The highly-anticipated 2021 Golden Globes award show on Sunday Feb. 28 came with unexpected winners and losers. With many technological difficulties as nominees participated in the show from their very own homes, the show was a little bit of a mess. But, I’m here to break down the highlights.
Nomadland and Chloé Zhao
Zhao’s indie picture starring Frances McDormand follows the story of a woman who loses everything during the Great Recession and decides to explore the life of modern-day nomads. Nomadland took home the prize of Best Motion Picture – Drama, beating the safer bet of David Fincher’s Mank. Zhao also received the award for Best Director of a Motion Picture, beating Fincher, who took a shot each time he lost. Zhao became the second woman and first ever woman of Asian descent to win the award. Zhao’s speech for Nomadland’s win can be found here.
The Late Chadwick Boseman
Boseman won the award of Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The award was accepted by his wife, Taylor Simon Ledward, with a tearful and heartfelt speech. The full speech can be found here.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Borat: The Subsequent Moviefilm
Cohen took home Best Actor – Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical for the sequel to the original Borat, while the film itself was awarded Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical. Cohen’s category was particularly competitive with actors like Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton and Andy Samberg for Palm Springs vying for the award as well. Borat: The Subsequent Moviefilm also triumphed over Hamilton and Palm Springs. Cohen’s humorous acceptance speech can be viewed here.
Anya Taylor-Joy and The Queen’s Gambit
Netflix’s highly praised and highly talked about miniseries The Queen’s Gambit, based off the book of the same name, was awarded Best Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture for Television. The series’ star, Taylor-Joy, took home the award for Best Actress in the same category. She was also nominated for Best Actress – Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical for starring in the titular role in Emma, but lost to Rosamund Pike for I Care A Lot. Notably, Taylor-Joy wore a stunning Dior gown and stole the show with her look.
Minari
Lee Isaac Chung’s A24 film Minari, which surrounds a Korean-American family that moves to Arkansas in the 80s, won Best Foreign Language Film. Chung’s film was one of the most highly-anticipated films of the past year, currently holding a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Chung accepted the award with his daughter–a heartfelt moment. Find his acceptance speech here.
There were many more notable moments from the show: Newcomer Emma Corrin’s win for The Crown, Jason Sudeikis’ acceptance speech for Best Television Actor – Musical/Comedy Series for Ted Lasso, Daniel Kaluuya’s win for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Judas and the Black Messiah and his glitchy speech, and Schitt’s Creek’s win for Best Musical/Comedy Series and creator Dan Levy’s speech.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the award season… the Academy Awards are just around the corner!