Believe it or not, the Golden Globe Awards were held on Sunday night, though it was less an awards show than a long press conference with terrible social media.
As we all know by now, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been under fire this past year for a variety of reasons, its poor track record in terms of diversity chief among them, and NBC subsequently canceled the Golden Globes telecast, though the network didn’t stand in the way of a live-stream. Alas, the HFPA decided to keep things low-key this year and simply announce its winners in real-time via social media, followed by a post-show press release.
The media dutifully played its part, as my inbox wasn’t clogged with the usual breaking news alerts about each winner. Instead, the Globes were solemnly acknowledged, as I suppose they must be, but between the untimely death of Bob Saget, the last regular-season NFL game of the year, and the premiere of HBO’s Euphoria, they hardly rated on social media unless the HFPA’s Twitter account was embarrassing itself, as it did on several occasions.
But hey, it’s the HFPA. They’re used to embarrassing themselves. You still can’t argue with winners like The Underground Railroad or Pose star MJ Rodriguez — each snubbed by the Emmys — or film acting winners such as Will Smith (King Richard) or Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick… Boom!), who seem destined to square off at the Oscars in March.
The Power of the Dog and West Side Story won the top film prizes, while Jane Campion won Best Director for The Power of the Dog and Kenneth Branagh won Best Screenplay for Belfast. The top TV prizes went to Succession and Hacks, whose stars Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Jean Smart all won individual acting awards, as did movie stars like Kate Winslet and Michael Keaton.
So far, Disney properties such as West Side Story and Encanto have thanked the HFPA on social media for their Globes wins, while Ariana DeBose celebrated her win while acknowledging that the HFPA still has work to do if it wants to reclaim its status in the industry — a big if, mind you.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see if other winners follow suit in the coming days, or whether other studios will incorporate their Globe wins into either their Oscar campaigns or their marketing campaigns, since trophies usually translate to box office bumps. After all, the average moviegoer is unlikely to be following the drama surrounding the HFPA. They may still be more inclined to see a movie if they see an ad trumpeting its Golden Globe tally.
However, within Hollywood, I think the Globe winners will go largely ignored, if they even mattered before the HFPA’s current PR disaster beyond providing an excuse for the entire town — film and television — to party. Studios don’t want to be seen giving the HFPA too much power or influence in its ads, so while they won’t kick the organization while it’s down, and you won’t see talent handing back trophies like Tom Cruise or Scarlett Johansson did, they won’t allow the group’s choices to have too much impact on this year’s Oscar race. Of course, the HFPA doesn’t exist to influence the Academy, but rather, to make money, which is why the Globes aren’t going to just disappear into the black hole of social media as they did on Sunday night.
Hollywood may have decided to put the HFPA in timeout this year, but I suspect that, for the most part, things will return to normal next year, as the Golden Globes simply generate too much money for the entertainment industry and the city of Los Angeles at large. The Critics Choice Awards, try as they might, will never be able to generate the same amount of attention or interest, no matter how many more celebrities turn up to their show. It’s a sad inevitability that the Golden Globes will rise from their own ashes. But they won’t have much impact on this year’s Oscar race, and I’m glad we won’t have to talk about them again for another year or so.
See below for the full list of this year’s Golden Globe winners:
Film
Best Motion Picture — Drama
The Power of the Dog
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
West Side Story
Best Director — Motion Picture
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Will Smith, King Richard
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick … Boom!
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Rachel Zegler, West Side Story
Best Supporting Actor — Motion Picture
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Best Supporting Actress — Motion Picture
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Best Motion Picture — Animated
Encanto
Best Picture — Foreign Language
Drive My Car, Japan
Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Hans Zimmer, Dune
Best Original Song — Motion Picture
“No Time to Die” from No Time to Die — Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell
TV
Best Television Series — Drama
Succession
Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy
Hacks
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pose
Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Jean Smart, Hacks
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
The Underground Railroad
Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Michael Keaton, Dopesick
Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown
Best Supporting Actor — Television
O Yeong-su, Squid Game
Best Supporting Actress —Television
Sarah Snook, Succession
