Every January, the entertainment awards season kicks off with the Golden Globe Awards. Often seen as a weathervane for the Oscars in late February, the Golden Globes have a reputation for being a more streamlined, comical and relaxed affair compared with the pomp of the Academy Awards.
The Golden Globes have been around since 1944 and are awarded annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The HFPA is made up of journalists covering the U.S. film industry who are affiliated with foreign publications. But that doesn’t mean that just any Hollywood critic from a foreign newspaper (say, The Varsity) can cast a vote at the Golden Globes.
In fact, as noted in The New York Times the HFPA “functions like an exclusive club, admitting a maximum of five new members a year, though more often accepting only one. Any single member may object to a new member, making it extremely difficult to join.” As of 2005 there were only 86 voting members, with some in their late eighties and nineties.
Initially hosted by the journalists themselves, the Golden Globes have been handed out by celebrities since an incident in 1958 where a boring presenter was shoved aside by Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin-with cigarettes and whisky in hand-who proceeded to preside over the rest of the evening. This lighthearted, impromptu spirit has stuck with the award show and made numerous appearances on Monday night.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on hand to crack a one-liner referencing The Terminator (which, by the way Mr. Governor, is getting a little old. How about revisiting another one of your famous catchphrases? How about “It’s not a tumor!” from Kindergarten Cop?) before handing out the award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The award went to Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu for his multi-lingual, mutli-narrative film Babel. Upon receiving the award, Iñárritu made light of California’s illegal immigration debate by declaring “I swear I have my papers in order, Governor.” Whether he did or not, you can be sure that someone is looking into that right now.
Another funny moment came courtesy of Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Borat Sagdiyev) who picked up the award for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for his gutsy portrayal of the Kazakh journalist in the suprise blockbuster Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Appearing out of character (Cohen did all the press for Borat as Borat) Cohen had this to say upon accepting his award: “I saw some dark parts of America, an ugly side of America, a side of America that rarely sees the light of day. I refer, of course, to the anus and testicles of my co-star, Ken Davitian.” As Davitian-who played Borat’s obese producer Azamat Bagatov-and the rest of the audience howled with laughter Cohen continued: “When I was in that scene, and I stared down and saw your two wrinkled Golden Globes on my chin, I thought to myself, I’d better win a bloody award for this.” Before exiting the stage Cohen thanked “every American who has not sued me so far,” making reference to the several unsuccessful lawsuits filed against him by unwitting participants made fun of in Borat’s faux documentary.
The evening’s obvious low point was Warren Beatty’s lame, cringe worthy attempt at a Borat impression. The best part was, he didn’t even do it right and Cohen actually corrected him saying: “Warren, it’s wawawewa.”
Other big winners of the night included television network ABC, who struck gold with both Grey’s Anatomy (Best Television Series – Drama), and Ugly Betty (Best Television Series – Comedy), Dreamgirls, which won for best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Helen Mirren who accomplished the amazing, feat-almost certainly never to happen again-of winning two awards (Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television) on the same night for portraying different British Monarchs (Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth I, and Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen), who share the same name.
