Thanks to the Writer’s Guild strike whose writers refused to give a waiver to the Globes, the 65th Golden Globes held the most bizarre event so far on the Hollywood awards show docket. A completely smarmy one-hour-long Access Hollywood-type show announced the winners of the 2008 Golden Globes. Hosted by on-air presenters standing at a podium, and while showing copious clips, they tried hard, but ended up looking like deer caught in the headlights trying to make small talk without the aid of professional writers. For viewers, losing the Globes is a sad event. It’s always the most fun of all the awards shows to watch because the stars all sit together with their ensemble cast-mates at big round tables and have dinner and drinks and joke around while enjoying the show. The audience might miss the red carpet and the great and awful dresses, but the Globes are always the biggest con on the audience… yet the audience has no clue as to why.
For NBC and its advertisers it was a black day. They lost around $20 million in annual ad revenue when the show was cancelled. For the stars, and especially the winners, it was also a black day as they could not celebrate their win – no matter how little it really matters in the big picture – publicly.
The HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) is a tiny cliquish group of foreign entertainment journalists - and each of those words were used extremely liberally in this definition – whose votes determine the “winners.” The Globes are always promoted as a major Hollywood event, and there’s no reason for the public to not accept it as such. But the Globes are not real, they are not decided by the people who have made films and television their life’s work, the Globes are decided by a small cabal of foreigners who have found the greatest private screening club on the planet.
Only a handful of these HFPA journalists are actually full-time film journalists, most are freelancers who work only occasionally for very obscure publications, not even Le Monde, the Guardian, or Haaretz are represented. HFPA requires members to write only four articles per year to maintain their membership and voting privileges. The HFPA is one of the most restricted film screening groups in the world and membership is hard to get. They consider only five new members per year and any member can veto any candidate. With attrition from dead members and those who failed to write the minimum four pieces per year, that means that this year only 82 people chose the winners of the Golden Globes. Talk about a set-up! Remember this when you read the results. Only 82 people voted and most are not full time film critics. Does this make sense to you? It will only if you own the television station that airs the show, this year it was NBC.
At least this year the HFPA made the right choice in a few of the winners, especially Marion Cotillard, Julian Schnabel, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
[center]65th HFPA Golden Globes Results
! Winner is in bold ![/center]
Best Motion Picture – Drama
- American Gangster
Imagine Entertainment/Scott Free Productions; Universal Pictures
- ! Atonement
Working Title Films Limited; Focus Features
- Eastern Promises
Kudos Pictures/Serendipity Point Films; Focus Features
- The Great Debaters
Harpo Films; The Weinstein Company/MGM
- Michael Clayton
Samuels Media and Castle Rock Entertainment a Mirage Enterprises/Section 8 Production; Warner Bros. Pictures
- No Country For Old Men
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production; Miramax Films/Paramount Vantage
- There Will Be Blood
A Joanne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production; Paramount Vantage/Miramax Films
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
- Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
- ! Julie Christie – Away From Her
- Jodie Foster – The Brave One
- Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
- Keira Knightley – Atonement
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
- George Clooney – Michael Clayton
- ! Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
- James McAvoy – Atonement
- Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises
- Denzel Washington – American Gangster
Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
- Across The Universe
Revolution Studios; Sony Pictures Releasing
- Charlie Wilson's War
Universal Pictures/Relativity Media/Participant Productions/Playtone; Universal Pictures
- Hairspray
Zadan/Meron Productions / New Line Cinema in association with Ingenious Film Partners; New Line Cinema
- Juno
Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production; Fox Searchlight Pictures
- ! Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Parkes/MacDonald and Zanuck Company; DreamWorks/Paramount Distribution / Warner Bros. Pictures
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- Amy Adams – Enchanted
- Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray
- Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- ! Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose
- Ellen Page – Juno
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
- ! Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl
- Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson's War
- Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Savages
- John C. Reilly – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
- ! Cate Blanchett – I'm Not There
- Julia Roberts – Charlie Wilson's War
- Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
- Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
- Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton
Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
- Casey Affleck – The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
- ! Javier Bardem – No Country For Old Men
- Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson's War
- John Travolta – Hairspray
- Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton
Best Animated Feature Film
- Bee Movie
DreamWorks Animation; DreamWorks Animation
