The first win tonight for best drama contender Conclave goes to screenwriter Peter Straughan, who adapted Robert Harris’s airport novel into a thrilling, taut drama of petty cardinals and Vatican gossip.
A bit of a surprise, given the shift in opinion on The Bear at the Emmys and my expectation that the Globes voting bloc would be charmed by Adam Brody in Nobody Wants This. Jeremy Allen White isn’t in attendance, so presenter Jennifer Coolidge accepts on his behalf.
Another win for the TV show heavily predicted to dominate the drama categories. “Maybe you don’t know me. I’m an actor from Japan,” a triumphant Tadanobu Asano says to cheers. He’s apparently jet-lagged because, he reports, he flew in from Japan for this show and will fly back out to set right after.
But first – “this is a very big present for me,” he shouts, “thank you so much!”
Baby Reindeer’s Jessica Gunning tells a sweet story about getting a hamster for Christmas as an eight-year-old and repeatedly saying, in her Yorkshire accent, “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
The line has become a slogan for her big year since the Netflix show aired – “I cannot believe that any of this is happening to me,” she says.
Glaser continues to keep it light – much gentler than her comedy can be – with a would-be musical bit that seemingly aims at the papal thriller Conclave and Wicked, sporting a papal hat and Glinda and, but mostly pokes fun at herself for singing in front of one Elton John.
First an Emmy winner, now a Golden Globe! Hiroyuki deservedly wins for FX’s historical epic Shōgun, set in feudal Japan, which nearly swept the Emmys’ drama categories in September.
“Thank you for everyone who has been in my life. All of you have brought me here,” the Japanese star said. “For the young actors and creators in the world, please be yourself, believe in yourself and never give up.”
Sporting a bunch of friendship bracelets and kids’ tattoos, Kieran Culkin accepted the award for best supporting actor in a film for A Real Pain with a lot of false starts. “My wife and I did a shot of tequila with Mario Lopez,” he said. “I love the Golden Globes!”
“I’m here because Jesse Eisenberg wrote an incredible script,” he said, along with a couple of thank yous before he “pissed off” – to Emma Stone and her production company Fruit Tree, his manager and his mom, among others.
And the first TV award of the night goes to the ever-deserving Jean Smart of the excellent Hacks. “I’ve never been so happy to be called a Hack,” she said before thanking her co-star (and onscreen co-writer/assistant) Hannah Einbinder.
The first award of the night goes to an overwhelmed Zoe Saldaña for her acting/rapping/singing in the wild genre trip that is Emilia Pérez.
“My heart is full of gratitude,” she shouted through tears. “This is a first time for me and I’m just so blessed that I’m sharing this moment with Selena [Gomez] and Karla [Sofia Gascón] and Jacques [Audiard] … I know that it’s a competition but all I have witnessed is us showing up for each other and supporting each other.”
The celebs are seated, the champagne poured, and the 82nd Golden Globes are under way. The host, Nikki Glaser, best known as a pretty brutal roast comic, kept it pretty safe tonight – welcome to “Ozempic’s biggest night!” was her opening line – striking the right tone between ribbing and warmth.
“I am not here to roast you tonight,” she promised. “How could I really? You’re all so powerful, so talented … you could do anything, except tell the country who to vote for.”
Glaser took an equal opportunity roasting approach, with digs at TV (“tonight we celebrate the best of film and hold space for television”), streaming platforms (“I think I’ve seen more actual peacocks in my life than shows on Peacock”), Timothée Chalamet (“you have the most gorgeous eyelashes on your upper lip”), and Netflix’s Emilia Pérez (“without a doubt, the most audacious, groundbreaking film to auto-play after Is It Cake?”).
And she signed off with a very important reminder to the stars: “If you do lose tonight, please keep in mind that the point of making art is not to win awards. The point of making art is to start a tequila brand so popular that you never have to make art again.” All in all, a solid start!
The show’s about to begin so over and out from me, but not without one final look: Tilda Swinton, proving here that while colour was the main talking point when it came to the costumes in The Room Next Door – Swinton even said in a recent interview that “everybody in Pedro’s films dressed not only for each other but for Pedro! That’s what colour is for” – there’s an awful lot that a razor-sharp cut can do, too.
In a pleasing shift from Elphaba green, Cynthia Erivo has opted for an extremely ornate custom Louis Vuitton gown that could, in a certain light, be likened to a particularly beautiful doily.
If she wins tonight for best actress in a musical or comedy, the Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofia Gascón would become the first out trans actor to take home a film Golden Globe. (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez became the first trans actor to win a TV award three years ago, for Pose.) Gascón could also become the first out trans actor nominated for an Oscar – a prospect she discussed the Guardian in October.
“If it happens, I will be the happiest actress in the world,” she said. “If not, it doesn’t matter. All I could do – all I did – was to put my entire soul into the film. And I believe it is the best work of my life.”
Read the full interview here:
In case you need a refresher, here’s a full list of nominations from Anora to Zendaya:
“It is a comforting thing to be able to put your mind somewhere else, to something entertaining, that also has a bit of a mystery. People need that right now – to get away from everything and get lost.”
Here’s our interview with tonight’s best actress in a drama series nominee Kathy Bates, talking about Matlock:
