streaming/article/Drew-Magary-Judas-Black-Messiah-daniel-kaluuya-15943381.php
Also, I like him, too.
I don't think Glenn Close deserved any Oscar she was ever nominated for, but if she had won for "The Wife" I would've at least understood - to me, it was her best performance - albeit in a rather pedestrian film. (Colman is an international treasure who I adored for years and gave a great performance, so I was thrilled for her, though.) If she wins for "Hillbilly Elegy," it will be worse than the Academy's previous attempts to right what many perceive as a wrong (see Whoopi Goldberg "Ghost," Judi Dench "Shakespeare in Love", etc.); Elegy is a dreadful film and one of Close's most risible performances.
(And, yeah, we get it Antonio - you follow Dublin Zoetrope on IG. You're not being original with the "Stoleman" moniker.)
Ranked in order of personal preference/awareness this morning:
Ray of Light
Like a Prayer
True Blue
Erotica
Madonna
I'm Breathless
Evita
Bedtime Stories
Music
Like a Virgin
Confessions on a Dance Floor
Hard Candy
change subject to whim
I'll watch the film when it's available to rent from Netflix, but thanks for the link. :)
Nothing against the dude, I just wasn't enthused by Get Out, which is the only leading role I've seen him in. I'm also not easily impressed by the ability to cry and express emotion, which was something Chalamet also got raves for that year. The therapy sequence is going to be considered a classic twenty years from now on, absolutely (and Keener has never been better at vocal delivery than in that scene), but for the rest of the movie he was such a bland cipher.
Lakeith Stanfield's awesome, though. I'll watch him peel wallpaper.
The Oscars can be pretty tough minded these days. I'm not confident they'll give Close an Oscar simply because she's overdue. She was overdue two years ago in a much better film with more nuanced work. Why should they give it to her now? I'd say her big chance will be if she can get some great role down the road in a film people actually like. Then, just then, they might say, "okay. Voting for Glenn."
Nathaniel, Judy is brilliant in A Star is Born, as usual. Grace Kelly, talented, smart and hardworking, didn't have time to develop all her potential as an actress in her short-lived career. We know who is better of the two. What I mean is that we can't go back to the past and change history. It's sad that a talent like Garland's, like that of some others(Dunne, Stanwick, Kerr, Clift...) had been neglected by the Academy. Discussing films and their derivatives is what brings us all to this blog.
And what bout Brando? [In the picture with Judy Garland] So cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!
Nathaniel, since you mention Jason Robards' second win as being unnecessary and not aging well, I'm curious who your picks would've been that year? It's often hard to gather the historical context of each race in the year it was happening, but most sources I can find seem to at least like Rhobards' performance. Would love to know your line-up if you have it.
I think Robard's co-star Maximilian Schell was far more deserving (although giving that ham a second Oscar makes one pause...) Or maybe Mikhael Baryshnikov, whose acting is no great shakes, but whose dancing is so breathtaking, just getting a chance to see him at full throttle is worth the price of admission.
Working stiff--we have the same top 3 for Madonna!
Ray of Light
Like a Prayer
True Blue
I don't rank them but I've told friends for years that these are, by far, her three best albums. I also adore Music and Bedtime Stories.
Regarding Grace Kelly's Oscar, Judy was totally robbed. However, I will forever wonder what Jennifer Jones would have done with that role in The Country Girl, as she had to drop out due to pregnancy. I think she would have been devastating in that part and would have given Judy a real run for her money. Maybe even won a second Oscar.
Duncan ... i still have a lot left to see from 1977. but of the Oscar players i'd rank them like so
1. Guinees - Star Wars
2. Schell - Julia
3. Baryshnikov - Turning Point
4. Robards -Julia
5. Firth - Equus (only last place because it's a leading role.)
but i don't think the lineup is particularly strong so I'd like to see a bunch more films. Of what I have seen i would probably sub in
Truffaut - Close Encounters
Gere - Looking for Mr Goodbar
BUT WOULD GLADLY TAKE 1977 SUGGESTIONS because it seems like a weak weak year for male acting. though there was a surplus of worthy women that year both in lead and suporting.
From her first album to Music is pretty much Madonna at her best with Confessions on a Dance Floor being the last worthwhile thing she has done as I can't think of anything memorable she's done since. It feels like she's becoming more of a brand and latching on to trends rather than be the trendsetter. That's part of the reason why I've been so frustrated with her as she was someone who was interesting but has now become such a bore. Madonna peerless? Right... tell that to Cher, Kylie Minogue, and Annie Lennox.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a film that now I wish I never saw as I was just upset by so many dramatic liberties, anachronisms, and some of the small details they changed in the film. I've been a fan of Queen since I was a baby because my parents listened to them. The fact that Sacha Baron Cohen had an interesting take that felt more true to who Freddie Mercury is was proof that Roger Taylor and Brian May both chickened out and began to be more about the brand than its legacy which has now been tarnished and continuously so by that no-talent little scallop Adam Lamebert who just wails like a banshee than sings.
