The 79th Golden Globe Awards took place last night, but you'll be excused for not knowing it happened.
For the first time in decades, the Golden Globes did not come with a televised event attended by the biggest celebrities in Hollywood. As reported at MovieWeb last year, NBC decided not to air the awards show in 2022 due to various controversies regarding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's lack of inclusion and transparency, which peaked with a "Time’s Up" campaign to protest the HFPA’s lack of Black membership. Since then, the HFPA has vowed to become "a better organization and an example of diversity, transparency and accountability in the industry."
Even before this controversy, the Golden Globes were always known for their left-field choices, often rewarding films, TV shows and artists who were not expected to win – and this year was no exception. While some things went as expected (Succession and The Power of The Dog did well in the big Drama categories), there were still plenty of shocking moments. Let's explore this year's surprises and snubs, and try to understand how this affects the Oscar race.
Suprise: Nicole Kidman Took Best Actress in a Drama
A big surprise came from one of the most important categories of the night, Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), where Nicole Kidman won her sixth Golden Globe for her role as Lucille Ball in Being The Ricardos. For every surprise, there is a snub, and this category was expected to be Kristen Stewart's thanks to her expressionistic and highly-acclaimed turn as Princess Diana in Spencer. For the last few years, the former Twilight star has been working with some of the best directors in the world, making her into an indie darling, and Spencer seemed to be the perfect way to reward her pivot into serious acting. However, Stewart will have to wait longer as the Golden Globes decided to reward Kidman instead. This is an important victory for Kidman, who received a lot of backlash for portraying the iconic Lucille Ball, but she has proven her detractors wrong and continues to cement herself as one of the best actresses of her generation.
Snub: No Love for Supporting Actress Kirsten Dunst
Much like Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst started this award season as a favourite to win the Supporting Actress category for her fantastic work in The Power of The Dog. The actress has one of the most iconic and diverse filmographies in Hollywood and has proved her acting chops in Melancholia, the second season of Fargo, and Marie Antoinette. Her role in Jane Campion's highly-acclaimed movie seemed like the perfect opportunity to reward her, as argued by The New Yorker, but then the Golden Globes happened, and Ariana DeBose took the award for her role in West Side Story. This is not as shocking when one considers that The Globes often prefer big and bombastic roles, which DeBose provided with her singing and dancing talents in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the musical. If the Globes are any indication, it seems that critics are choosing to reward The Power of Dog in other categories (Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor), so it seems that Dunst and her fans might have to wait another year.
Surprise: Belfast Won Best Screenplay
While Belfast was nominated for seven awards, the most of any film along with The Power of The Dog, not many actually expected the film to take any home, especially the Best Screenplay award. In fact, most bets had been placed on Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, which has been receiving rave reviews specifically for its whimsical script and witty dialogue. Perhaps Kenneth Branagh's screenplay is more in line with the tastes of the HFPA, as it tells a story about Catholic and Protestant conflict in Belfast during The Troubles in Northern Ireland in a warm and overly sentimental way. Still, many were seeing this as the best category to reward a master like Paul Thomas Anderson, but it seems he has more competition than previously thought.
Snub: Beyoncé Lost To Billie Eilish
If the 2020 Grammy's taught us something, it was to never underestimate how much critics and award shows love Billie Eilish. However, Beyoncé is Beyoncé, so many still thought that the music legend would win the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The "Single Ladies" songstress was nominated for her song "Be Alive” from the film King Richard, about Venus and Serena Williams' father. Billie Eilish's song "No Time to Die” from the James Bond movie of the same title had been a favourite since it was released back in early 2020, though, and she even performed at the Oscars a couple of years ago. So Eilish's song seems to be deserved and she will likely win the Oscar as well, but it's still shocking to see Beyoncé Knowles lose to Billie Eilish. Perhaps a new rivalry is brewing in the world of pop music?
Surprise: Hacks Wins Best Comedy Series
The HBO Max series Hacks was one of the most critically-acclaimed indie darlings of 2021 but for many, the show was just that-- an indie darling that couldn't compete with bigger shows. So it was quite a surprise when Hacks won against shows like Ted Lasso, The Great and even Only Murders in The Building. Hacks had a fantastic night, considering that its star Jean Smart also won the highly-competitive Best Actress in a Comedy category.
Snub: WandaVision Goes Home Empty-Handed
This snub goes all the way back to December when it was announced that the critically-acclaimed TV show was only nominated for Elizabeth Olsen's and Paul Bettany's performances. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be everyone's cup of tea, it was one of the most-talked-about shows of the year, so it was surprising to see the Golden Globes shun a show that combined commercial and critical appeal. Not shockingly, Olsen lost the Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series category to a much-deserving Kate Winslet, who absolutely killed it in her role as Mare in The Mare of Eastown. Bettany lost to the great Michael Keaton in Dopesick in the underseen. So, this marks another year in which Marvel failed to translate its commercial appeal into awards.
Surprise: O Yeong-su Recognized For His Work in Squid Game
Many were pleasantly surprised when O Yeong-su took home the trophy for Best Supporting Actor — Television for his role in Squid Game. While it is true that Squid Game was one of the biggest shows of the year, the South Korean actor had the disadvantage of competing against Hollywood stars like Kieran Culkin in Succession and Brett Goldstein in Ted Lasso. Still, the actor defied the odds and won the award for a role that is entirely in Korean, which begs the question of whether the Golden Globes are finally widening their scope (as the Oscars has recently done) to reward a more diverse group of people, which is what people have been demanding all along. In that case, maybe we'll see a Golden Globes next year.