California [US], January 8 : The 81st edition of the Golden Globes took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. From 'Barbie' losing the best comedy to 'Poor Things' to 'Anatomy of a Fall' beating 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' for the screenplay, there were certain surprises that were witnessed during the prestigious event.
First-time host Jo Koy presided over the telecast, which took place, as always, at the Beverly Hilton, according to Variety.
'Barbie' loses Best Comedy to 'Poor Things'
'Barbie' lost best musical or comedy to 'Poor Things', capping off a disappointing night for Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie's blockbuster.
According to Variety, instead, 'Poor Things' landed the biggest upset of the night on a show with very few of them. The film follows Bella Baxter (Emma Stone, who won female actor in a Musical/Comedy earlier in the night), a woman whose brain has been transplanted with an infant's, as she develops her own peculiar outlook on herself, her sexuality, and the world.
In many ways, it is a companion to 'Barbie''s unique explanation of what it means to be a woman in the world, and it is also very funny. We are so sorry that "Barbenheimer" fans and entertainment media headline writers were denied the opportunity to celebrate the dual victors in drama and comedy that this year's Globes promised. However, Stone, who also produced, and director Yorgos Lanthimos will undoubtedly be pleased with their win.
'Anatomy of a Fall' beats 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' for screenplay
According to Variety, both 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' earned their success and acclaim in no small part due to the daring and inventiveness of their screenplays, by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, and Christopher Nolan, respectively.
But these two behemoths lost instead to the writers of "Anatomy of a Fall," a French courtroom thriller about a novelist (nominee Sandra Huller) on trial for the death of her husband. Director Justine Triet and her co-writer Arthur Harari seemed genuinely floored to be winning.
The movie later went on to win the Globe for best non-English language film, an expected win, so that could have given it momentum. And while the Hollywood Foreign Press is no longer a thing, Globes voting body is still made up of international journalists. But still, this was a real surprise! (And in "Barbie's" case, a portent of snubs to come.)
Elizabeth Debicki beats Meryl Streep in TV Supporting Actress
Elizabeth Debicki may claim, "I beat Meryl!" regardless of anything else occurring in her career, to paraphrase Jennifer Lawrence from "The First Wives Club." Indeed, Debicki's portrayal of the tragic Princess Diana in Netflix's "The Crown" final season won her the role.
It was predicted by oddsmakers that Streep would win the trophy for her performance in Season 3 of 'Only Murders in the Building', and if she didn't, Hannah Waddingham might have won for her part in Season 3 of 'Ted Lasso'.
A fascinating aspect of Debicki's well-deserved win is that it is the second time a performer has taken home a Golden Globe for the same character. In 2021, Emma Corrin won TV Actress for her portrayal of Diana in Season 4 of "The Crown."
Ricky Gervais wins Stand-Up award
Ricky Gervais got this award for his Netflix special 'Armageddon', demonstrating once again that he is a mainstream comedian and is in no way done with the business.
Gervais is currently at the period of his career where he mostly makes jokes about how controversial he is. In no way do we imply that Gervais' five Globe hosting stints--2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, and 2020--put him above the rest of the field in the vote; after all, he defeated apparent front-runner Chris Rock for his own Netflix special, "Selective Outrage."
'The Boy and the Heron' beats 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' for Animated Film
Listen, we're kind of stretching at this point. Yes, "Across the Spider-Verse" was a gargantuan hit, one of the only successful superhero movies of the year, and just as critically acclaimed as its predecessor, 2018's "Into the Spider-Verse," which won the Globe in this category.
But the film that beat "Across the Spider-Verse," "The Boy and the Heron," was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, a living legend in animation who came out of retirement at 83 to make the most personal film of his career. And it made history by opening at the top of the domestic box office in December.
But this year's Globes were so flipping predictable that we're including it here anyway if only to recognize both of these films as two of the very best of the year, reported Variety.