Post-Globes riff

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The Golden Globes awards confirmed two things: (a) there will be no sweeping victory by anyone or anything come Oscar night, and (b) the Globes are getting a bit staid and tidy -- almost Oscarish in their decorum. Once upon an ass-time the Globes were regarded as a kind of alcoholic, loosey-goosey fuck-all thing, but there was almost no snap or rudeness or exhilaration in any of it. No real verve, raunch...no extraordinary pocket-drop eloquence... the pulse refused to race or even swerve. The winners, the speeches and the patter were almost all mid-tempo; ditto the parties.

The stuffed-shirt Oscars are going to be even more so, of course. (If only Sarah Silverman was set to host the show along with the Spirits!) The idea of getting out of town tomorrow night and starting in with the Sundance Film Festival , which I've done almost no preparation for, suddenly feels like some kind of fresh-water antidote. Clean out the detritus, bring in the '07....up and away.

The best part of my evening was sitting in a plush Beverly Hilton hotel room as I watched the show live-time, and then attending the Paramount after-party. Lots of warmth, affection and contentment -- only one discordant note involving a big-name actor and a big-time producer that I'm not going to relay in detail, but seemed indicative of an extremely strange bend in the personality of the actor.

The only bolt moment for me was when Babel took the Best Drama trophy -- deserved, no question, but a surprise because the spirit voices were constantly saying Departed, Departed, Departed over the last few days. (Maybe I need to get down with different spirits.)

Paramount Pictures chairman/CEO Brad Grey, Warren Beatty

If it hadn't been for the "balls" motif in two speeches -- Sacha Baron Cohen's acceptance and Tom Hanks' tribute to Warren Beatty -- and the occasional flubs (Eddie Murphy almost forgetting DreamWorks topper Stacey Snider's name, Jamie Foxx relaying the outdated information that Dreamgirls was playing on 800 screens), I would have been bored silly.

After the Paramount party the coolest place to be was the Beverly Hilton lobby. It was the nexus that everyone passed through on their way to and from the various soirees -- passing along info on where they'd been, were going, how crowded the last bash was, etc. Plus there was no music to get in the way of conversation, and no-drink-in-the-hand felt like the right thing.

The Little Miss Sunshine team captains -- co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, screenwriter Michael Arndt -- were lobby-hanging when I happened to walk by. Easy-time vibes all around. (I firmly believe that the Best Picture Oscar race is between LMS, The Departed and maybe The Queen.) We laughed about the pork-pie hat item I wrote a few days ago, etc.

Exterior of the Paramount after-party

I don't know that Dreamgirls has a new lease on life exactly, but I presume last night's Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy win will give it a shot at the box-office, and that's good. (Babel, also, will presumably benefit from its win in the Drama category.) As one player was heard to say, "If Dreamgirls hadn't won last night, we would have been fucked...the wolves would have all ganged up on the gazelle...snarling neck holds, But that didn't happen, thank God."

By the way: before the show started I saw a SWAT guy on the roof of the Beverly Hilton with what looked like a high-powered rifle with a scope.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 16, 2007 at 8:17 AM

comment #1

vansmith says ...

can u add a little more detail on the big time actor and producer who were in a tiff, maybe subject matter and some easy hints, i also heard the night was fairly tame...give us a little juice please..

Posted by vansmith at January 16, 2007 10:16 AM

comment #2

Chris D. says ...

My thoughts exactly, Jeff. I remember years ago when the Globes were broadcast on a local NY station. They had two cameras at most covering the action and a drunk Catherine Deneuve digressed from the script to discuss Roman Polanski. Peter Morgan came close.

Posted by Chris D. at January 16, 2007 10:22 AM

comment #3

le corbeau says ...

Sarah Silverman, god yes. I couldn't help but think that hiring Ellen DeGeneres was a sort of response to what a hilarious nervy job Silverman did on the Independent Spirits last year-- a totally lame response, that is. Maybe she'll surprise me, but right now DeGeneres is the part of the show I'm least looking forward to.

Posted by le corbeau at January 16, 2007 10:30 AM

comment #4

Craig Kennedy says ...

Riddle me this Oscar prognosticator types (you know who you are): Are we supposed to look at the Globes as an Oscar bellweather or as an actual influence on Oscar voters?

Posted by Craig Kennedy at January 16, 2007 10:41 AM

comment #5

JD says ...

Like everyone else, I'm sick of seeing actors recite their lines and behaviour from a script. The best thing about the Golden Globes used to be the rambling, unpredictable speeches, but this year they were actually cutting people off. If they gave every award recipient two rules, the show could be improved immeasurably: 1) they can't thank more than 3 people and 2) they can talk for however long they want. I really wish more people would pull a Peter Morgan or Sacha Baren Cohen and just tell a story or discuss a topic. It's great to see how different celebrities respond to this stuff.

Posted by JD at January 16, 2007 10:46 AM

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

The paparazzi and gossip press are slaughtering the likes of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Danny DeVito, Nicole Richie, etc. for any alcohol-related incidents. It's hardly surprising that everyone is minding their p's and q's when they know there are cameras trained on them.

