The Golden Globe awards which are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press brought the stars of movies and television living rooms across America. Among the nominees, the cast of “Desperate Housewives,” “Arrested Development,” and Oscar hopefuls such as Jamie Foxx for his performance in “Ray,” Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed Howard Hughesin the biopic “The Aviator” directed by the legendary Martin Scorcese, arrived on the red carpet and waved to fans. The first award of the night went to Clive Owen of “Closer,” a surprise because the favorite had been Thomas Hayden Church for his role in the independent film, “Sideways.”
There had been much talk that “Sideways” would sweep, including Virginia Madsen for Best Supporting Actress, an award which went to Natalie Portman for her role as a stripper in “Closer.” Portman was nominated against Meryl Streep, who stepped up on stage later on to present an award, glared down at her and said, “Congratulations, Natalie,” and teasingly rolled her eyes, which caused an uproar of laughter among her peers. The rest of the motion picture category went as expected. Leonardo DiCaprio, usually overlooked by such awards, won Best Actor in a Drama for “The Aviator.” Jamie Foxx made a tearful speech thanking everyone from director Taylor Hackforrd to Ray Charles to his grandmother as he accepted Best Actor in a Comedy/ Musical for “Ray.” Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical went to Annette Benning for “Being Julia” and Best Actress in a Drama went to Hilary Swank for Clint Eastwood ʼs (who won Best Director and received a standing ovation) “Million Dollar Baby.” Best Picture Drama went to “The Aviator” and Best Picture Comedy/Musical went to “Sideways.”
The Oscar race has officially begun. The Golden Globes kicked off the season of award ceremonies with a teasing look into who could win at the biggest award show of the season. Frontrunners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx are favorites to win for Best Actor, but Leonardo has been shut out of these awards for a few years now, despite his ever-changing role in many films.
There is a lot of buzz that “Sideways” is a favorite to win for Best Supporting Actress, Virginia Madsen, and Best Actress will most likely go to previous Oscar winner for “Boys Donʼt Cry,” Hilary Swank. Best Director will probably go to Golden Globe winner Clint Eastwood or Martin Scorcese. More often than not, the Golden Globe winners reflect the Academy Award winners, or at least allow fans to predict who will be nominated and take their bets on who will win.
The Golden Globes are also a unique ceremony because they hand out awards to both television and movies. In the television category, Teri Hatcher took home the award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, a category in which she was competing with two of her other “Desperate” co-stars. Jason Bateman, running against Matt LeBlanc (“Joey”) and Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) thanked “future fans” of the show after winning Best Actor in a Comedy Series for the brilliant comedy “Arrested Development,” but the show unfortunately receives mediocore ratings.
Best Actor in a Drama Series went to Ian McShane for the HBO Series “Deadwood” and Best Actress in a Drama Series went to Mariska Hargitay for the spin-off “Law and Order, Special Victims Unit.” Earlier in the night, she had joked that she was a newbie to the awards scene and was obviously delighted when her name was called among fellow nominees like Christine Lahti (“Jack and Bobby”), Joely Richardson (“Nip/Tuck”), Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”) and Jennifer Garner (“Alias”).
Best Supporting Actress in a Series or Made for TV Movie went to Anjelica Huston, for “Iron Jawed Angels,” while William Shatner took home Best Supporting Actor for his work on “Boston Legal.”
“Nip/Tuck,” the cable series that puts a dizzying but sensational spin on plastic surgery, took home the award for Best Drama Series. The new hit, “Desperate Housewives, ” took the stage to accept Best Comedy Series, and where creator Marc Cherry gave a hilarious speech on his past disappointments (his agent was embezzling money and he thought he was a has-been) and how grateful he was to be there.
The Golden Globes were full of exciting moments, from the acceptance speeches to the glitz and glamour. With the award season well under way now, the Golden Globes started it off with a bang.