Newsman: Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical “The Fabelmans” and the understated Irish period piece “The Banshees of Inisherin” claimed the top prizes at the Golden Globe Awards.
The event returns to television and directly addresses the controversy that prompted its TV absence in 2022. The Globes came back to NBC this year after the network dropped the 2022 telecast, following a Los Angeles Times report exposing the lack of diversity within the organization that presents them and alleged ethical lapses by its members.
“I’ll tell you why I’m here: I’m here ‘cause I’m Black,” Carmichael said, in an opening monologue that drew uncomfortable laughter from the audience in the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The HFPA responded to the public criticism when the story broke in 2021 by enacting various reforms.
Host Jerrod Carmichael reminded the stars who flocked back to this year’s 80th Globes about the scandal that temporarily drove the show off of television, kicking off the telecast by introducing himself as “the Black face of an embattled White organization.”
Honored for his comeback role after a long acting hiatus, Quan expressed gratitude to Spielberg, who cast him as a child in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”Bassett spoke of the late Chadwick Boseman, and how the movies were part of his legacy.
Eddie Murphy delivered a low-key speech in receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award, before closing with a joke about Will Smith’s slap at the Oscars that was one of the several utterances during the night to require bleeping out expletives.
Receiving the career-achievement award in television, “Glee” and “American Horror Story” producer Ryan Muprhy spoke of his mission to bring LGBTQ characters to the screen, seeking to “take the invisible, the unloved, and make them the heroes I always longed to see but never did in pop culture.”
The Globes split their top film honors in two. “The Fabelmans” earned statues as both best drama and for Spielberg, his third Globe as a director, while “Banshees of Inisherin” won for best musical or comedy, as well for writer Martin McDonagh and star Colin Farrell.
Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams were also recognized for the best comedy winner, the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” the rare series on a broadcast network to make inroads in the awards arena. Among dramas, Zendaya earned another accolade for HBO’s gritty teen drama “Euphoria.”
Consisting of international journalists, the HFPA has traditionally favored European talent, a trend generally less evident this year. Farrell did win for “Banshees,” and Cate Blanchett for her role as the imperious conductor in “Tár.” Austin Butler was honored for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the biography “Elvis.”
Notably in terms of the controversy, five of the opening seven awards to performers went to people of color. That included Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan for the sci-fi comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and Angela Bassett for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the Marvel sequel. Both films were broadly popular, as opposed to the more narrowly skewed art-house fare that ruled most of the film categories.
The event also featured a recorded message from Ukrainian president Vlodymyr Zelensky, who made a similar appearance at the Grammy Awards in April.
