Girls Night at the Golden Globes; Affleck Also Wins Big

The big winners of the night were undoubtedly a couple of girls, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who both confirmed what everyone already knew when they were announced as host of the show months ago, that they were going to be THE reason to tune in. While I wished they were used more throughout the show, their opening monologue killed especially with hilarious barbs against a couple of James, Cameron and Franco. Whenever they appeared, witticisms just came out of them delighting not just the room, but as my twitter timeline could attest, the millions watching at home. Really if the entire show had been just them riffing with each other, the Golden Globes would have been the best. But alas awards were given out...

Best Motion Picture, Drama: Argo
Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical: Les Misérables
Best Director: Ben Affleck, Argo
Best Actress, Drama: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actress, Comedy or Musical: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actor, Comedy or Musical: Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Best Animated Film: Brave
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Screenplay: Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Best Score: Life of Pi, Michael Danna
Best Song: "Skyfall," Skyfall

Les Misérables was the night's top film netting three wins for Picture, Actor, and Supporting Actress. It was a great showing for the divisive musical who had to go up against Weinstein-backed Silver Linings Playbook which still walked home with an award for Actress for Jennifer Lawrence. For Drama, Argo was tops taking home Picture and Director, giving Hollywood's newest golden boy Ben Affleck two wins probably making that Oscar snub sting less. The love was spread around though as all of the other films got some love with Lincoln and Zero Dark thirty picking up Actor and Actress respectively, Django Unchained surprising with two awards for Screenplay and Supporting Actor, and Life of Pi not walking home empty-handed with its win for Score. Amour and Adele, who just wanted a night out with friends, predictably won their categories while Brave took home its first major award of the season. Prediction-wise, I did pretty respectably getting 9 of 14. But now the question must be asked, what does this mean for Oscars? With Affleck's win here and at the Critics' Choice, he and his film would be the absolute front-runner now except for the small detail of him not getting a Best Director nomination from the Academy. Top film Les Misérables also didn't get a Director nomination, which means the race is as confusing and exciting as ever!

Best TV Series, Drama: Homeland
Best TV Series, Comedy: Girls
Best Actress, Drama: Claire Danes, Homeland
Best Actress, Comedy: Lena Dunham, Girls
Best Actor, Drama: Damian Lewis, Homeland
Best Actor, Comedy: Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Best Mini-Series or TV Movie: Game Change
Best Actress, Miniseries/TV Movie: Julianne Moore, Game Change
Best Actor, Miniseries/TV Movie: Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Best Supporting Actor: Ed Harris, Game Change

The big loser tonight on the TV side would have to be the broadcast networks as they were completely shut out unless you count PBS's lone win for Downton Abbey's Maggie Smith. The rest of the winners came from cable or premium channels with Best Show honors going to Game Change, Homeland, and Girls. Actors, like Smith, who repeated their Emmy wins from a few months back include Julianne Moore, Damian Lewis, Claire Danes, and Kevin Costner. But it was Girls' creator Lena Dunham who made the biggest splash by winning Actress and for her show winning Best Comedy. In terms of predictions, I got a pretty good 8 of 11, but I could've done better if I had just remembered that the HFPA just loves to reward the new, fresh thing (Girls) as well as movie stars (Don Cheadle, Kevin Costner, etc.). But still, can the broadcast networks mount a comeback?

As for the rest of the show, I think it went pretty swimmingly. As I said above Fey and Poehler were just dynamite and I feel ever so sorry for Seth McFarlane trying to top that at the Oscars. Bill Clinton made a fun surprise guest appearance to present Lincoln enabling the Hollywood people present to be sufficiently starstruck while Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger presented an award to Austrian Michael Haneke. And then there was "girl" of the night, Jodie Foster who had everyone buzzing with her sincere and idiosyncratic speech as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille award wherein she talked about one's right to privacy as she announced that she already came out "about a thousand years ago, back in the stone age." For that speech and for many more, this 70th Golden Globes will certainly be remembered in years to come.