The Golden Globe awards are normally considered a bit of a loose-limbed event, with the focus on red-carpet glitz, the hosting performance, and the possibility of gaffes. But this year, the ceremony delivered something no one could have anticipated; it was more politically aware than anyone could have expected, with acceptance speeches that struck a mostly serious note.
On the awards front, Richard Linklater's movie Boyhood took out the film honours, winning best film, best director, and best supporting actress for Patricia Arquette. His movie, filmed over 12 years, follows the life of a boy between the ages of six and 18.
The cast of Boyhood with their award for best motion picture - drama at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. Photo: Reuters
Two actors who are considered Oscar frontrunners were both winners: Julianne Moore, who plays a woman with Alzheimer's in Still Alice, and Michael Keaton, who plays a washed-up actor seeking Broadway credibility in BirdmaWhen it came to television, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association followed its tradition of singling out new shows, such as the transgender series Transparent and the comedy Jane The Virgin: the latter won best actress in a TV series comedy or musical, for Gina Rodriguez. And there are signs for TV's future, perhaps, in Transparent's win; not just its subject matter, but also the fact that it had a female showrunner, and was produced by Amazon.
The Golden Globes are a dinner-table event in which champagne flows freely, and this can sometimes have an impact on the winners' speeches. As Bette Midler tweeted before this year's ceremony: "At the Oscars, it's an honor just to be nominated. At the Globes, it's an honor [sic] to get obliterated! Bottoms up!" But the winners were sober, in both senses of the word, and there weren't too many jokes cracked.
Hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey caused a frisson with their Bill Cosby jokes; Kevin Spacey dropped an F-bomb in his acceptance speech for best actor in a TV series, drama, for House Of Cards. Yet Spacey also seemed to be making a serious point about the desire to do better work.
Several female winners, such as Arquette and Moore, talked about the importance of female role models. The rapper Common invoked the present and the past, saying "Selma is now", as he accepted, with John Legend, the award for best original song for Glory, from Selma, the drama about civil rights in 1965.
Showrunner Jill Soloway spoke about the transgender experience as she accepted the award for best TV series, comedy or musical for Transparent. Her words were echoed by her star, Jeffrey Tambor, who dedicated his win (best actor in a TV series, comedy or musical) to the transgender community.
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