The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards - The Winners

This year the Golden Globes actually managed to make themselves look good.  The Hollywood Foreign Press, which awards the Globes, handed out deserving nominations and followed them with deserving wins.  And the ceremony was good too!

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were the hostesses and they did an awesome job.  They were funny and professional and never lost a beat.  I also loved Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell’s skit, even though Ferrell is far from one of my favorite actors.

The most dashing actors were, in no particular order, Ben Affleck, Damian Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Jason Statham, John Krasinski, and Liev Schreiber.  The most well put together actress was Julianne Moore, but I also liked Claire Danes and Anne Hathaway.

I did not like Jessica Alba, whose skin had the same orange hue of her dress, and I was bored by Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry, who both keep choosing the same dress cut and style, award show after award show.  Why not try something different for once?

I was really impressed that they were able to get President Bill Clinton to introduce the clip for Lincoln too.  What a coop!!  Let’s see the Academy top that!

As for Jodie Foster, who was awarded the Cecil B. Demille Award during the night, I liked her speech and her half-coming out.  I respect her talent as an actress and I hope she’ll get to make many more movies in the years to come.  Yes, she could have come out publicly sooner in her life, but it’s such a personal choice, I really can’t blame her for it.

Following are the winners, with my occasional comment.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Winner:
Argo
I haven’t seen any of the nominees to date, but I heard great things about Argo

Other Nominees:
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner:
Les Misérables
I have like zero interest in watching this movie.  All the others sound more interesting than this one, but Les Miz does seem impressive, and it’s a powerhouse of course.

Other Nominees:
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Winner:
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Such a given.  Day-Lewis might as well make room on his mantel for his third Oscar.  Funny how when it’s a male actor who’s likely to earn his third statuette it’s not a big deal, but when it’s a female one, even if the best one out there, it’s such a tricky affair…

Other Nominees:
Richard Gere for Arbitrage
John Hawkes for The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master
Denzel Washington for Flight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Winner:
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
I so adore this actress, I’m very happy for her.

Other Nominees:
Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone
Helen Mirren for Hitchcock
Naomi Watts for The Impossible
Rachel Weisz for The Deep Blue Sea

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables
I’m curious to see how good Cooper is in Silver Linings Playbook.  I wonder if he’ll have other shots at winning a big award like this one in the future.  But Jackman is such a good actor and so versatile, he definitely earned it here.

Other Nominees:
Jack Black for Bernie
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
Ewan McGregor for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Bill Murray for Hyde Park on Hudson

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
I like her and she’s a good actress, but her comment “I beat Meryl,” albeit said in jest, could (and should) have been avoided.  This was her year because of this movie and because of the huge success of The Hunger Games.  Period.

Other Nominees:
Emily Blunt for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Maggie Smith for Quartet
Meryl Streep for Hope Springs

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Winner:
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained
Apparently this was a surprise.  And can DiCaprio ever catch a break?  Especially with the Academy, who didn’t even nominate him for this highly praised role, while 5 past winners (one a double winner) have been nominated in this category this year?  Anyway, Waltz is definitely a handsome man.

Other Nominees:
Alan Arkin for Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio for Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Winner:
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables
From the praises, a very deserved win.  She’ll likely earn her first Oscar too this year, which is fine by me because this actress is very talented.

Other Nominees:
Amy Adams for The Master
Sally Field for Lincoln
Helen Hunt for The Sessions
Nicole Kidman for The Paperboy

Best Director - Motion Picture

Winner:
Ben Affleck for Argo
One of the biggest upsets and surprises of the night, all the more shocking if one considers that Affleck didn’t even get a Best Director nomination from the Academy for his work.  Good for him!

Other Nominees:
Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Winner:
Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino
Another surprise, apparently for Tarantino too.  And another movie for which I have like zero interest.  I’m so over Tarantino.  His work just doesn’t impress me.

Other Nominees:
Argo: Chris Terrio
Lincoln: Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook: David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty: Mark Boal

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Winner:
Skyfall: Adele, Paul Epworth ("Skyfall")
So, so, so happy for this win.  Adele’s song is beautiful and I hope they ask her to perform it at the Oscars.  And she better win that prize too!!  She looked gorgeous and was her usual adorable self.

Other Nominees:
Act of Valor: Monty Powell, Keith Urban ("For You")
The Hunger Games: Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams, T-Bone Burnett ("Safe and Sound")
Les Misérables: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer ("Suddenly")
Stand Up Guys: Jon Bon Jovi ("Not Running Anymore")

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Winner:
Life of Pi: Mychael Danna

Other Nominees:
Anna Karenina: Dario Marianelli
Argo: Alexandre Desplat
Cloud Atlas: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek, Tom Tykwer
Lincoln: John Williams

Best Animated Film

Winner:
Brave

Other Nominees:
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner:
Amour
Here’s one category where the Academy does it better, since they allow only one submission per country.  This list has 2 movies out of 5 from France, and the winner was in French with French leads, even though the production was Austrian.  That’s not really fair for all the countries in the world that would benefit from the exposure.

Other Nominees:
The Intouchables
Kon-Tiki
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

Best Television Series - Drama

Winner:
"Homeland"
So well deserved.  This show is unbelievably good, fresh, and original.  Always.

Other Nominees:
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Breaking Bad"
"Downton Abbey"
"The Newsroom"

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Winner:
"Girls"
While I don’t consider myself a hardcore fan of this show, I do recognize its originality and the creator’s willingness to push the envelope.  I’ll check out season two, which coincidentally premiered right around the time the show won.

Other Nominees:
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Episodes"
"Modern Family"
"Smash"

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Game Change
Another well deserved win.  The movie was well made and the topic hot and shocking.

Other Nominees:
The Girl
"Hatfields & McCoys"
"The Hour"
"Political Animals"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

Winner:
Damian Lewis for "Homeland"
Incredibly well deserved.

Other Nominees:
Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad"
Jeff Daniels for "The Newsroom"
Jon Hamm for "Mad Men"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Winner:
Claire Danes for "Homeland"
Incredibly well deserved.

Other Nominees:
Connie Britton for "Nashville"
Glenn Close for "Damages"
Michelle Dockery for "Downton Abbey"
Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Don Cheadle for "House of Lies"

Other Nominees:
Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock"
Louis C.K. for "Louie"
Matt LeBlanc for "Episodes"
Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Lena Dunham for "Girls"
Well deserved, especially considering that she acts, directs, produces, and writes the show herself too!!

Other Nominees:
Zooey Deschanel for "New Girl"
Tina Fey for "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "Veep"
Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Kevin Costner for "Hatfields & McCoys"

Other Nominees:
Benedict Cumberbatch for "Sherlock"
Woody Harrelson for Game Change
Toby Jones for The Girl
Clive Owen for Hemingway & Gellhorn

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Julianne Moore for Game Change
Incredibly well deserved.

Other Nominees:
Nicole Kidman for Hemingway & Gellhorn
Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story: Asylum"
Sienna Miller for The Girl
Sigourney Weaver for "Political Animals"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Ed Harris for Game Change
Well deserved, although I would have loved to see Patinkin win for Homeland.

Other Nominees:
Max Greenfield for "New Girl"
Danny Huston for "Magic City"
Mandy Patinkin for "Homeland"
Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Maggie Smith for "Downton Abbey"
I mean, seriously, can there be any other?  No.

Other Nominees:
Hayden Panettiere for "Nashville"
Archie Panjabi for "The Good Wife"
Sarah Paulson for Game Change
Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family"