The Golden Globe Awards are usually a glamorously star-filled, raucous affair that kicks off award season. But with social distancing still largely in effect and the recent LA Times report on the ethics, questionable practices and lack of diversity of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who hold this annual event, it would seem this show might be muted. This investigation did not reveal anything that most people in the business were not already well aware of this secretive, small group of international journalists but the world has changed considerably since last year's award show. The fact is that the Globes have had a long history of scandals in their seventy-eight years and this current negative attention did not really change anything with Hollywood turning out, ready to dress up and accept prizes.
Now the HFPA did not ignore this situation and publicly addressed the issue of having no Black members during the program, with three people from the organization committing to diversifying their ranks to be more inclusive. Time will reveal what this group will do but since we don't have any real idea who most of the eighty-seven members of the HFPA are and how do you even get to join, it might be hard to tell what has actually happened amongst their ranks.
As for the show itself, it was a very mixed bag. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler returned to host the Globes but not actually together this time. With Fey at the Rainbow Room in New York and Poehler in the Globes usual residence of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA, the show was done before a mask-wearing, socially-distanced audience of essential health-care workers. The crowd was enthusiastic and our co-hosts did the best they could under these circumstances to bring some levity to the show. But many of the jokes fell flat and it appears that being miles apart seemed to throw Fey and Poehler off, failing to get a good connection between each other and with the audience.
The presenters appeared in person to announce the winners but as for the nominees, they were all at home like the rest of us, watching and participating with the show through Zoom. As no surprise to anyone who has ever used this video communication service, there were some technical glitches. The problems started early with the first award of the evening with the winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, Daniel Kaluuya initially not being heard accepting his prize. Luckily, the problem was resolved quickly but various noises and people not muting only added to the difficulty in hearing what the winners had to say. And with home cameras placed in poor locations and some attendees dressed far too casually, this contributed to an overall feeling of a less-than-special event.
Despite the controversy, the Golden Globe nominations were actually quite diverse and the winners reflected that. This included Kaluuya, singer Andra Day, in her film debut as Billie Holiday, winning Best Actress in a Drama and the late Chadwick Boseman receiving Best Actor in a Drama for his work in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", with his widow sorrowfully accepting on his behalf. And most impressive, for the first time ever, there were three female nominees for Best Director; actress, Regina King with her feature film debut, "One Night in Miami", Emerald Fennell for "Promising Young Woman" and the winner, Chloé Zhao who received the prize for her film, "Nomadland" which also won Best Motion Picture (Drama). This makes Zhao the second female winner in this category for the entire history of the Globes (one more than the Oscars).
But for me, the highlight of this entire evening was Jane Fonda, this year's recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. The radiant actress gave an impassioned speech, less about her spectacular career and more about the importance of diversity in storytelling and what we can gain from hearing these different voices in entertainment. This brief, in-person moment came across more heartfelt and assured than anything that the HFPA has previously said or done regarding this issue.
Here is the list of winners of the 2021 Golden Globes (Motion Picture):
Best Motion Picture (Drama): "Nomadland"
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"
Best Director (Motion Picture): Chloé Zhao, "Nomadland"
Best Screenplay (Motion Picture): Aaron Sorkin, "The Trial of the Chicago 7"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama): Andra Day, "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Rosamund Pike, "I Care a Lot"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama): Chadwick Boseman, "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Jodie Foster, "The Mauritanian"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Daniel Kaluuya, "Judas and the Black Messiah"
Best Motion Picture (Foreign Language): "Minari" (USA)
Best Motion Picture (Animated): "Soul"
Best Original Score (Motion Picture): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste, "Soul"
Best Original Song (Motion Picture): "Io Sì (Seen)" from "The Life Ahead", Music by Diane Warren; Lyrics by Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi
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