Monday, January 17, 2011

That One Award Show Before the Oscars, also known as The Golden Globes

Yep. Still irrelevant.
The votes have been tallied and the results are in!
And the big winner at the 68th Golden Globe Awards was...
Drumroll, please. . .
Well, unsurprisingly, The Social Network

Next stop, world domination.
Even though David Fincher’s film did not receive the most nominations (that accolade goes to Tom Hooper’s movie, The King’s Speech), The Social Network came away with the largest quantity of little globed, golden trophies (four to be exact).
It took the Best Director (Fincher), Best Original Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), Best Screenplay (Andy Sorkin), and the biggest prize, Best Picture. While Golden Globes are fun to amass, the real questions asked after this award show have to be: What does this do for a film’s chances at the Oscars?

Well, to be honest, while it helps push a film along with the hype-machine, major implications to winning a Globe aren’t really present. 
Don’t get me wrong, the Golden Globes help swing momentum in favor of the big winning film, but by the time the Globes roll around, that momentum can be a real killer. 
Suck it, Jimmy. That explosion?
Cameron's ego bursting into flames.
Take James Cameron’s Avatar for exampleThe 67th Golden Globe Award winner for Best Picture, was a huge critical success, and oh yeah, also a cheap-trick box office blockbuster. However, as you know, another small film, The Hurt Locker took control and rolled to explosive Oscar results.  
In the end, it’s very difficult for a film to maintain that power push all through the award show season. (The big exception being Slumdog Millionaire, but let’s not kid ourselves, that film was totally pandering to award show voters.) 
Another reason, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association votes. Their views don’t reflect the mindset of the Academy voters. ‘Nuff said.
Even though The Social Network won big at the 2011 Golden Globes, it’s still a tough road ahead for them. While the film was edgy, new agey, and hip, The Social Network felt detached and distant, which is quite opposite of Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech. While “hip” may be in for other award shows, the Academy voters love to hate on the cutting edge. Okay that was mean, but seriously, as of now, I don’t see the Academy warming up to The Social Network as they theoretically will to The King’s Speech. Why? Audiences want to root for the main character George VI, played beautifully by Golden Globe winner Colin Firth, in The King’s Speech. Character studies with resolution are a go-to Oscar win. Either way, it should be an interesting race.

Lose tons of weight, play a drug abuser,
and an emotionally unstable
character. Yep. Christian Bale, that sounds
like the perfect recipe to win awards. 
Even though it may seem like a two-horse race for Best Picture, don’t doubt the ability of David O. Russell’s The Fighter. Christian Bale was awarded a Globe for Best Supporting Actor, and Melissa Leo won the wide-open Best Supporting Actress award. 
While the Best Picture race should be interesting, the Best Actress category should be equally engaging. The two big powerhouses in this category are Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Annette Bening won for Best Actress in a Drama and Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical respectively. While both are incredibly deserving of an Academy Award, there can be only one! (unfortunately...) 
The other categories... well, not as interesting.
If The Social Network continues to pick up steam, this award season could be pretty bland. No, really bland. Like English food bland. 
All in all, the Globes are a fun award, recognizing the best in television and motion picture arts, but they give a poor reflection of the outcomes to the big kahuna: The Oscars. 
Stay tuned for upcoming Oscar Predictions, too.
I love this raving lunatic. 
On a separate note, Ricky Gervais shamelessly ripped into everyone and everything with comedic intensity. And I wasn’t even mad. The presenters were pretty boring (Justin Bieber, what the -?), but hey, it’s pointless award show banter for something that only 7 people actually watch, beggars can’t be choosers... Although, Robert De Niro got some laughs, even though they were tense and awkward at times. 
Here is the complete list of winners from the 68th Annual HFPA® Golden Globe Awards:
Motion Picture Awards
Cecil B. Demille Award 
Robert De Niro
Best Motion Picture- Drama
The Social Network

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture- Drama
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture- Drama
Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
Best Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical
The Kids Are All Right

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical
Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical
Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Best Animated Feature Film
Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film
In a Better World (Demark)- aka NOT Biutiful, which makes me sad. 

Best Director- Motion Picture
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Best Screenplay- Motion Picture
Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
Best Original Score- Motion Picture
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network)
Best Original Song- Motion Picture
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren (Burlesque)

Television Awards (aka Pointless to This Blog)
Best Television Series- Drama
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)- YES! YES! YES! This makes me happy.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series- Drama
Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series- Drama
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire- HBO)
Best Television Series- Comedy or Musical
Glee (Fox)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series- Comedy or Musical
Laura Linney (The Big C- Showtime)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series- Comedy or Musical
Jim Parsons, NOT Jim Morrison, Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory- CBS)
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Carlos (Sundance C)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Claire Danes (Temple Grandin- HBO)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Al Pacino (You Don’t Know Jack- HBO)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (aka The Longest Category Name Ever.)
Jane Lynch (Glee- Fox)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Chris Colfer (Glee- Fox)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for commenting! Keep it Clean!