All-Hollywood turned up to the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on Tuesday night for the 80th Golden Globe Awards. After years of misfortune, tied to accusations of racism and corruption within its jury, the prestigious ceremony has had a facelift (new jury, new reforms) and hopes to recover its image. And the evening offered what you’d expect from an awards ceremony: In addition to the golden statuettes awarded to the cream of American television and film, this 2023 vintage offered its share of highlights.
Between an irreverent presenter, long speeches and the lingering shadow of Will Smith’s slap at the last Oscars, here are five sequences that marked this ceremony that opens the awards season in the United States.
• Confront racism
If the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which awards the Golden Globes, hoped to turn the page on the controversies of recent years, it was without counting on the mockery of the presenter, Jerrod Carmichael. The African-American comedian immediately joked about the lack of diversity:
“I’ll tell you why I’m here. I’m here because I’m black,” he said, calling himself “the black face of an embattled white organization.”
Willfully irreverent, the actor recounted his dismay when he was offered the role of conductor for the evening. Doubts were quickly dispelled by the “$500,000” check the organization offered him, he joked, recounting a conversation with one of his friends. “She told me, ‘Dude, you better put on a nice suit and take these white people’s money.'”
• The intimidating Michelle Yeoh
As is often the case, almost every acceptance speech has consumed the allotted time. The ceremony, which was supposed to last only three hours, was eventually overdue in twenty minutes.
The producers have tried to fire the stars that dragged on, thanks to a little melody played on the piano. But most continued their thanks as if nothing had happened.
In this role, it is the Malaysian Michelle Yeoh who shone the most. Best Comedy Actress for her role as the owner of a laundromat immersed in parallel universes in Everything everywhere at onceshe didn’t hesitate to take out the intimidation card.
“Shut up, please,” he said mockingly, recalling the many fight scenes that punctuate the film. “I can fuck you, this is serious.”
• The shadow of Will Smith
Will Smith wasn’t invited, but his slap in the face of comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars last year is still the talk of Hollywood. The sequence, during which the actor had burst onto the stage to punch the comedian when he had indulged in a joke about his wife’s bald skull, is now an inexhaustible source of jokes.
Jerrod Carmichael has thus claimed to have delivered an award for the “best representation of masculinity on television” to the actor during an advertising break. Eddie Murphy, awarded for his entire career, gave a cape a little later:
“There is a real plan that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, longevity and peace of mind,” he told a hilarious audience. “Three things: pay your taxes, mind your own business, and keep the name of Will Smith’s wife out of your fucking mouth.”
• Tom Cruise, mocked
And since those who are absent are always wrong, Tom Cruise, whose film Top Gun: Maverick was named, he was also entitled to his share of jokes at his expense. The American actor returned his three Golden Globes to the HFPA in 2021, in protest of the scandals.
In the middle of the afternoon, Jerrod Carmichael returned to the stage with three statuettes in hand, to represent these awards.
“Hey guys, I found this,” he told the audience, before commenting on Tom Cruise’s membership in the Church of Scientology.
“Maybe we should take those three things and trade them for the return of Shelly Miscavige,” the host added, referring to the cult leader’s wife, who hasn’t been seen in public for years.
• LGBTQ representation
Honored with a special lifetime achievement award, series producer Ryan Murphy (pinch/poke, Happiness, Established) took the opportunity to make a vibrant call to better represent the LGBT community on screen.
In particular, he asked the public for a “standing ovation” for MJ Rodríguez, the star of his series. Establishedwho became the “first transgender actress to win a Golden Globe” in 2022 without being able to celebrate her victory -due to scandals- the ceremony took place without an audience or television.
“My mission has been to take the unseen, the unloved and turn them into the heroes I’ve hoped for, but never seen, in pop culture,” he said.
The Golden Globes gave special awards to director Steven Spielberg: the American filmmaker received the best director award for his intimate The Fabelmans, which also won Best Motion Picture Drama. He co-starred in the Irish tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin. The film, which tells of the abrupt end of a friendship on an imaginary island in the 1920s, won three Golden Globes, including Best Comedy and Best Actor for Colin Farrell. On the television side, the spin-off of game of Thrones entitled dragon house It was crowned best drama series. The trophy for best musical or comic series went to Abbott Elementary.
Source: BFM TV
