Golden Globes: Too Long, Didn’t Watch

The Golden Globes Awards streamed last Sunday, January 6th, and was filled with no shortage of prestige, talent and (of course), jokes. Didn’t have time to sit and watch? No worries, this article will summarize some of the key takeaways from this year’s ceremony.

Oppenheimer

One of the most memorable films of this year was undoubtedly Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. With nominations in 8 categories, the film and its actors took home 5 awards, including:

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture (Robert Downey Jr.)

This nomination caught a bit of media attention due to a momentary confusion between two nominated actors, Robert Downey Jr. and Robert De Niro

Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Cillian Murphy)

Best Director – Motion Picture (Christopher Nolan)

Best Original Score (Ludwig Goransson)

Barbie

Nominated for 7 awards, and occupying half of the nominations for Best Original Song – Motion Picture, Barbie took the gold for two categories:

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Best Original Song – Motion Picture For Billie Eillish & Finneas’ gorgeous auditory exploration of the feminine experience, “What Was I Made For?”

The contrasting pop-culture pair of Barbie and Oppenheimer was of course impossible to gloss over for the announcers of the show, one of which went viral for a controversial comment. As Jo Koy notoriously said “Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies”. A joke which clearly received an abundance of criticism, as not only did it blatantly reduce a movie regarding the female experience into a joke about the sexualization of the movie, but it was also just not funny.

Television

The television categories were of no lack of popular series from the past year, with nominations from well known shows such as The Last of Us, The Bear, Beef, and  many more. The awards played out in the following:

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Series – Musical or Comedy: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Kieran Culkin, “Succession”

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Sarah Snook, “Succession”

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Steven Yuen, “Beef”

Best Performance by an Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Ali Wong, “Beef”

Best Television Series Drama: “Succession”

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: “Beef”

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Television: Matthew Macfadyen, “Succession”

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Television: Elizabeth Debicki, “The Crown”

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy: “The Bear”

Best Performance in Stand-up Comedy on Television: Ricky Gervais, “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon”

Many of these films have been prominent in pop culture and social media over the past year. If you have not yet had a chance to see any of them, this list of winners can prove to be a trustworthy recommendation list as well.

Other Winners

Barbie and Oppenheimer were not the only movies released this past 2023. While many other nominations did not have as much prevalence in social media or pop culture, there were just as many notable movies that were rightfully awarded prizes:

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: “Poor Things”

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language: “Anatomy of a Fall”

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture: “Anatomy of a Fall”

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”

Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: “Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”

Best Motion Picture – Animated: “The Boy and the Heron”

Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Emma Stone, “Poor Things”

Overall, this year’s Golden Globes had no lack of memorable moments and awe-inspiring films/ shows that are sure to provide hours of entertainment for a variety of genres. While some winners may have been predictable, there was still a fair share of close calls. A few may even be surprising to some – I know I was expecting The Last of Us to go home with at least one award. Nevertheless, every winner here has demonstrated inspiring talent. As the award season continues, there is more to come of this acknowledgement of some of the modern entertainment industries’ abundance of skill and dedication.

Photo courtesy of: jdeeringdavis, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons