Golden Globes Insider

The Golden Globe Awards, a casual, yet glamorous celebration of the film and television industries brought out Hollywood’s elite in a dazzling display of high fashion and exquisite looks, with some edgy Ricky Gervais remarks thrown in for spice. Now, that’s a good way to start off the awards season in the Entertainment Capital of the World! The Hollywood Foreign Press impressed every one more this year than any other year before! And, the talks both on Ricky’s style continued forever just as much as the Fashion Police from Channel E gave a full run down on everyone’s choice of style with Joan Rivers, who is just histerically funny. Gervais and Rivers make these events memorable forever.
After a red carpet prequel that featured stunning fashion elegance, baby bumps, and the finest talent in town, Gervais opened the show. Big winners included The Social Network, the Aaron Sorkin-penned drama based on the unauthorized book about the founding of Facebook. The Social Network picked up a lot of friends and some major momentum in the competition for more industry awards as it got the Golden Globes for best drama, director and screenplay, steeling the award from The King’s Speech, which by far is one of the best movies ever made. And, I am not saying that just because the writer, David Seidler is my next door neighbor, who was also nominated as Best Screenplay Writer.
Other big winners included Annette Bening, who won the comedic actress trophy for The Kids Are All Right, which also won for best comedy. Natalie Portman’s performance as an obsessive dancer in Black Swan demonstrated that she’s an actress to be reckoned with, and she took the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a dramatic role.
Colin Firth also added to a Golden Globe Award to his shelf on Sunday for his acclaimed role in The King’s Speech, which also probably makes him the favorite to pick up the best-actor Oscar on February 27.
The show kicked off by honoring Christian Bale with a supporting-actor award for his portrayal of real-life crack addict Dickie Ecklund in The Fighter, a boxing drama inspired by the real-life struggles of boxer Micky Ward, and Melissa Leo later earned an award for her supporting role in the same film, and was obviously thrilled with her win.
Robert De Niro received the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award, after a film montage of his work in some of the most memorable films in history. Adding weight to its Academy Awards chances, family favorite and big money earner Toy Story 3 took the trophy for best animated film. Denmark’s In a Better World took the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film.
The tone of the evening was an energetic mix of emotional gravitas and wisecracking, with beer toting host Ricky Gervais making remarks that sometimes ended up being controversial. Bruce Willis seemed especially perplexed when he was introduced as “Aston Kutcher’s dad,†and later in the evening Tom Hanks and Tim Allen took shots at Gervais in retaliation. It all made for a lively and exciting evening.
In the television category, it was a big night for Fox’s Glee, which won for best comedy series and was also awarded best supporting-acting trophies for Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer, who spoke inspirationally about being true to one’s self. HBO’s Boardwalk Empire took the award for best TV miniseries, with star Steve Buscemi also winning a Golden Globe for his role in the series. Claire Danes took the award for Best Actress for her performance in Temple Grandin, a true story.
Part of the excitement at the Golden Globes comes from the stunning show of fashion that begins on the red carpet and then wends its way to the stage as the awards are handed out. Burlesque star Christina Aguilera wore a black lace over nude strapless Zuhair Murad gown and wore her blonde hair parted in the center. Other stars who displayed a sense of Hollywood glamour included Ann Hathaway in a sparkling long sleeved high necked Armani dress, Easy A star Emma Stone in a short-sleeved peach-colored Calvin Klein design and Angelina Jolie, a true movie goddess in a sparkling backless green Versace gown. A popular favorite for the best dress award was Catherine Zeta Jones in a shimmering strapless emerald green gown, a look made even more attractive with a healthy Michael Douglas at her side.
In the end, it was an exciting and sometimes moving event beginning the New Year and the traditional start of the awards season. There was a lot of Hollywood sizzle and glamour, plenty of laughs, and an acknowledgement of some of the finest talent and film and television work, the kind of creativity that lifts our spirits in even the most challenging times.