Awards Season
By Wesley Morris, Melena Ryzik and Cara Buckley January 10, 2016
- Highlights: The award for best movie drama went to “The Revenant,” while Leonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson won for best actor and actress. “Mr. Robot” won for best TV drama. Ricky Gervais was the host.
- See red carpet photographs; read our fashion review.
- Read our full report on the Golden Globes 2016, a list of the winners and our review of the show.
Video: By NBC
It’s safe to say that few had a more demanding job than the poor soul or souls left in charge of controlling NBC’s live telecast delay tonight.
Starting with the very first presenting duo and continuing on through the awards show, stars used a wide variety of profanity onstage.
The networks have incentive to catch and edit the blue language before it reaches the audience: Over the years, celebrities’ use of the so-called fleeting expletive during live events has resulted in several run-ins between networks and the Federal Communications Commission.
The last notable case at the Golden Globes was in 2003, when the singer Bono uttered an expletive while accepting an award. Bono’s language prompted the Federal Communications Commission to issue a warning to producers that broadcasts of even fleeting indecency were subject to punishment. In the years since, networks have tussled with the government over what punishment means.
Earlier in the evening, Quentin Tarantino accepted the award for best score for “The Hateful Eight,” the movie he wrote and directed. The winner was the 87-year-old Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who has won the award twice before, in 2000 and 1987.
In his speech, Mr. Tarantino said that Mr. Morricone had never won an award for a movie that he’d done, and viewers were quick to point out the mistake.
Mr. Tarantino also called Mr. Morricone his favorite composer — “I don’t mean movie composer, that ghetto” — he told the crowd, which quickly earned him some criticism on social media.
Others were delighted to see Jamie Foxx walk up and deadpan the word.
Look @ Regina King's & Jamie Foxx face when Quentin Tarantino use the word #Ghetto I'm like did he really say that https://t.co/sIDjgabeFa
— Latrice Butts (@latricebutts) January 11, 2016
Jamie Foxx is the real MVP. Called out #GoldenGIobes for essentially lacking diversity & Quentin Tarantino for saying "that ghetto."
— Denice Frohman (@denicefrohman) January 11, 2016
Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s been nominated for 10 Golden Globes and who now has won three, appeared before reporters with the director Alejando G. Iñárritu, each man looking assured, almost amused and deeply relaxed.
Then they began to lavish superlatives upon each other.
Mr. Iñárritu said Mr. DiCaprio gave him “the best experience as a director,” a statement that caused Mr. DiCaprio to laugh. Mr. DiCaprio said his experience working with Mr. Iñárritu paralleled the way Jack Nicholson felt working with Stanley Kubrick.
“He’s of the ilk of great lovers of cinema,” Mr. DiCaprio said, “with enthusiasm and a commitment to making things as authentic as he possibly could. He was ferocious in that.”
Mr. Iñárrita beamed.
Mr. DiCaprio was also asked about the movie’s most infamous scene, the bear attack, and whether he and the bear (it was C.G.I.) had discussed the scene beforehand and whether they’ve spoke since.
“I’m not supposed to talk in great detail about how’s that done,” Mr. DiCaprio said, adding, “Alejandro watched over 100 bear attacks. It’s almost like virtual reality. It almost awakens other senses.”
Jennifer Lawrence, who at 25 is an old hand at being on awards stages and backstage in front of roomfuls of reporters, was typically candid after being asked whether she felt bad beating her pal Amy Schumer. “She’s going to be fine. She’s funny and hilarious,” Ms. Lawrence said, “I just expected that she was going to win.”
The pair had been expected to dress the same, a plan that Ms. Lawrence said she blew by talking about it publicly, thus wrecking the surprise.
“We wore our own thing. I hope you were satisfied by our presentation,” she said, “Though it seems like you weren’t.”
Next up was Lady Gaga, who won the Globe for her performance in “American Horror Story.” She was also nominated for the song she contributed to the documentary “The Hunting Ground.”
Is she hoping to be among the Oscar nominees announced early Thursday?
“Shall we take it just a day at a time, dear?” she asked. “I wrote that song with Diane Warren. It was intended to make people, in a time of sadness, comforted when they were not understood.”
Wesley Morris
Melena, have you seen the Instagram photos of a Revenant screening/sleepover that Oprah Winfrey hosted? The people who love this movie *love* it. Apparently, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had an ecstatic sleepover, too. I’m milder about it, but Mr. DiCaprio’s best actor speech, in which, at the end, he makes seemingly sincere acknowledgement of American Indians who play a larger more contemplative role in that movie and asserts that they deserve more from this country. Bravo. Still, this is a movie about the suffering of a man played by Mr. DiCaprio.
Melena Ryzik
Wesley, somehow my invitation to that Oprah shindig got lost in the mail (or buried in my Instagram feed of cute animals). “The Revenant” was a breathtakingly beautiful film wherein Mr. DiCaprio did most of his acting wordlessly, or, if you prefer, in the snuffling and wheezing he added in post. But he is 41 and has been campaigning for awards for more than 20 years, since he was first nominated as a teenager for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” Looks like he’s at last got the hang of it.
Melena Ryzik
Thoughts on the rest of the night?
