Golden Globe Awards surprise and entertain

By Parker Otto

The 76th Golden Globes captivated entertainment lovers with two talented hosts and numerous surprises. The Globes were held Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel which has been the site of the awards since 1961, hosted by comedians Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh and featured many of Hollywood’s finest having drinks and sharing laughs. 11 awards were presented for television, 14 for film and two special awards for lifetime achievement in both fields. All of the awards given were determined by the 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The two hosts provided a welcoming and playful atmosphere. One bizarre occurrence was when Samberg had several people administer flu shots. He followed the announcement with “if you’re an anti-vaxxer, just put a napkin on your head and we will skip you.” This came right out of nowhere but was hilarious for both the viewers and the celebrities in the audience. Both Samberg and Oh started the ceremony with a “roast” of those in attendance. In actuality, the roast was merely the hosts complimenting several stars and acting as if they insulted them.

The awards for motion pictures proved to be a roller coaster of emotion. The largest surprise of the evening was “Bohemian Rhapsody” winning Best Motion Picture: Drama instead of more serious dramas such as “BlacKkKlansman” or “A Star is Born.” Seeing Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor on stage with the rest of the cast and crew was a sight to behold as producer Graham King gave the acceptance speech. “Bohemian Rhapsody” star Rami Malek, unsurprisingly, won the award for Best Performance in a Motion Picture: Drama for his incredible portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. During his acceptance speech, Malek paid tribute to Mercury by dedicating the award to him and stated “I love you, you beautiful man. This is for and because of you, gorgeous.”

On the comedy side, “Green Book” won Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy as well as Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay making it the most successful film of the evening. Netflix Original film “Roma” made great strides winning two awards in the categories of Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron. Not many foreign films are able to receive nominations at the Golden Globe Awards which makes “Roma’s” three nominations and two wins all the more impressive.

In music, two time Golden Globe winner Justin Hurwitz won his third for Best Original Score for “First Man.” So far, Hurwitz has a perfect record with three wins for his three nominations showing his talent in the scoring of motion pictures. In the category of Best Original Song, “A Star is Born” won for the song “Shallow.” While the four other songs nominated were good in their own right, they just couldn’t compete with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s harmony as well as Gaga’s tremendous vocal solo.

Television contained a wide variety of winning shows with only two programs having multiple wins. “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” and “The Kominsky Method” each took home two statues with “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” winning Best Miniseries or Television Film and Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for the performance by Darren Kriss. “The Kominsky Method” won for Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy and Michael Douglas won Best Actor in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy for his work in the show. In his acceptance speech for “The Kominsky Method,” creator Chuck Lorre thanked Netflix for their support in the distribution of the series by repeating “Netflix” four times.

“The Kominsky Method” wasn’t the only web series to garner Globes. The Amazon Prime Video series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” was nominated for three awards including Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy. Lead actress Rachel Brosnahan won for Best Actress in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy for her role as Midge Maisel. This was her second consecutive Golden Globe after receiving the same award for the same performance at the 75th Golden Globes. To be able to do this is no easy task and shows how well the character of Midge Maisel has resonated with the world of television.

One of the biggest moments of the television awards was when co-host Sandra Oh won the award for Best Actress in a Television Series: Drama for her work in “Killing Eve.” This marks the second time that a host has won a competitive Golden Globe following Amy Poehler’s win for her lead role in “Parks and Recreation” while hosting the 2014 ceremony.

The night saw two legends of entertainment recognized for their contributions to film and television. The Cecil B. DeMille Award was established in 1952 in order to honor those who have achieved lifetime achievement in film and was awarded to legendary director Cecil B. DeMille. Jeff Bridges was chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to receive the award this year on account of his splendid acting career which includes the films “Crazy Heart,” the Coen Brothers’ remake of “True Grit,” and the comedy classic “The Big Lebowski.” When introduced, a montage of Bridge’s films played while being narrated by Sam Elliott who did the same for Bridges’ most iconic film “The Big Lebowski.”

The speech was full of many thanks as well as a beautiful message about how unique everyone truly is. Bridges spoke about how when he was younger he was feeling unsure about a role and spoke to the director. The director responded with, “Jeff do you know the game tag? You’re it.” He then said to the crowd, “We all have been tagged. We’re alive right here right now, this is happening!”

The Carol Burnett Award was given out for the first time this year to honor achievement in television and was named after its first recipient, Carol Burnett. Burnett has captivated the world with her ingenious grasp of comedy which included the groundbreaking variety show “The Carol Burnett Show.” During her speech, Burnett spoke of how revolutionary her show was and how “it couldn’t be done today” due to the high production costs and the “two guest stars every week.”

She also dedicated the award “to all those who made my dreams come true and to all those out there who share the love I have for television.” She concluded the speech by pulling on her left ear, a sign to her late grandmother who raised Burnett and supported her throughout her entertainment career. It has since become a loving tribute.

The Golden Globes kicked of the awards season with high praise for wonderful entertainers and a relaxing atmosphere as opposed to the more formal nature of the Academy Awards. With more shows on the horizon, one can only wonder what the future holds for the entertainment industry.