Nathaniel--Firth is so incredible in Equus. It's a shame it's category fraud because the performance is undeniable. I so wish he had had a better career.
I agree the 1977 Supporting Actor lineup is weak. I wish these performances had gotten more awards traction: James Mitchell in The Turning Point, Albert Finney in The Duelilsts, Bruno Cremer in Sorcerer, and Bill Macy in The Late Show.
Richard Gere in Goodbar is one of my favorite movie debuts--I may be biased by the scene where he does pushups in a jockstrap. Sigh. LOL
For me, Best Supporting Actor 1977 could have comprised:
Jackie Gleason, Smokey and the Bandit
Alec Guinness, Star Wars
Pat Hingle, The Gauntlet
Richard Kiel, The Spy Who Loved Me
François Truffaut, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Because, why not?! They're all brilliant!
Aa for Madonna, I've really enjoyed reading everyone's choices. I like a lot of her stuff but I have a soft spot for the underrated Music and Confessions on a Dance Floor. And Like a Virgin and True Blue are '80s childhood magic!
I love me some Cher and Kylie, but their discographies just don’t have the same impact on pop culture that Madonna’s does.
That’s peerless to me.
Manny, I didn't like "Get Out" either, not even remotely, just a bad "The Stepford Wives" (1975 original, which is awesome) knockoff. And Gwendolyn, he certainly is!
@ brookesboy: After the top 3, which are pretty unchanging, the rest of the Madge albums slide up and down the rankings depending on the day and my attachment to a particular song. (Like "Don't Tell Me," "Vogue" and "Take a Bow" can boost their albums higher up the list.)
Re: 1977 supporting actor
FYC
Christopher Walken in Annie Hall
William Atherton in Looking for Mr Goodbar
Paul Stewart in Opening Night
Many readers do not understand that film has to compress plot points to move along the movie quickly, as they are not making a documentary, and time is limited to about 2 hours: that's why characters may fall in love on the second or third date! "Bohemian Rhapsody" is an excellent example, for dramatic purposes and story highlights - bullet points at the end could be dull and disappointing - it and all its awards are aces with me!
I think Robard's is much better in Julia.
In the year before, I'll rather give the oscar to Burgess Meredith. Robard's role seems so slim in All the President's Men, never have any impact on me.
Opinions diverge so much, it's crazy.
Madonna is one of a kind--what a discography! I think her newer material is really undervalued, and I appreciate that she keeps taking chances. That quality is something that really sets her apart from pop stars that largely churn out the same thing again and again. Madame X was definitely out there and not everything worked, but it's largely very strong and there are some amazing tracks on there. I don't quite understand why she is being compared to some of the artists who she is being compared to in these posts ...
Anyway, my favorites in order of preference:
Erotica
Like a Prayer
Ray of Light
Music
Bedtime Stories
I'm Breathless
Madonna
American Life
Rebel Heart
Hard Candy
Madame X
Confessions on a Dancefloor
Like a Virgin
True Blue
MDNA
I like all of her albums, though. MDNA is her weakest to me, but there's still great stuff on there.
I also have to admit to not being a huge Confessions fan. I enjoy it and there are some great songs, but it's never been a personal favorite of mine.
My middle name is 'underscore', wiredream!
Feline -- yes, at least from what I remember DEAD CALM is a pretty good confined space thriller (since most of it takes place on a sail boat) and it's definitely easy to see that Kidman was going places as the camera just loved her even then.
Amazed at the wide variety of candidates readers are proposing for the '77 supporting actor contest. As it happens, my five choices cast the net even wider:
Claude Dauphin "Madame Rosa"
Charles Durning "Twilight's :Last Gleaming"
Barry Miller "Saturday Night Fever"
David Thomas "Roseland"
Christopher Walken "Roseland" (with Walken for the win)
Yes, he aced his cameo in "Annie Hall" but Walken's work in James Ivory's "Roseland" is among my all time favorite performances in the category. Pure magic. The whole picture, in fact, is a feast of great acting. Joan Copeland and Helen Gallagher should definitely have been in the hunt for supporting actress.
Ray of Light is easily Madonna's best... a masterpiece. Music is also close to masterpiece status, with Confessions also being very worthwhile. The recent stuff is dare I say...reductive. Jk, but it's messy for sure.
jack -- oh i agree. I actually like every album. it's just th two lowest ones i just dont listen to very much and the 'mixed feelings' ones i only like about half the record.
everyone, but yeah -- her discography is WAY richer and more interesting and consistently evolving than just about any pop queen she's compared to.
At the time of the 77 Oscars I was wild about Firth in "Equus," and fine with Schell, Robards and Guinness. But then and today I find all the acting nominees from "The Turning Point" (actually, all 11 nominations that "film" received) totally unworthy. And to top that consider what won Best Song: You Light Up My Life...pass the barf bag. Insipid movie, worst number one single of the 1970s, and most wretched singer to have a number one pop hit AND "sing" such garbage on The Oscars. Just hideous.
Marlin Brando. Gorgeous.