‘Nomadland’ and ‘Borat 2’ Win Big at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
The 78th Golden Globe Awards were celebrated with a hybrid ceremony hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The two hosts were live from separate locations: Fey performed at New York City’s Rainbow Room, whereas Poehler took the stage at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The hosts were joined by several notable presenters, including Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ben Stiller, Renee Zellweger, Angela Bassett, and Sean Penn.
None of the evening’s nominees or winners were present for the awards. Instead, the Globes maneuvered from screen to screen from each person’s home. Those located overseas were noticeably tired and/or dressed down for the live occasion. Jane Fonda, who was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, was the only person to give an acceptance speech in front of a live audience. In both the Rainbow Room and the Beverly Hilton ballroom, first responders were given front row seats to the action.
Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” officially took hold of awards season frontrunner status after it was named Best Picture - Drama, becoming the first film directed by a woman to win that award in Globes history. Zhao also won the prize for Best Director, becoming only the second female to ever win the directing award. Barbra Streisand won Best Director for 1983’s “Yentl”.
Other historic moments during the evening included:
Andra Day winning the Best Actress - Drama award, becoming only the second Black actress to win that award (Whoopi Goldberg was the first when she won for “The Color Purple” in 1986).
Daniel Kaluuya, who won Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, is now the first British-born Black actor to win a Golden Globe for a film.
Similarly, John Boyega’s win for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Movie marked the first time a British-born Black actor won that award.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s win for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie meant she is the first woman of Latin descent to win in that category.
Chadwick Boseman is now only the second actor to win the Best Actor - Drama award posthumously. The first was Peter Finch, who won for 1976’s “Network”.
Playwright Kemp Powers, who won for co-directing “Soul”, became the first Black filmmaker to win a Golden Globe for their debut film.
Sacha Baron Cohen, who won Best Actor - Comedy or Musical for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”, is now the only actor to ever win the same category twice for playing the same character. He previously won the award for playing Borat in the 2006 film.
Speaking of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”, the Amazon Studios release is the first film in either Best Picture category to win after debuting on a streaming service, instead of with a theatrical run. It is also the first live-action sequel to win the Best Picture - Comedy or Musical category.
As mentioned earlier, Chloé Zhao made lots of history during the awards. In addition to becoming only the second woman to ever win Best Director, she is also the first woman of color to win the award. Her film is also the first directed by a woman to win a Best Picture Golden Globe. And, Zhao is the first Asian woman to win the Best Picture Golden Globe as a producer.
As for the evening’s biggest surprises, Day winning the Best Actress - Drama award was the most shocking. Those who follow awards season were undoubtedly expecting either Carey Mulligan or Frances McDormand to earn the prize. Day’s win now shakes up how the upcoming Oscar nominations could look like. Additionally, Rosamund Pike winning Best Actress - Comedy or Musical means Maria Bakalova may not be the Oscar lock everyone thought. On the film side, the win for “Nomadland” doesn’t change much. It’s the films that didn’t earn as much attention, like “Mank”, who are in trouble. Even “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, which won the Best Screenplay award for Aaron Sorkin, may not be the heavy-hitter Netflix was banking on.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
Best Motion Picture, Drama
NOMADLAND
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
Best Director, Motion Picture
Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Andra Day, THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Rosamund Pike, I CARE A LOT
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Jodie Foster, THE MAURITANIAN
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Daniel Kaluuya, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Aaron Sorkin, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Best Score, Motion Picture
Jon Batiste, Atticus Ross, Trent Reznor, SOUL
Best Song, Motion Picture
”Io Si (Seen")”, THE LIFE AHEAD
Best Motion Picture, Animated
SOUL
Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
MINARI, USA
Best Television Series, Drama
THE CROWN
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
SCHITT’S CREEK
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Emma Corrin, THE CROWN
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Josh O’Connor, THE CROWN
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Catherine O’Hara, SCHITT’S CREEK
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Jason Sudeikis, TED LASSO
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Anya Taylor-Joy, THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Mark Ruffalo, I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in Television
Gillian Anderson, THE CROWN
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in Television
John Boyega, SMALL AXE
Cecil B. DeMille Award
Jane Fonda
Carol Burnett Award
Norman Lear
