There were a number of memorable moments on stage at the 70th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Although Ben Affleck was shunned by voters from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a nominee for Best Director for next month's Academy Awards, he triumphantly walked away with both the Best Director award and Best Motion Picture in a Drama at the Golden Globes. Other notable winners were Daniel Day Lewis for his impeccable performance as President Abraham Lincoln, Jessica Chastain for portraying the fictional CIA agent who relentlessly pursues Osama Bin Laden in “Zero Dark Thirty”, Christoph Waltz in yet another brilliant acting performance in “Django Unchained” Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway for their delightful performances in Les Miserables and “Silver Linings Playbook” star Jennifer Lawrence, who ruffled a few feathers in the audience by proclaiming “I beat Meryl”, in a reference to multi-Oscar winner Meryl Streep.
When Jodie Foster was presented with the prestigious Cecile B. DeMille Award for her “outstanding contributions in the world of entertainment”, the GLBT community was hopeful she would finally “come out.” Yet instead of revealing what most fans, friends and family already knew, she only threw sprinkles of hints by using choice phrases like “loud and proud” and “I have a sudden urge to say something I’ve never really aired in public.” She did make a special mention to Cydney Bernard, who she described as “one of the deepest loves of my life, my heroic co-parent, my ex-partner in love, soul sister in life, my confessor, ski buddy, consigliere, most beloved BFF of 20 years.” Ms. Foster had the entire audience captivated throughout her moving speech, which strongly advocated her desire for privacy, particularly after being in show business since she was just three years old. As she concluded her acceptance speech, everyone understood her wishes although there were some mild retorts after the show.
The hosts of the Golden Globes, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were hilarious throughout the presentation, particularly when they reappeared after learning they both losers in the Best Actress in a Television Comedy to newcomer Lena Dunham for her performance in the HBO series “Girls.” After the television camera panned to the two former cast members of Saturday Night Live, both lovely comedians were holding onto and consuming what appeared to be strong alcoholic drinks.
Although Fey and Poehler were delightfully fun throughout the telecast, perhaps the most hysterical skit occurred when presenters Will Ferrell and Kristen Wig appeared before the star-studded audience to announce the winner of Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Movie category. Also former cast members who burst into stardom through Saturday Night Live, Ferrell and Wig jointly posed as star-struck, wide-eye newcomers who rejoiced in their roles as presenters.
The Golden Globes are often cited as a precursor of what’s yet to come next month at the 85th Academy Awards. However many prominent names were excluded as nominees for a wealth of awards, including directors Ben Affleck for “Argo,” Kathryn Bigelow for “Zero Dark Thirty” and Tom Hooper for “Les Miserables”, as well as none of the top ten grossing films of 2012. Nevertheless, the Golden Globe Awards may have given itself a bit more prestige, simply by honoring arguably the best in every category.
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