- ! Ratatouille
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Pixar Animation Studios
- The Simpsons Movie
Gracie Films; Twentieth Century Fox
Best Foreign Language Film
- 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days (Romania)
Mobra Films; IFC Films
- ! The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (France, United States)
A Kennedy/Marshall Company and Jon Kilik Production; Miramax Films
- The Kite Runner (United States)
DreamWorks Pictures Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Paramount Classics Participant Productions Present a Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Parkes/Macdonald Production Distributed by Paramount Classics
- Lust, Caution (Taiwan)
Mr. Yee Productions LLC; Focus Features
- Persepolis (France)
247 Films; Sony Pictures Classics
Best Director - Motion Picture
- Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen – No Country For Old Men
- ! Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
- Ridley Scott – American Gangster
- Joe Wright – Atonement
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
- Atonement
Written by Christopher Hampton
- Charlie Wilson's War
Written by Aaron Sorkin
- The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Written by Ronald Harwood
- Juno
Written by Diablo Cody
- ! No Country For Old Men
Written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Best Original Score - Motion Picture
- Grace Is Gone
Composed by Clint Eastwood
- The Kite Runner
Composed by Alberto Iglesias
- ! Atonement
Composed by Dario Marianelli
- Eastern Promises
Composed by Howard Shore
- Into The Wild
Composed by Michael Brook, Kaki King and Eddie Vedder
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
- "Despedida" – Love In The Time Of Cholera
Music By: Shakira and Antonio Pinto
Lyrics By: Shakira
- "Grace Is Gone" – Grace Is Gone
Music By: Clint Eastwood
Lyrics By: Carole Bayer Sager
- ! "Guaranteed" – Into The Wild
Music & Lyrics By: Eddie Vedder
- "That's How You Know" – Enchanted
Music By: Alan Menken
Lyrics By: Stephen Schwartz
- "Walk Hard" – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Music & Lyrics By: Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan
Best Television Series - Drama
- Big Love (HBO)
Anima Sola and Playtone Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
- Damages (FX NETWORK)
FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television
- Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
ABC Studios
- House (FOX)
Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with Universal Media Studios
- ! Mad Men (AMC)
Lionsgate
- The Tudors (SHOWTIME)
Showtime Presents in association with Peace Arch Entertainment, Working Title, Reveille Productions Limited, An Ireland-Canada Co-Production
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Patricia Arquette – Medium (NBC)
- ! Glenn Close – Damages (FX NETWORK)
- Minnie Driver – The Riches (FX NETWORK)
- Edie Falco – The Sopranos (HBO)
- Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
- Holly Hunter – Saving Grace (TNT)
- Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
- Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)
- ! Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)
- Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)
- Bill Paxton – Big Love (HBO)
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (SHOWTIME)
Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
- 30 Rock (NBC)
Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc.
- Californication (SHOWTIME)
Showtime Presents in association with Aggressive Mediocrity, and Then…, Twilight Time Films
- Entourage (HBO)
Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
- ! Extras (HBO)
BBC and HBO Entertainment
- Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Living Dead Guy Productions, The Jinks/Cohen Company in association with Warner Bros. Television
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
- Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)
- America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)
- ! Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)
- Anna Friel – Pushing Daisies (ABC)
- Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
- Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)
- Steve Carell – The Office (NBC)
- ! David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)
- Ricky Gervais – Extras (HBO)
- Lee Pace – Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)
A Wolf Films/Traveler’s Rest Production in association with HBO Films
- The Company (TNT)
Sony Pictures Television
- Five Days (HBO)
HBO Films in association with BBC Films
- ! Longford (HBO)
A Granada Production in association with Channel 4 and HBO Films
- The State Within (BBC)
BBC, BBC America
Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Bryce Dallas Howard – As You Like It (HBO)
- ! Queen Latifah – Life Support (HBO)
- Debra Messing – The Starter Wife (USA)
- Sissy Spacek – Pictures Of Hollis Woods (CBS)
- Ruth Wilson – Jane Eyre (PBS)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Adam Beach – Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)
- Ernest Borgnine – A Grandpa For Christmas
- ! Jim Broadbent – Longford (HBO)
- Jason Isaacs – The State Within (BBC)
- James Nesbitt – Jekyll (BBC)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Rose Byrne – Damages (FX NETWORK)
- Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
- Katherine Heigl – Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
- ! Samantha Morton – Longford (HBO)
- Anna Paquin – Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)
- Jaime Pressly – My Name Is Earl (NBC)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Ted Danson – Damages (FX NETWORK)
- Kevin Dillon – Entourage (HBO)
- ! Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)
- Andy Serkis – Longford (HBO)
- William Shatner – Boston Legal (ABC)
- Donald Sutherland – Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
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