The Golden Globes was a night full of upsets and surprises. It has thrown the awards race for a loop and made predicting the Oscars as clear as mud.
Lady Gaga won Best Original Song for "Shallow." However, A Star Is Born got shut out of every other category it was nominated in. It had been the front runner for Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture. This doesn't mean it won't sweep the Oscars. It might mean it doesn't have as stable of a lead as previously thought.
Rami Malek won Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture for Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie also won Best Picture. I'm definitely torn over this one. While Malek became Freddie Mercury and I enjoyed the film, the timeline is wrong and they downplayed Mercury's gayness. He's the only band member in the film who has promiscuous sex in the film or who uses drugs or drinks to excess. You can read more about the controversy surrounding the movie's portrayal of Freddie Mercury here: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2018/11/16/18071460/bohemian-rhapsody-queerphobia-celluloid-closet-aids
Rami Malek. Credit: Jordan Strauss
Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director for Roma. Roma also won Best Foreign Language Motion Picture. Netflix now has some Golden Globes and is on its way to Oscar glory. Cuaron is probably Bradley Cooper'a biggest competition for the Oscar. However, I am still holding out hope for a Spike Lee win as well. BlacKkKlansman was a powerful piece of filmmaking.
Despite all the buzz about Lady Gaga's acting debut, Glenn Close won Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture for The Wife. This was a major upset. Best Actress looks like a more open race now.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won Best Animated Motion Picture beating out Pixar's Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet. WOW! Pixar is hard to beat. Incredibles 2 is easily one of my favorite movies of the year. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. However, Spider-Man was a fun, unexpected surprise. It was sort of like watching The Matrix for the first time, where the floor kept being pulled out from under me. The fast pace, the reversals, the reveals, the humor. Spider-Man was an EXPERIENCE. I'm glad to see it honored. This bodes well for it getting at least an Oscar nomination.
Green Book drove away with two awards.
Green Book took home the award for Best Musical or Comedy. This was fairly predictable as it has been an audience favorite. Green Book also took home Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay. There is now some controversy around the film with Don Shirley's family coming forward and claiming the portrayal is not accurate. It remains to be seen if this will hurt Ali's Oscar chances. Giving the film Best Original Screenplay would be a great way to honor it at the Oscars. That would give an Oscar to both Tony Vallelonga's son Nick and director Peter Farrelly.
Christian Bale won Best Actor in a Comedy for Vice beating out the more popular Viggo Mortensen from Green Book. Bale will probably get an Oscar nomination.
Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk. Credit: Tatum Mangus / Annapurna Pictures; ©2018 Annapurna Releasing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Regina King won Best Supporting Actress for If Beale Street Could Talk, spoiling a pereceived race between Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz (both from The Favourite).
I was sad Elsie Fisher from Eighth Grade lost Best Actress in a Comedy to Olivia Coleman (The Favourite). While she's been nominated for an Independent Spirit award, chances are slim she'll get an Oscar nomination. My poor dark horse.
You can find the full list of winners here: https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/2019/all
Check out my coverage of the Golden Globe highlights here: http://runpee.com/highlights-comments-and-acceptance-videos-for-the-76th-annual-golden-globes/
Oscar nominees will be announced on January 22. Check back here for more awards coverage.