With the 2025 Golden Globe Awards taking place on Sunday night, Emilia Perez, Conclave and The Brutalist are all asserting themselves as front-runners in this unruly awards season.
About two-thirds of the way into the show, “Emilia” had won three awards, with “Conclave” and “The Brutalist” taking home the top screenplay and director awards, respectively.
Zoe Saldaña, starring Emilia Perez, won in the supporting actress category, taking home the first award of the night. The actress received recognition for her role as a lawyer who helps a drug lord transition in Jacques Audiard’s dramatic musical released by Netflix. Director Emilia Perez hopes to win best comedy or musical against fellow front-runners Wicked and Anora to put her on track to win the best picture Oscar in March. Netflix has never won the top Academy Award.
“My heart is full of gratitude,” Saldaña said in a tearful speech, as well as co-stars Selena Gomez and Carla Sofia Gascón, who were all nominated, and director Audiard’s “Strength, Complexity.” , and his undeniable talent.” globe. It was Saldanha’s first time winning a Globe Award in his first nomination.
However, soon after, Peter Straughan defeated Emilia for Best Original Screenplay, and the conclave regained momentum. Focus Features’ twisty papal drama is on track to win Best Drama at the Globes and the ultimate Oscar.
Brutalist director Brady Corbet won Best Director, and since the Globes don’t separate categories into Drama and Comedy/Musical, the Best Original Screenplay award was also exclusive. The immigrant epic starring Adrien Brody came out of nowhere at the Venice Film Festival, captivated audiences and critics, and was acquired by A24.
Corbett also paid tribute to director Jeff Baena and Baena’s widow Aubrey Plaza, who passed away this weekend, in an emotional speech, saying, “A few months ago,[the film]was in pretty bad shape.” He spoke at
This season’s awards race has been particularly competitive, with films as diverse as Wicked, Anora, Emilia Perez, Conclave, September Five, and The Brutalist consistently leading the pack. There is.
Emilia Perez won another award for Best Original Song for “El Mal,” Saldana’s Camille’s impassioned ode to hypocrisy in the fight against drug trafficking. “Songs are butterflies. We need butterflies, even if it’s to denounce the corruption in the world,” Camille said from the podium. Original score honors went to The Challengers and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ nerve-wracking beats in the tennis-set suspense thriller.
Honors in languages other than English were also given to Emilia, but at least last year’s awards did not overlap with the Oscars. In accepting the award, Audiard gave the most political speech of the night on behalf of feminism and transgender rights, announcing that in 2025, ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump’s new administration, American audiences will have “nerves of steel.” ”, but did not specifically request it. name.
Audiard also said, “If the world had more sisters, it might be a better place,” and said the project would be a tribute to “powerful and passionate women like Carla Sofia Gascón.” He dedicated his victory to transgender people and urged them to “stand for what they believe in.” I will continue to fight with my head held high. ” The speech brings a political element to the campaign and could galvanize Academy members who want to send a message to the incoming administration.
After missing out on two acting nominations, Wicked won the Globes for Best New Film and Box Office Performance, taking home the first awards of the night. However, although Barbie won the first Globe, she has since only won one Oscar for singing, so this award is a bit controversial, at least judging from last year.
In accepting this year’s award, Wicked director Jon M. Chu said: Even in times when cynicism and pessimism rule this planet, we can still make art that is a radical act of optimism. ”
The standout speech of the night came from Demi Moore, who won Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for her role as an aging celebrity who gambles on a rare pharmaceutical drug in “Substance,” her first Globe win. .
“In this moment when we don’t feel like we’re good enough,” she said. “Know that you will never be enough on your own, but you will know your worth just by putting down a measuring stick.”
Moore said a producer who told her 30 years ago that she was a “popcorn actress” caused psychological damage to her. “Over time, it started to eat away at me,” she said. It wasn’t until the Substance script crossed her desk that she regained her confidence.
Shortly after Sebastian Stan won Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for his role in A Different Man, another dark comedy with body modification elements, similar to Substance, arrived. “Our disregard and discomfort around disability and disfigurement must end now,” he said, referring to Trump’s origin story, “The Apprentice,” which many actors are reluctant to talk about. Also mentioned.
“These are difficult topics, but these films are real and necessary and cannot be feared or turned away from,” he said.
The Animation Award went to director Gintz Zylbarodis’ dialogue-free, cat-focused environmental fable with serious indie credentials, “Flow.” The film was made in Latvia and outperformed bigger-budget productions from Pixar and Universal.
“Thank you for accepting our little cat movie,” he said.
The Best Supporting Actor award went to Kieran Culkin for his role as a free-speaking castaway on a Holocaust history tour in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, released by Searchlight. Culkin was a front-runner for the Oscar, and the Globe win continued to bode well for him. Culkin has had a productive 12 months at Groves. He won Best Actor in a Drama a year ago for Succession, and now has two awards under his belt.
Culkin has been nominated for four Globes, but never won, since his role in the early 2000s indie hit Igby Goes Down. “My first recognition as an actor was when I was nominated for a Golden Globe as a kid,” he said, referring to that moment.
Elsewhere at the show, Jodie Foster won Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for her role in HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, her fifth Globe win ever , Colin Farrell won in the male category for his transformation in The Detective. Penguin is also available on HBO.
Netflix’s Shogun also did well on the TV front, with stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano winning Best Actor in a Dramatic TV Series and Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic TV Series, respectively. “You don’t know me. I’m an actor from Japan. My name is Tadanobu Asano,” Tadanobu Asano said in a jubilant speech.
“The Hucks” star Jean Smart won Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical, continuing the momentum of her win for Best Actress in a Comedy Series at September’s Emmy Awards. Sunday night’s Max Show also won the Emmy for Best Comedy. Baby Reindeer’s Jessica Gunning won Best Supporting Actress for Netflix’s intense stalker drama, after also winning an Emmy. Richard Gard’s show also won Best Miniseries, Movie or Anthology Series on Sunday night. Jeremy Allen White, who starred in The Bear, followed up his Emmy win with a double win for Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical. (Here is the complete list of previous Globe winners.)
Host Nikki Glazer opened the show with a monologue inside the Beverly Hilton, and even with the odd Harrison Ford moment, it seemed to go better than last year’s hastily arranged performance by comedian Jo Koy. It was.
“I’m not here to roast you tonight. What should I do?” Mr. Glaser asked, noting how powerful everyone in the room was. “You can really do anything except tell the country who to vote for.”
The monologue was a little Wicked-like. “I can’t talk about movies tonight without talking about ‘Wicked,'” she said, before delving into the musical blockbuster for a moment. Glaser was nominated but did not win the award for Best Television Stand-up Special. That honor went to Ali Wong.
The Globes’ voting body was restructured ahead of last year’s show, with more than 330 international journalists replacing the roughly 85 clubbing voters of the defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Despite its weak track record, last year’s show was a relatively strong Oscar prediction, winning Best Drama (Oppenheimer), Best Actor in a Drama (Cillian Murphy), Best Actress in a Comedy (Emma Stone), and Best Director. proved to be a person. (Christopher Nolan), screenplay (Anatomy of a Fall), and animated film (The Boy and the Heron) all go on to win well-deserved top awards at the Oscars.
Golden Globe producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.
This will continue in the future.
