As the golden hue of the lights shine down on the stage, a variety of artists step out to announce the winners of the Golden Globes, January 11. Dating back to 1944, the awards ceremony celebrates the film and television industry. Several categories honoring actresses and actors between drama and musical/comedy films. This year’s Golden Globes was different from the past as shocking wins and controversial takes.
The January night kicked off with a fierce monologue from standup-comedian and television host Nikki Glaser. She reportedly took jabs at the broadcast company CBS as the “newest place to see B.S. news” who was slammed with an editing scandal in late 2024. She also made remarks on the Department of Justice with regards to the Epstein Files.
While many of her jokes landed and brought tons of laughter, some of hers were wildly inappropriate and she later revealed more that she cut from her act. Other than the few which weren’t received well, many thought she was a good host and even paid a small tribute to the late director Rob Reiner for the first big award show of the season.
Not only does the event highlight the performers, the Golden Globes showcase the talents of the composers, directors and studios behind each television show and movie.
Warner Bros. Discovery accounted for nine total wins, the highest of the participating studios and Netflix followed with six wins.
The television show “Adolescence” and action comedy film “One Battle After Another” led the awards show, both receiving four globes. The films “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” “Sinners,” “The Secret Agent” and “Hamnet” all won two, in addition to two television series “The Studio” and “The Pitt” also receiving two awards.
One movie that seemed to receive massive amounts of attention was “One Battle After Another” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The movie follows the story of an ex-revolutionary and his daughter, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s postmodern novel Vineland. Known for the 2007 period drama “There Will Be Blood,” Anderson accepted the award for Best Director, Best Screen Play and Best Motion Picture Film for comedy or musical. Another win for the movie comes from singer and actress Teyanna Taylor as the Best Supporting Actress for her role as Perfidia Beverly Hills.
Swedish composer and producer Ludwig Göransson received the award for Best Original Score for his work in “Sinners.” The movie observes the lives of two brothers who after leaving the Chicago crime world return to their Mississippi home town where they encounter an eminent evil. The decision to cut Göransson’s acceptance of the award from television sparked widespread outrage from the public, and even well known composer Hans Zimmer. In an interview with Deadline writer Antonia Blyth, Zimmer relayed his disappointment.
“We are the psychological underbelly of the whole thing,” Zimmer said. “The composer has such an important role in the films… Our first job is to remind him why he did this film in the first place.”
While the controversy led to public anger, Göransson’s win is widely-recognized and many expect him to receive another award at the Oscars.
Audiences quickly fell in love with the intense historical drama film, “Hamnet.” Directed by Chloé Zhao, the movie explores the story of love and loss following William Shakespeare and his wife losing their young son Hamnet. As the story progresses it shows how Hamnet’s death was a turning point for Shakespeare and his writings, even being the cause of him writing the now famous tragedy, Hamlet.
Zhao was completely stunned as her emotional film took the award for Best Motion Picture and also the Best Actress for a Drama film went to Jessie Buckley who played Shakespeare’s grieving wife. Buckley expressed her gratitude towards the cast and crew of “Hamnet”, highlighting Tomasz Sternicki, Julia Roberts and the 400 extras. She ended her speech by saying she feels honored and she loves what she does.
A movie that took the world by storm, starting with K-Pop fans, took home a golden globe as the Best Motion Picture for an animated film. “K-Pop Demon Hunters” instantly won the hearts of many music fans with catchy and brilliant rhythms and songs, including the chart-topping song “Golden.” The song was honored again at the event as the Best Original Song. Director Maggie Kang wanted the film to display the bold and strong nature of women and her co-director, Chris Appelhans explored how the movie was significant with its music in the acceptance speech.
“The film is a love letter to music,” Appelhans said. “To the power it has to connect us, to make us see some kind of shared humanity, which we could use in the world these days.”
The hit song couldn’t have come to life without singer-songwriter Kim Eun-jae (otherwise known as EJAE.) She relayed how she always dreamed to become a K-Pop Idol one day but believed her voice wasn’t good enough. Now, taking home a golden globe alongside Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, Eun-jae’s dream has come true and her song stands as an inspiration to young people to carry through hardship and accept themselves.
Overall, the 83rd Annual Golden Globes presented a myriad of rising stars and entertainment for the public to indulge in. While some debates arose about Glaser’s comments or the decision to not air Göransson’s acceptance speech, the night was universally viewed as an enjoyable night. The next entertainment awards shows on the calendar are the 68th Grammy Awards on February 1, the 98th Academy Awards on March 15 and June 7 are the 79th Annual Tony Awards.
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