by Conan Simmons – March 1, 2021 – 4:19 am
The first ever bi-coastal Golden Globe ceremony was held in a mostly virtual fashion with Tina Fey hosting from the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center in New York City alongside Amy Poehler hosting from the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. The nominees and winners zoomed in via wherever they happened to be in the world while presenters of the awards appeared in person both in NY and LA.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which gives out the awards each year, was unable to escape the controversy focused on them for not having any black members of their organization. According to a former member of the HFPA, there hasn’t been a black member in nearly 20 years. There is also increased scrutiny of the perks the HFPA receives from studios and production companies hoping to get their shows and talent nominated in effort to increase Oscar potential. It has long been known that the HFPA favors the biggest name stars and the up-and-comers with the most powerful agents and managers behind them. For more on how the HFPA operates, check out this article for some insider insight by Peter Bart in Deadline.
During the ceremony the HFPA made a brief statement claiming they are working to be more inclusive. The lack of diversity became a running joke amongst the winners and presenters. The award winners themselves did manage to be inclusive.
‘Nomadland’ continued its awards dominance for director Chloé Zhao practically guaranteeing her an Oscar win next month. Andra Day won putting her in position for a definite Oscar nomination and possible win. Day beat out the expected front runners, Viola Davis and Frances McDormand. The biggest surprise was Jodie Foster winning for ‘The Mauritanian’ (could it be the HFPA being swayed by stardom?), beating the heavily favored Amanda Seyfried. Other surprises were Rosamund Pike winning over Maria Bakalova and the Sophia Loren film, ‘The Life Ahead’ taking the award for Best Song.
There were the expected wins for Chadwick Boseman, the first to win a Golden Globe posthumously, and ‘Minari’ taking Best Foreign Language Film after the earlier controversy the HFPA received when many on social media criticized the HFPA’s rules that prohibit films predominately in a language other than English from competing in the Best Picture categories. ‘Minari’ is an American film made in the U.S.A. that features mostly Korean dialogue.
On the TV side, the biggest surprises were the stars of ‘The Crown’, Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor, beating out their respective competition. Corrin defeated her costar Olivia Colman as well as Sarah Paulson, Laura Linney and Jodie Comer. O’Connor defeated Al Pacino, Jason Bateman, Matthew Rhys and Bob Odenkirk.
Here’s the full list of winners:
BEST PICTURE (DRAMA) – ‘Nomadland’
BEST DIRECTOR – Chloé Zhao (‘Nomadland’)
BEST SCREENPLAY – Aaron Sorkin (‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’)
BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA) – Chadwick Boseman (‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’)
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA) – Andra Day (‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’)
BEST MOTION PICTURE (MUSICAL OR COMEDY) – ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’
BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE (MUSICAL OR COMEDY) – Sacha Baron Cohen (‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’)
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE (MUSICAL OR COMEDY) – Rosamund Pike (‘I Care a Lot’)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – Daniel Kaluuya (‘Judas and the Black Messiah’)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – Jodie Foster (‘The Mauritanian’)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – ‘Soul’
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – ‘Minari’
BEST MUSIC SCORE – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Jon Batiste (‘Soul’)
BEST SONG – Diane Warren, Laura Pausini & Niccolò Agliardi (“Io Sì” from ‘The Life Ahead’)
BEST LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE – ‘The Queen’s Gambit’
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE – Mark Ruffalo (‘I Know This Much is True’)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE – Anya Taylor-Joy (‘The Queen’s Gambit’)
BEST TV SERIES (DRAMA) – ‘The Crown’
BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES (DRAMA) – Josh O’Connor (‘The Crown’)
BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES (DRAMA) – Emma Corrin (‘The Crown’)
BEST TV SERIES (COMEDY) – ‘Schitt’s Creek’
BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES (COMEDY) – Jason Sudeikis (‘Ted Lasso’)
BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES (COMEDY) – Catharine O’Hara (‘Schitt’s Creek’)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN TV SERIES, LIMITED OR MOVIE – John Boyega (‘Small Axe’)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN TV SERIES, LIMITED OR MOVIE – Gillian Anderson (‘The Crown’)