Golden Globes: 'Nomadland' wins best film, Netflix dominates
March 1, 2021
Netflix dominated the TV series awards, while Nomadland picked up two gongs at the virtual ceremony. Healthcare workers and first responders were on the guest list instead of the stars, who dialled in from home.
"Nomadland" and Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" were among the winners at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.
Chloe Zhao's film won the awards' top prize for best drama. The 38-year-old also bagged the best director gong.
She made history by being only the second woman to do so in the history of Hollywood's traditional awards season opener.
"Thank you everyone who made it possible to do what I love," Zhao said at the ceremony that was held virtually owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Her semi-fictional film stars Oscar winner Frances McDormand alongside a rag-tag bunch of non-actors who truly live on the open road, working mostly menial jobs to scrape by off the grid.
British comedian takes swipe at Trump, Golden Globes
Britain’s Sacha Baron Cohen, who shot to fame in the late 1990s for his Ali G character, picked up two awards.
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A scene from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm that won best comedy filmImage: Amazon Studios/ZUMA Press/Imago images
The sequelto his 2006 movie Borat won best musical or comedy film, while he won the gong for best comedy actor.
"Thank you to the all-white Hollywood Foreign Press Association," the 49-year-old comedian said in his video acceptance speech.
Baron Cohen took aim at the 87-member group of international journalists that doles out Golden Globes each year, which has faced criticism for its lack of diversity.
"Wait, Donald Trump is contesting the result. He's claiming that a lot of dead people voted, which is a very rude thing to say about the HFPA," he joked.
Late Black Panther star wins best actor
Elsewhere, Chadwick Boseman was posthumously named best actor in a drama film for his performance in Ma Rainey's "Black Bottom".
His wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the award on his behalf, after the Black Panther star's death last summer from colon cancer.
"The United States Vs. Billie Holiday" star Andra Day was named best actress in a drama film for her portrayal of the jazz singer.
Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for his performance in "Judas and the Black Messiah".
The star plays US activist Fred Hampton in the film, the chairman of the Black Panther Party who was assassinated in 1969 at the age of 21.
Netflix storms the Globes
Gillian Anderson won an award for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in 'The Crown'Image: Des Willie/Netflix/picture alliance
The Crown, a Netflix production was the big winner in the television categories, winning four prizes in total, including best drama series.
Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin both won acting prizes for their performances as Prince Charles and Princess Diana respectively.
Netflix dominates 2021 Golden Globe nominations
From "The Crown" to "The Trial of the Chicago 7," the streaming giant received 42 nominations, while Sacha Baron Cohen and Frances McDormand got expected best performance nods.
Image: Des Willie/Netflix/AP Photo/picture alliance
And the winner is … Netflix
With a whopping 22 nominations for movies and 20 for its TV series, streamer Netflix is set to dominate the 2021 Golden Globes. With COVID-19 shuttering cinemas worldwide, home viewing has skyrocketed and Netflix's offerings from "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," to "Mank" and "The Trial of the Chicago 7" (pictured), have been hugely successful — both critically and commercially.
Image: Niko Tavernise/Everett Collection/picture alliance
A sing-off between Ma Rainey and Billie Holiday
Actress Viola Davis and singer Andra Day have both been nominated for their portrayals of singing powerhouses. Davis (pictured) plays the titular role in Netflix's biographical drama "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," about the influential blues singer, while Day has created a buzz in "The United States vs. Billie Holiday," which documents the great jazz singer's struggle with addiction.
Image: David Lee/Netflix/AP/picture alliance
Female directors finally rule
Only five women have been nominated for best director at the Golden Globes to date, the last being Ava DuVernay in 2014. This year, three out of the five nominees are women. They include Chloe Zhao (pictured) for critically acclaimed "Nomadland," actress-turned-director Regina King for "One Night In Miami," and Emerald Fennel for "Promising Young Woman."
In "Nomadland," two-time Oscar winner McDormand stars as an unemployed woman who opts for a nomadic life, traveling through the American west in a van. Based on the 2017 non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, it also features real-life nomads as fictionalized versions of themselves. "Nomadland" is an early Oscar favorite, having won top prizes at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/20th Century Studios/Biennale di Venezia
Royal acting
In Season 4 of Netflix's "The Crown," two more iconic female characters were added to the riveting royal drama: Princess Diana, played by Emma Corrin, and Margaret Thatcher played by Gillian Anderson. Corin and Olivia Colman, who plays Queen Elizabeth, have been nominated in the best actress category, while Anderson and Helena Bonham-Carter have been nominated for their supporting roles.
Image: Des Willie/Netflix/AP Photo/picture alliance
Borat provides comic relief — and moral compass
Both Sacha Baron Cohen and his "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" received nominations for best actor and best comedy respectively. As outrageous as it is, Borat has been described as a "brave comedy" — if anything for that infamous hotel-room encounter with lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Cohen was also nominated for best supporting actor for his more serious turn as a defendant in "The Trial of the Chicago 7."
Image: Everett Collection/picture alliance
Posthumous nomination for Chadwick Boseman
The late actor, who died in August 2020 at the age of 43 after a three-year battle with colon cancer, was nominated for his explosive final role as ambitious trumpeter, Levee, in Netflix’s "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." It is the first Golden Globe nomination for the star of the hit film "Black Panther."
Image: David Lee/Netflix/Everett Collection/picture alliance
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Gillian Anderson was named best supporting actress in the series for her portrayal of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
The US streaming giant scored further wins for "The Queen's Gambit", picking up the awards for best limited series and best actress with Anya Taylor-Joy.
Canadian series Schitt's Creek followed up its Emmys sweep with best TV comedy.
A virtual Golden Globes
The ceremony, which recognizes excellence in film and television, was held without the glitz and glamour of previous years because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Golden Globes hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.Image: NBC/AP/picture alliance
Nominees dialed in from home over videolink to the event hosted by comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
But this year's live audience included frontline healthcare workers and first responders to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Golden Globes are the first major event of the awards season. They are seen as a good indicator of which films will go on to Oscar glory.