Wesley Morris
AT LAST. Thoughts? The casts of “Tangerine” and “Transparent” probably know where Ricky Gervais lives. Jamie Foxx was right to call Mr. Tarantino out for the use of the word “ghetto” in lionization of Mr. Morricone and, I’m afraid, it’s “Sacheen Leofeather” from here on out. Shalom, Melena. Shalom, readers.
Melena Ryzik
Shalom to you too; thanks everybody for following along! And in the spirit of the telecast, [bleeeeep].
The actor wins for his role in “The Revenant.”
Stephanie Goodman
Take note of the response in the room to Leo’s win. The Globes aren’t usually predictive of anything, but that applause comes from people who may well be Oscar voters. That bear attack was worth it.
Melena Ryzik
Mr. DiCaprio’s speech was the tryout for the Oscar stump speech, and he checked every box: the tearing up; paying tribute to the director, cinematographer and, crucially, the makeup artist (the below-the-line guild members like to be remembered, too!); and the greater-than-myself message about indigenous peoples.
The actress wins for “Room.”
Stephanie Goodman
Brie Larson’s lately been a front-runner — for the Globes and the Oscars too, but points to Eddie Redmayne for pronouncing Saoirse Ronan’s name correctly.
Leo, the Oscars are coming. You might not want to mess with your karma (or with @ladygaga) #GoldenGlobes https://t.co/XwJSBdLGxT
— Racked (@Racked) January 11, 2016
Wesley Morris
So, Melena, you’re one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s people and you know that the Internet is having a field day with a virally circulated GIF of your boss/client/bro recoiling in horror as Lady Gaga grazes his arm on her way to the podium to accept her award. Do you tell him to apologize backstage? Do you tell him to mention that he didn’t recoil at all when Ms. Henson gave him one of her cookies? Do you enjoy seeing him roast even as he accepts his likely best actor prize? I ask because there’s a kind of honesty that I’m sorry to see mega-GIF’ed because it might be too real. Realer than Ms. Henson’s realness. And Mr. DiCaprio’s horror at Ms. Gaga feels too real.
Melena Ryzik
Mr. DiCaprio is so Teflon that that GIF will probably not hurt his chances — in the statuette business, or in the Hollywood pecking order. Anyway, have you heard that he ate an actual raw bison liver? Doesn’t get realer than that. At least when Hollywood is concerned. And for the rest of us, that GIF is obviously going to be the best part of the night.
Is a best actor win for “The Revenant” in the cards? An analysis of search trends data among Google users in the U.S. shows that viewers at home think Leonardo DiCaprio has a lock on the best actor, drama, category. But, clearly, the data also shows that viewers still think the best actress category is anyone’s game.
Although viewers don’t have a vote (voting is reserved for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association), they’re probably not wrong. Prognosticators have had Mr. DiCaprio winning for some time now, and have been divided about best actress.
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox; Video: By MEKADO MURPHY
The film was directed by Ridley Scott, who accepted the award.
Wesley Morris
So yeah, yeah. “The Martian” wins best comedy, and, to accept, Ridley Scott gives a speech in which he mentions that he was thrilled with his movie’s “cume” until “The Force Awakens” opened. That’s utterly, refreshingly Mr. Scott. Commerce is his art: “Take that, Alejandro.”
Jennifer Lawrence wins for her role in “Joy.”
Melena Ryzik
Those old-school filmmakers don’t need to pretend that they only want to make movies even if nobody sees them, as Jennifer Lawrence said David O. Russell does. They’re after the butts in seats, as the industry likes to say.
Taraji P. Henson wins for her role in “Empire.”
Melena Ryzik
Points to Taraji P. Henson for accessorizing with pastry. Is a sentence I never thought I’d write about a Hollywood actress.
Wesley Morris
True! She’s the realness.
The filmmaker wins for “The Revenant.” Our feature on the director.
Melena Ryzik
How did Denzel forget his glasses? He also forgot he was getting a lifetime achievement award for performance, apparently, but no one will care because the love for Denzel knows no bounds.
Wesley Morris
On the bright side, Mr. Washington’s forgetting his glasses means this show just dodged 15 minutes!
Wesley Morris
Seriously. What does it say about the moral temperature of this show and this town when Mr. Gervais’s joke about how he’d rather have a drink in a hotel room with Mel Gibson than Bill Cosby is meant mockingly to put things into grisly perspective, and then Mr. Gibson comes on and says that he loves seeing Mr. Gervais occasionally because it reminds him to get a colonoscopy and we tip our hats to *him*? The only person daring to go toe to toe with him is a man with antisemitism, racism, and misogyny in his past. This is nauseatingly, fascinatingly complex stuff.
Melena Ryzik
Wesley, we can now relax about the moral temperature of the Beverly Hills Hilton ballroom because Tom Hanks is on stage giving an award to Denzel Washington. And all is right with the world, or at least that’s the hope of the producers who programmed this lineup.
Wesley Morris
You’re right. Somebody’s earned their money with sequencing. I appreciate/chuckle at Tom Hanks’s declaration that Denzel Washington is part of an exclusive club of stardom: basically, his. That, as they say, is baller.