“Golden Globes anoint Facebook flick” |
| Golden Globes anoint Facebook flick Posted: 17 Jan 2011 05:00 AM PST RICKY Gervais kicked off the night the only way he knew how. In a hilarious, mocking, piercing monologue at the start of the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, you could almost hear people shifting uncomfortably in their seats as the creator of The Office made fun of Scientologists, Hugh Hefner, Cher, two-dimensional acting in The Tourist and even the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the show's organiser, whose members were recently accused of accepting bribes. "It's going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking," he said. "Or as Charlie Sheen calls it, breakfast." Robert Downey Jr, an actor who once would have been the target of this kind of joke, complained about the show's "meanspirited [tone] with mildly sinister undertones", but Gervais wasn't finished. Later, the British comedian turned to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, the so-called $7 billion man. "Heather Mills calls him the one that got away," Gervais said. And yet it was somehow appropriate to return the focus to Zuckerberg, the man whose life and career was the inspiration for the film that dominated the evening. While none of the six nominated Australians won awards, The Social Network beat its rival The King's Speech to win best picture (drama). In the first major ceremony of the awards season, regarded as a bellwether for the Academy Awards, The King's Speech emerged triumphant in only one, albeit significant, category, as Colin Firth scooped best actor for his role as George VI. In his acceptance speech, Firth said the award was the reassurance an actor of his age needed. "Getting through the mid-stage of your life with your dignity and judgment intact can be somewhat precarious," the 50-year-old said. "Sometimes you need a bit of gentle reassurance to keep on track . . . right now this is all that stands between me and a Harley Davidson." But this was The Social Network's night: it won four of the six categories it was nominated in. As well as best picture, it scooped best director for David Fincher, best screenplay for Aaron Sorkin and best original score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Last year, the winner of the best drama award at the Golden Globes, Avatar, was beaten to Oscar glory by The Hurt Locker. Still, The Social Network remains a strong favourite going into next month's Academy Awards. Fincher said he thought it was strange when The Social Network script came to him, as he usually makes dark character studies about misanthropes or films about serial killers. "I'm personally loath to acknowledge the kind of wonderful response this film has received for fear of becoming addicted to it, so suffice it to say, it's been really nice," he said. Sorkin, creator of television's The West Wing, also had kind words for Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg in the film. "Mark Zuckerberg, if you're watching, Rooney Mara makes a prediction at the beginning of the movie," he said. "She was wrong. You turned out to be a great entrepreneur, a great visionary and an incredible altruist." While The Social Network dominated, most key films came away with prizes. The main snub was for the sci-fi blockbuster Inception, a best-drama contender that had four nominations but lost them all. Johnny Depp, who had two nominations for best musical or comedy actor, also left empty-handed. As expected, Natalie Portman won best actress in the drama category for Black Swan, as a mentally tortured ballet dancer. In her acceptance speech, Portman joked that Benjamin Millepied, who choreographed the film and who is her fiance and the father of her unborn child, "totally wants to sleep with me". Mark Wahlberg's boxing movie The Fighter won two awards: Melissa Leo was named best supporting actress in a drama and Christian Bale won recognition as best supporting actor. They pushed out Australia's two main contenders: Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) and Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech). The other Australian nominees - Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette and singer Sia - also went home with nothing. But Weaver wasn't complaining, telling 3AW she had been forced to console David Michod, the "bitterly disappointed and shattered" director of Animal Kingdom. She said she was thrilled just to have been nominated, and that luminaries such as Mel Brooks, Quentin Tarantino, Sylvester Stallone and Annette Bening had sought her out to praise her work. "These are all people who have come up to me, without being introduced to me, to say, 'I loved your performance in the movie.' " The Kids are All Right, starring Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple facing upheaval when their sperm donor turns up, won best picture (comedy/musical) and Bening a best actress award. "I'm very proud to be part of this very special film about two women who are very deeply in love and trying to keep their family together," Bening said. Before announcing the best drama award, Michael Douglas, in his first significant public appearance since announcing his cancerous throat tumour had been successfully treated, said: "There has got to be an easier way to receive a standing ovation." And Robert De Niro received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures. The Globes also recognise the best in television: the hit series Glee, about a school glee club, won best comedy/musical, while two of its stars, Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch, also collected gongs. In a moving speech, Colfer, who plays gay teenager Kurt, dedicated his award to bullied children and to those who felt they could not express themselves. "Well, screw that," he said, brandishing his Golden Globe. In the drama category, Mad Men lost out to new HBO hit Boardwalk Empire, about mobsters in 1920s Atlantic City. Its lead star Steve Buscemi beat Jon Hamm, who plays Mad Men's Don Draper, in the best actor category. Additional reporting: The Times, AP This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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