Golden Globes Recap: “La La Land” & “Moonlight” Make History; Streep Calls Out Trump

By: Anthony Hernandez

Last night, all the Hollywood star power was in one place for one of the biggest award shows of the season: the Golden Globes, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association which honors achievements in film and television. With an open bar and a somewhat more lax demeanor, the Globes have traditionally been Hollywood’s “fun” party – less formal (and some would say, stuffy) than the far more prestigious Academy Awards – especially due to the lack of inhibitions.

Host Jimmy Fallon kept things light and was a solid presenter, though he lacked some of the comedy clout of past hosts (namely Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) and stumbled during a teleprompter malfunction. Mostly though, he kept it fresh and funny – even keeping the political jokes to a minimum.

This year’s Golden Globes saw history made. La La Land – the joyous cinematic love letter to falling in love, and this year’s front-runner for Best Picture at the Oscars – took home all seven of the awards for which it was nominated. It was a historic sweep, and the largest haul in Golden Globe history. Midnight Express set the record of six awards in 1979, and no film since has won more than four.

La La Land took home awards for Best Musical Score, Best Original Song, Best Director & Best Screenplay (Damien Chazelle), Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical (Emma Stone), Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical (Ryan Gosling), and Best Picture – Comedy/Musical. It was an incredible achievement for a well deserving film. Moonlight, another one of this year’s best films, went on to win Best Picture – Drama, and also made history as the first win for an African American in the category.

While the Golden Globes have, over the past decade or so, become less of a solid predictor for the Oscars, this year – one cannot deny the power behind the narrative for La La Land’s front-runner status. We still have 48 days until the Oscars, and we still need to wait for the Guilds to weigh in, but it’s probably safe to say that this is the movie to beat. Probably…

Best Foreign Language Film went to the powerhouse Elle, which not only beat out some other incredible nominees – including the wonderful biopic Neruda – but also went on to surprise in the Best Actress Category. It was thought to be a two-or-three-way tie between Natalie Portman for Jackie, Amy Adams for Arrival, or even Jessica Chastain for Miss Sloane. But it was Isabelle Huppert who took home the gold for her incredible turn in Elle. A deserving win.

Game of Thrones was, well… knocked off its throne as reigning champ at the Golden Globes by losing Best Television Series – Drama to Netflix newcomer The Crown, which also beat out Stranger Things in a less than surprising, but not any less disappointing, turn of events. Best Television Series – Comedy went to Atlanta.

All the awards aside, the most memorable part of the evening was the speech delivered by Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Meryl Streep – who, in a powerful, defiant act called out President Elect Donald Trump (without actually saying his name) for his less than admirable acts that are not befitting the office for which he will hold. She called him out for his apparent mocking of a disabled NY Times news reporter, as well as offered up a warning to the press and the world that our freedoms of speech could be on the line if we do not stay vigilant.

“We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call him on the carpet for every outrage. That’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in the Constitution,” she said.

Check out the full list of winners below:

Movies

Best Picture, Drama: Moonlight

Best Picture, Comedy/Musical: La La Land

Actress, Drama: Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Actor, Drama: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

Actress, Comedy/Musical: Emma Stone, La La Land

Actor, Comedy/Musical: Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences

Supporting Actor: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals

Director: Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Screenplay: Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Best Animated Film: Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film: Elle (France)

Original Score: Justin Hurwitz, La La Land

Original Song: “City of Stars,” La La Land

Television

Best Series, Drama: The Crown (Netflix)

Best Series, Comedy/Musical: Atlanta (FX)

Best TV Movie or Mini-Series: The People v. OJ Simpson, American Crime Story (FX)

Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series: Sarah Paulson, The People v. OJ Simpson, American Crime Story

Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series: Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager

Actress, Drama: Claire Foy, The Crown

Actor, Drama: Billy Bob Thornton, Goliath

Actress, Comedy/Musical: Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish

Actor, Comedy/Musical: Donald Glover, Atlanta

Supporting Actress: Olivia Colman, The Night Manager

Supporting Actor: Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager

Watch for our continued coverage of the 2017 Awards Season, as well as our list of top 10 movies of 2016 coming soon!