Posted by Rich S. at January 16, 2007 10:51 AM

comment #7

dobbsy says ...

We need an investigative reporter to figure out how the Globes became so boring as a) an event and b) a set of selections. Stodgy as a Shriners convention in Des Moines.

Contributing to this year's torpor:

1) The foreign language folks got their little tiny breathing space invaded by Hollywood (Iwo Jima and Apocalypto) so the fresh air they might provide was taken away. I love Iwo Jima, so I can't complain too loudly, but it does feel like the Power suppressed the Newbies.

2) Mirren/Whitaker juggernaut. Can you imagine the energy in the room had O'Toole been there/won?

3) The fading Dreamgirls train took two acting slots away from more deserving performers/films and the enthusiasm for that film had already peaked a week before Globes night.

4) Beaaaaaaaaaatty.....20 min. history lesson sucked the life out of the room. Instead of Hanks, he should have been introduced by Tarantino and they should have had FUN instead of the mausoleum approach.

5) Babel; if there was ever an example of getting spinach for dessert, this was it. It wins nada nothing zippo zip and then BEST PICTURE. How deflating is that?

6) Hire some writers for the damn show. This is Hollywood. Get it together.

Remember when Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep vamped at the Oscars and did their bit as if they were in an Altman film? That's the kind of thing you remember, even if the films suck and none of the choices are exciting. At least there can be a couple of moments onstage with verve and vigor.

But NOOOOOOOOOO....

Wake me when it's time to go to the Kodak Theatre.....

Posted by dobbsy at January 16, 2007 11:00 AM

comment #8

Craig Kennedy says ...

Ok, I answered my own question so please continue to ignore my original post including the fact that I don't know how to spell 'bellwether'.

I caught the last hour of the show and did not regret the fact that I went to Children of Men for a 2nd time instead of watching the first 2/3s of the Globes. I came in during what appeared to be Act 2 of Beatty's ramble. Cohen was funny but the rest was pretty flat.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at January 16, 2007 11:06 AM

comment #9

MathewM says ...

"The best thing about the Golden Globes used to be the rambling, unpredictable speeches, but this year they were actually cutting people off."

I disagree. Hardly anyone cares about the speeches--most just watch to see how the celebrities look and to see who wins. Besides if the show runs over time it kills viewership for the local evening news that follows.

Posted by MathewM at January 16, 2007 11:27 AM

comment #10

Craptastic says ...

Beatty's speech/intro clips killed the whole show. It was flowin' like a river until the mummblin' bastard smashed the breaks with that loooong, pointless speech.

Posted by Craptastic at January 16, 2007 11:56 AM

comment #11

cobhome says ...

ok - so why didn't pitt and blanchett show for the Babel love fest at the Paramount party??

Posted by cobhome at January 16, 2007 12:38 PM

comment #12

Craptastic says ...

They had a baby to rescue.

That guy's gotta be the most whipped individual on the planet

Posted by Craptastic at January 16, 2007 1:01 PM

comment #13

dre says ...

Beatty started off strong but the rambled waaaay too long. Our live diary and recap almost ran out of space he took so long.

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=5100

Posted by dre at January 16, 2007 1:05 PM

comment #14

corey3rd says ...

The Globes need to be moved to the week after the Oscars - this way everyone can just kick back and not be so uptight that they are being judged in this "Jr. Pagent." Move it to mid-March and let the folks who have spent the previous month on the award circuit have a chance to just show up and hang out.

Posted by corey3rd at January 16, 2007 2:37 PM

comment #15

T. S. Idiot says ...

The incident to which Chris D. refers is my most memorable awards-show moment. At the 1975 Globes, Catherine Deneuve announced that Polanski had won best director, Bob Evans came onstage to accept for RP, and the two began a rambling conversation about whatever entered their minds until host John Davidson stepped in and said, "Thank you, Maggie and Jiggs," a reference to an oldtime comic strip. It was hilarious.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at January 16, 2007 2:44 PM

comment #16

christian says ...

if angelina jolie was my woman, i would be whipped cream.

Posted by christian at January 16, 2007 6:46 PM

comment #17

cleopatrajones says ...

I hadn't watched the Globes in the last 5 years. I usually just wait until the next day to find out the winners but I turned in this year for the Pitt and Jolie show and all the PDA during the show's broadcast did not disappoint. It also kept me watching what turned out mostly to be a snoozefest.

I don't know if they had anything to do with the ratings (probably Borat and Dreamgirls had something to do with it too lol) but the Globes came in #1 last night beating 24' which is up 7% from last year and 20% from 2005.

Posted by cleopatrajones at January 16, 2007 8:57 PM

comment #18

jbf81 says ...

That guy's gotta be the most whipped individual on the planet
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Actually, their kids were still wake , so they went to home to put them in bed. I am sorry^, but what was wrong in stay way from Hollywood party life and have a family life, they bash celebrities for not having a stable personal life and bash celebrities for trying to have a stable family life. He is Brad Pitt, do you think he never went to a party before? Maybe now all he wants to do is having a family.

Posted by jbf81 at January 17, 2007 11:59 AM

comment #19