Even the reporters wore black.
Instead of being asked “Who are you wearing?”, they were asked, “Why are you wearing black?”
The “Time’s Up” Movement seemed to overcast the nominated films and no one complained about it. In the Red Carpet event, celebrities brought advocates for many causes as their dates. Meryl Streep brought Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (pictured below).
Emma Stone was accompanied by Billie Jean King, the pro tennis player and activist that Stone portrays in Battle of the Sexes who is an activist for the LGBTQ+ community as well and the founder of the Women’s Sports Foundation, Women’s Tennis Association, and the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative. Allison Williams brought Tarana Burke, the founder of the “Me Too” Movement. Emma Watson brought Marai Larasi, the executive director of Imkaan, a British Black-Feminist organization. Susan Sarandon brought Rosa Clemente, an organizer, political commentator, and independent journalist who campaigns for media justice, voter engagement among youth of color, third party politics, United States political prisoners, and the right of Puerto Rico to become an independent nation. Laura Dern brought Mónica Ramírez, the co-founder of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas.; Amy Poehler brought Saru Jayaraman, president of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and ROC Action, and director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley (pictured below).
Finally, Shailene Woodley brought Calina Lawrence, a member of the Suquamish Tribe who has spent recent time traveling the country in advocacy for Native Treaty Rights and the “Mni Wiconi” (Water is Life) movement led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the #NoLNG253” movement led by the Puyallup Tribe.
When the show finally began, the host, Seth Meyers, was quick to use his comedy and satire to bring forth the current situation in Hollywood. A line in his monologue that brought both laughter and shocked expressions:
“Harvey Weinstein will be back in 20 years when he becomes the first person ever booed during the In Memoriam segment.”
Seth Meyers mentioned the joke that he was the one that convinced Donald Trump to run for president, so he proceeded to call out Oprah Winfrey by saying that she will never be president and that Tom Hanks will never be vice president. If his magic is indeed true, 2020 elections shall be interesting then.
The first award of the evening was given to Nicole Kidman for “Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie” for Big Little Lies. No surprise there. In the “Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie” category, Ewan McGregor won the gold for his double role in Fargo.
As the show continued, Sam Rockwell received the award for “Supporting Actor, Motion Picture” for his role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Personally, I would have liked to see Christopher Plummer win since he was Kevin Spacey’s replacement in All the Money in the World.
The award for “Supporting Actress, Motion Picture” went to Allison Janney for I, Tonya. The award for “Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy” went to Rachel Brosnahan for the Amazon series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and in the Drama Category, it was awarded to, unsurprisingly, Elisabeth Moss for The Handmaid’s Tale. In her moving speech, Moss thanked Margaret Atwood, the author of the book her TV show is adapted from, by quoting a direct line from the book that referred to staying silent: “We no longer live in the blank white spaces at the edge of print. We no longer live in the gaps between the stories. We are the story in print. We are writing the story ourselves.”
Then the president of the HFP awarded two grants for one million dollars each for associations that protect and promote the freedom of the press.
In another non-surprising moment of the night, Sterling K. Brown won the award for “Actor in a TV Series, Drama” for This Is Us, and this time they did not cut off his speech! He is the first African-American man to win this award. Aziz Ansari won the award in the “Best TV Series, Comedy” for Master of None. The award for “Best TV Series, Drama” went to The Handmaid’s Tale, beating favorites This Is Us, Stranger Things, and Game of Thrones. In the “Comedy or Musical” category, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won the gold.
Alexander Skarsgard took home the award for “Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie” for his role in Big Little Lies. Zero surprises there once more! “Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie” went to his Big Little Lies co-star, Laura Dern.
Big Little Lies went on to win the award for “Best Limited Series or TV Movie.” During the acceptance speech, producer Reese Witherspoon talked about the importance of speaking up against abuse, a prominent theme in the show, and referenced the purpose of the “Time’s Up” movement.
In a surprising turn of events, The Shape of Water composer, Alexandre Desplat, took home the award for “Best Original Score” beating big names like Hans Zimmer and John Williams. “Best Original Song” went to “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman, beating “Remember Me” from Coco; I’m still shocked. However, Coco still got the globe when it received the award for “Best Animated Feature”. to the surprise of absolutely no one.
James Franco won the award for “Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical” for The Disaster Artist. He brought Tommy Wiseau, the creator of The Room and the person that The Disaster Artist is based on, up to the stage to properly thank him, it was one of the best moments of the night. Tommy almost had his moment at the microphone, until James Franco stopped him. Oh, the Oscars are going to be very interesting.
Saoirse Ronan won the award for “Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical” for the critically acclaimed Lady Bird. In the Drama category, Gary Oldman won for his role as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hours, and Frances McDormand won for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The latter’s speech was very funny and impactful at the same time.
The award for “Best Screenplay, Motion Picture” went to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The award for “Best Director, Motion Picture” went to Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water, the second Mexican director to win the award, following in the steps of two-time winner Alejandro González-Iñarritu.
Meanwhile, the film In The Fade, from France and Germany, won the award for “Foreign Language Motion Picture.”
The unofficial Queen of America, Oprah Winfrey, received the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award for her long and extraordinary career in the entertainment field. Needless to say, she garnered a standing ovation from everyone in the room. During her speech, she recollected the moment she decided to pursue a career in entertainment which was watching Sidney Poitier, the first African American man to win an Oscar. She felt proud of the fact that she is the first African American woman to win the Cecil B. DeMille award, the same one Sidney Poitier won in 1982. Oprah culminated her speech by calling out sexual harassers, and all types of harassers, out by saying: “I want all the girls watching to know a new day is on the horizon. And, when that new day finally dawns, it will be because a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure they are the leaders to take us to the time when nobody has to say ‘me too’ again.”
The award for “Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical” went to Lady Bird, beating Get Out, The Greatest Showman, and my personal favorite, The Disaster Artist. Finally, Barbra Streisand, the only woman to receive the “Best Director” award, presented the award for “Best Motion Picture, Drama” went to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Well, that is a wrap on the opening of Awards Season! Surprising and inspiring are two words that pretty much sum up the 2018 Golden Globes.
Photo Credits: rottentomatoes.com
Vogue.com
abcnews.com