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Source: Variety
If one were to be completely unaware that the most recent Golden Globe Awards ceremony recently took place, they may not be entirely to blame, as there were no publicly accessible ways in which one could do so. As a result of a series of controversies relating to the membership of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organization behind the Golden Globes, many of the ceremony’s sponsors pulled their support, including television network NBC, which had been airing the Golden Globes for several years up to that point. In theory, the ceremony could have been streamed online on the organization website, but that option seems to have been ignored by the HFPA. Then again, if reports are to be believed, there wasn’t much of an event taking place to begin with. There were hardly any big celebrity presenters attending (apart from a handful of pre-taped bits), and those who did attend described the experience as something more somber and disheartening than what had been seen in previous Golden Globe ceremonies. With all that said, even though this year’s Golden Globes, the latest of what many would call one of Hollywood’s most extravagant parties, was not nearly as exciting as it would be in any other year, there were still many awards to give out, and judging by what went down, one might be able to get a sense of how the Academy Awards and the rest of film awards season may play out.
Perhaps the biggest winner of the evening was “The Power of the Dog”, the Netflix-distributed western drama from director Jane Campion, which ended up taking home three Golden Globe awards. Not only did the film receive the prize for Best Motion Picture – Drama, but Campion was also named the year’s Best Director for her work on the film, and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who acted in the film alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst, was given the award for Best Supporting Actor. Having acquired both the Best Director and one of the Best Motion Picture prizes, one would expect “The Power of the Dog” to now be the major frontrunner and the film most likely to take home these exact same awards at the upcoming Academy Awards. That was certainly the case for last year’s winning film “Nomadland” and its director Chloe Zhao, who managed to win the exact same awards at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. Still, Zhao’s success seems to be an outlier in recent years, as many of the past few years’ major Golden Globes winners were unable to do likewise when it came to the Oscars, so there’s no certainty as of yet that Campion and her film will continue this winning streak at the upcoming (more meaningful) awards ceremony.
If anybody is capable of giving Campion and “The Power of the Dog” a run for their money, it’s without a doubt Steven Spielberg, arguably the director with the biggest name working in cinema and one whose expertise shows no signs of wearing out, especially if his most recent work is any indication. Said film, the most recent cinematic adaptation of popular Broadway musical “West Side Story”, ended up receiving the ceremony’s other best film award, Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. In addition, two of the film’s actresses, Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose, were named Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture respectively, allowing the film to also receive a total of three awards. Considering that he lost the Best Director award, one might be led to assume that Spielberg and his film are at a disadvantage and may not have the same chances of winning at the upcoming Academy Awards. However, such an assumption ignores not only Spielberg’s overwhelming presence as an industry giant, but also the cultural significance that the legacy of “West Side Story” has maintained over the past few decades (its previous film adaptation, released in 1961, was named that year’s Best Picture and also received several other Oscars as well), which might be enough to sway certain voters. None of this is for sure of course, but the results of this year’s Golden Globes do prove that the race so far is still too close to call.
Although “The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story” were the night’s big winners, there were still plenty of other films that were able to receive at least one Golden Globe before the night’s end. Will Smith and Andrew Garfield, for example, were named the Best Actors of the year, with the former winning Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his role in “King Richard”, and the latter winning Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his performance in “Tick, Tick… Boom!”. Nicole Kidman, meanwhile, won Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her work in “Being the Ricardos”, and “Belfast” was determined to have the Best Screenplay, allowing Kenneth Branagh to receive a Golden Globe despite losing Best Director and Best Motion Picture – Drama. The Japanese film “Drive My Car” was named Best Foreign Language Film, and Disney’s latest animated musical “Encanto” won the award for Best Animated Feature.
