The Golden Globes Recap: When Three Turns to Four!
My personal favorite film of 2017, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri romped off with four major awards during the recently held 'Black and Gold-en' Globe Awards show. Besides getting the Best Picture Drama, Best Original Screenplay for writer/director Martin McDonagh, and Best Supporting Actor for Sam Rockwell, it also gained Frances McDormand a Best Actress - Drama nod. And my most surreal moment was when Ewan McGregor got a Best Actor in Television - Limited Series prize for a show called Fargo - the film that coincidentally got Frances her Best Actress Oscar in 1996. She has now won an Oscar, an Emmy (for Olive Kitteridge), a Tony (for Good People), and a Golden Globe!
On a night when Dressed in Black signified solidarity and one-ness against sexual harassment, against racial and gender discrimination and inequality; Hollywood put on a show that may very well be a portent of what March's Oscars night will be like. ‘Good evening ladies and remaining gentlemen’ was the hilarious manner with which host Seth Meyers addressed the proverbial ‘elephants Not in the room’ - Weinstein and Spacey, and acknowledged the long shadow of the #MeToo movement.
This notion of Women Taking Charge and strong female performances was reflected in a number of the major winners - from Three Billboards and Lady Bird in the Film category, to Big Little Lies and The Handmaid's Tale in the Television category. With Big Little Lies, you have a powerhouse cast of Nicole Kidman (who copped Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Television series), co-nominee Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern (Best Supporting Actress in a Television series), and Shailene Woodley. That Alexander Skarsgard from the same series took home the Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series only reinforces the strength of this HBO series. Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale is adapted from the Margaret Atwood novel and took home the Best Drama Television series, while giving Elisabeth Moss the Best Actress in a Drama Series prize.
Lady Bird emerged the winner in the Best Film Comedy or Musical category and had Saoirse Ronan copping the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.
Also a nominee in the Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress categories, the only axe to grind for this film would have been why no Greta Gerwig in the Best Director field - which went to Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water.
I've singled out Three Billboards and Lady Bird in a previous article here on metro.style (The Complexity of Authentic), and I can only pray that these two films will enjoy a commercial run before the Oscars of March 4th (Oscars announce their nominations on the 23rd of January). It's a sure bet that with the momentum from their Golden Globe wins, these two films will be prominently figuring in the Oscars race.
Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, Focus Features
James Franco in Disaster Artist, Point Grey Pictures
Other notable wins were Gary Oldman for Best Actor - Drama (Darkest Hour), and James Franco for Best Actor - Comedy or Musical (The Disaster Artist), and Allison Janey for Best Supporting Actress (I, Tonya). The Amazon TV production The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel copped Best Comedy TV series with lead Rachel Brosnahan getting the Best Actress nod. Sterling K. Brown for Best Actor in a Drama series (This Is Us) and Aziz Ansari Best Actor in a Comedy series (Master of None). Coco won for Best Animated Feature, and In the Fade took the Best Foreign Language Film.
And in this tumultuous Hollywood year, it was only appropriate that if we had to pick one giant scene stealer, it would be the Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient Oprah Winfrey. She may have taken liberties by dishing out an eight minute speech, but if anyone has really taken Hollywood by the horns and reached the top on her own terms, it would be Oprah. Being a woman, and African-American to boot, were far from disadvantages in her own mindset.
If one wanted to talk about Women Stories that resonate, and demonstrate that ahead of the curve, women could choose their own paths in Hollywood, Oprah is the beacon.
