Viola Davis, Atlanta and Ross Win LaLa Land Dances to Globe History

The 2017 Golden Globe Awards touted more nominees of color than in its whole 74-year history! How wonderful is that!!!  Big winners of the night included Viola Davis, Donald Glover, Tracee Ellis Ross and the cast of Moonlight.   Pilot season will definitely be a different animal on the heels of this news. Glover declared he “grew up in a house where magic wasn’t allowed” has now exceeded his and his father’s wildest dreams with his double win for Atlanta.

I thought I wanted to break out in a rousing chorus of “We Shall Overcome”,  when the long overdue recognition came to Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross saying, “This is for all the women of color…with stories outside where the industry usually looks”.  Yaaaassss Miss Ross…you said THAT!!!!

Viola Davis, “The Black Queen of Hollywood” made me stand just a bit prouder when she said in honoring her friend and legend with the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, “My Body. My Face. My Age is enough…I, as an artist came to live out loud”.

Dame Meryl Streep, not one to shy away from having an opinion and expressing it, used her opportunity to blast a certain President-Elect for his bullying habits, lack of empathy and overall ignorance.  She also encouraged artists to stand up for each other, foreigners and the press.

As I predicted early on…the chick I likened to France’s version of Streep…Isabellle Huppert and her Director Paul Verhoeven took home top honors for Foreign Actress and Director.  Upon accepting her statue, Huppert piggy backed on Meryl’s message to the President-elect saying “Do NOT expect cinema to set up walls and borders”.

LaLa Land and it’s Director Damien Chazele swept the night winning in every category it was nominated. Best Actress (Emma Stone) and Actor (Ryan Gosling) in  Musical or Comedy Motion Picture, Director and Best Screenplay  for Damien Chazele and  Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture.  A cast that also stars Oscar and Grammy winner John Legend, the Lionsgate feature beat the previous record for most Golden Globes won by a single film.  Prior to Sunday, that achievement was shared by the 1975 release One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nestand the 1978 movie Midnight Express,with six wins apiece.

Of course, it didn’t get past me when Brad Pitt came out to introduce” Moonlight” as one of the Best Pic Noms that he is not only that film’s producer, but produced and starred in 12 Years a Slave a few years back.  Good for you Brad Pitt on contributing to telling stories of African-Americans and being consistent about it.

It goes without saying that I am profoundly disappointed that Hidden Figures didn’t get more  love, but Moonlight went home with the Best Motion Picture Drama award I was elated.

Funniest moments of the night both belong to host Jimmy Fallon when the teleprompter broke at the top of the show and his flashy opening musical montage homage to LaLa Land (complete with car choreography) had me rolling . By far, the most moving moment of the night was  a singular tribute to the late great Carrie Fisher and her Mom Debbie Reynolds, who passed away within 24 hours of each other at the tail end of 2016.

Click below for the full list of winners…

Best supporting actor in a motion picture

 

• Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
• Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
• Simon Helberg, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
• Dev Patel, “Lion”

• WINNER: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, “Nocturnal Animals”

 

Best actor in a TV Series, drama

 

• Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”
• Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul“
• Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”
• Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

• WINNER: Billy Bob Thornton, “Goliath”

 

Best actress in a TV series, comedy

 

• “Rachel Bloom, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
• Sarah Jessica Parker, “Divorce”
• Issa Rae, “Insecure”
• Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”

• WINNER: Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish”

 

Best TV series, comedy

 

• WINNER: “Atlanta”

• “Black-ish”
• “Mozart in the Jungle”
• “Transparent”
• “Veep”

 

Best actress in a limited series or TV movie

 

• Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”
• Riley Keough, “The Girlfriend Experience”

• WINNER: Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson”

• Charlotte Rampling, “London Spy”
• Kerry Washington, “Confirmation”

 

Best TV movie or limited series

 

• “American Crime”
• “The Dresser”
• “The Night Manager”
• “The Night Of”

• WINNER: “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

 

Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie

 

• Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

• WINNER: Hugh Laurie, “The Night Manager”

• John Lithgow, “The Crown”
• Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”
• John Travolta, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

 

Best original score, motion picture

 

• Nicholas Britell, “Moonlight”

• WINNER: Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”

• Johann Johannsson, “Arrival”
• Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka, “Lion”
• Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch, “Hidden Figures”

 

Best original song, motion picture

 

• “Cant Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls”

• WINNER: “City of Stars,” “La La Land”

• “Faith,” “Sing”
• “Gold,” “Gold”
• “How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana”

 

Best supporting actress in a motion picture

 

• WINNER: Viola Davis, “Fences”

• Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
• Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
• Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”
• Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

 

Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie

 

• WINNER: Olivia Colman, “The Night Manager”

• Lena Heady, “Game of Thrones”
• Chrissy Metz, “This Is Us”
• Mandy Moore, “This Is Us”
• Thandie Newton, “Westworld”

 

Best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy

 

• Colin Farrell, “The Lobster”

• WINNER: Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”

• Hugh Grant, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
• Jonah Hill, “War Dogs”
• Ryan Reynolds, “Deadpool”

 

Best screenplay, motion picture

 

• “Hell or High Water”

• WINNER: “La La Land”

• “Nocturnal Animals”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “Moonlight”

 

Best animated feature film

 

• “Kubo and the Two Strings”
• “Moana”
• “My Life as a Zucchini”
• “Sing”
• “Trolls”

• WINNER: “Zootopia”

 

Best motion picture, foreign language

 

• “Divines”

• WINNER: “Elle”

• “Neruda”
• “The Salesman”
• “Toni Erdmann”

 

Best actor in a limited series or TV movie

 

• Riz Ahmed, “The Night Of”
• Bryan Cranston, “All the Way”

• WINNER: Tom Hiddleston, “The Night Manager”

• John Turturro, “The Night Of”
• Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson”

 

Best actress in a TV series, drama

 

• Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”

• WINNER: Claire Foy, “The Crown”

• Keri Russell, “The Americans”
• Winona Ryder, “Stranger Things”
• Evan Rachel Wood, “Westworld”

 

Best TV series, drama

 

• WINNER: “The Crown”

• “Game of Thrones”
• “Stranger Things”
• “This Is Us”
• “Westworld”

 

Best director, motion picture

 

• WINNER: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”

• Tom Ford, “Nocturnal Animals”
• Mel Gibson, “Hacksaw Ridge”
• Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
• Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

 

Best actor in a TV series, comedy

 

• Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
• Gael Garcia Bernal, “Mozart in the Jungle”

• WINNER: Donald Glover, “Atlanta”

• Nick Nolte, “Graves”
• Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

 

Best actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy

 

• Annette Bening, “20th Century Women”
• Lily Collins, “Rules Don’t Apply”
• Hailee Steinfeld, “The Edge of Seventeen”

• WINNER: Emma Stone, “La La Land”

• Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

 

Best motion picture, musical or comedy

 

• “20th Century Women”
• “Deadpool“
• “Florence Foster Jenkins”

• WINNER: “La La Land”

• “Sing Street”

 

Best actor in a motion picture, drama

 

• WINNER: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”

• Joel Edgerton, “Loving”
• Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
• Denzel Washington, “Fences”

 

Best actress in a motion picture, drama

 

• Amy Adams, “Arrival”
• Jessica Chastain, “Miss Sloane”

• WINNER: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

• Ruth Negga, “Loving”
• Natalie Portman, “Jackie”

 

Best motion picture, drama

 

• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “Hell or High Water”
• “Lion”
• “Manchester by the Sea”

• WINNER: “Moonlight”