Two wildly daring films — Brady Corbet’s 215-minute post-war epic “The Brutalist” and Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language trans musical “Emilia Perez” took top honors Sunday at the 82nd edition of the Golden Globes.
The Globes, which are still finding their footing after years of scandals and transformations, have handed out awards to a number of films. But the awards group gave its strongest support to two films that sought to be unlike anything else.
“The Brutalist” won best drama film, putting one of the most ambitious films of 2024 on track to become a major Oscar contender. The film, shot in VistaVision and released with intermission, also won best director for Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody.
“I was told that this film was not available for distribution,” Corbet explained. “No one was asking for a three-and-a-half hour 70mm film about a mid-century designer. But it works.
“Emilia Perez” won best motion picture, comedy or musical, boosting the chances of Netflix’s leading Oscar contender. It also won Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña, Best Song (“El Mal”) and Best Non-English Film. Karla Sofia Gascon, the transgender star of the film who plays a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirmation surgery, spoke for the film.
“Light always triumphs over darkness,” Gascon said, gesturing to her bright orange dress. “Maybe you can put us in prison. You can beat us. But you can never take away our soul, our existence, or our identity.”
“I am who I am. Not who you want.
The night’s big cast winners included a few surprises. One of the surprises was Moore’s win for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. His return in “The Substance,” about a Hollywood star who resorts to an experimental process to regain his youth, earned Moore, 62, his first Globe – a victory that beat heavily favored Mikey Madison of “Anora.” »
“I’m just in shock right now. I’ve been doing this for a long time, about 45 years, and this is the first thing I’ve ever won as an actor,” said Moore, who was nominated for the last time by the Globes for a film role in 1991 for “Ghost”. “Thirty years ago a producer told me I was a popcorn actress.”
Best actress in a drama film was also a surprise. Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres won for her performance in “I’m Still Here,” a drama based on a true story about a family experiencing the disappearance of political dissident Rubens Paiva in 1970s Rio de Janeiro.
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical or Comedy went to Sebastian Stan for another film about physical transformation: “A Different Man,” in which Stan plays a man with a deformed face who is healed. Stan, who was also nominated for his role as Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” noted that both films were difficult to make.
“These are difficult subjects but these films are real and necessary,” Stan said. “But we cannot be afraid and look away.”
Glaser lightly roasts the Globes
Comedian Nikki Glaser kicked off the Globes with a promise: “I’m not here to roast you.”
But Glaser, a stand-up whose breakthrough came in a withering roast of Tom Brady, roamed the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, picking many targets in an opening monologue that she had elaborated at length. at comedy clubs beforehand.
While Glaser may not have reached Tina Fey and Amy Poehler levels of laughter, the monologue was mostly winning and a dramatic improvement over last year’s host Jo Koy. Last year’s Globes, following a diversity and ethics scandal that led to the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were widely criticized but distributed where it counted. Audiences have rebounded to around 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen. CBS, which stepped in after NBC dropped the Globes, signed on for five more years.
Hosting the Globes two weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Glaser saved perhaps his sharpest retort for the entire room of Hollywood stars.
“You can really do anything … except tell the country who to vote for,” Glaser said. “But it doesn’t matter, you’ll get them next time…if there is one. I’m scared.”
The Globes are now owned by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which acquired the awards show from the now-defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. After diversity and ethics scandals, the HFPA sold the Globes and disbanded. However, more than a dozen former HFPA members are seeking to overturn the sale to Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions.
A victory for “Wicked”
The Globes’ prize for film and box office achievement went to Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” which grossed nearly $700 million in theaters. In a heavily arthouse Oscar category, “Wicked” is by far the biggest hit considered to have a chance of winning the best picture prize. In accepting the award, Chu advocated for a “radical act of optimism” in art.
Although few movie awards were predictable this season, Kieran Culkin emerges as the clear favorite for Best Supporting Actor. Culkin won Sunday for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” his second Globe last year after a win for the HBO series “Succession.” He called the Globes “basically the best date night my wife and I have ever had,” then thanked her for “setting up what you call my mania.”
The papal thriller “Conclave” won best screenplay, for Peter Straughan’s screenplay. “Flow,” the wordless Latvian animated parable about a cat in a flooded world, won best animated film, beating studio blockbusters like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot.” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won Best Music for their impactful music for “Challengers.”
TV awards
Most of the TV winners were oft-awarded series, including Emmy champion “Shogun.” It won four awards, including best drama series and acting awards for Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai and Tadanobu Asano. Other repeat winners were: “Hacks” (best comedy series, actress for Jean Smart), “The Bear” (Jeremy Allen White for best actor) and “Baby Reindeer” (best limited series).
Ali Wong won for best stand-up performance, Jodie Foster for “True Detective” and Colin Farrell for his physical transformation in “The Penguin.”
“I guess they’re prosthetics from now on,” Farrell said.
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