And the winners are …
'Beautiful' and 'Rouge' win big at Globes
By Geronimo Rodriguez
Daily Cougar Staff
A Beautiful Mind, the film about schizophrenic genius John Nash, was
one of two big winners at the 59th Golden Globe awards on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Russell Crowe won for best actor in a drama for his performance
in A Beautiful Mind. The film itself won the award for best picture — drama.
The film won for best drama, best actor (Russell Crowe), best screenplay
(Akiva Goldsman) and best supporting actress (the beautiful Jennifer Connelly).
If
Beautiful came up empty-handed by any means, it would be for Ron Howard
not winning the best director trophy.
Gosford Park's Robert Altman took the award for best director. Considering
the nominees, this may have been the biggest surprise to most, but Altman's
efforts have long been unappreciated.
Completing the list of winners for the drama category were Sissy Spacek,
who won best dramatic actress for In The Bedroom, and Jim Broadbent, who
garnered the best actor in a supporting role award for his performance
in Iris.
Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge was the other big winner of the night, as
the musical won for best motion picture -- musical or comedy, best actress
for a
musical or comedy (Nicole Kidman) and best original score.
It wasn't much of a surprise to hear Royal Tennenbaums star Gene Hackman's
name called when they presented the award for best actor in a musical or
comedy. It was just more of a surprise that Ewan McGregor's excellent
effort in Moulin Rouge didn't earn the award.
If everything goes as planned, Beautiful and Rouge will topple the competition
at the Academy Awards later this year while finding one another in a dead
heat for the best of anything.
Isn't it strange how awards ceremonies define the term "best?" This
is just one question that boggles the minds of many regarding awards ceremonies.
How can Beautiful win four Golden Globes in the top categories and not
win best director for Ron Howard? This isn't to say that Altman's directing
effort in
Gosford didn't deserve the Globe for best director. It's simply a question:
What is it exactly that award shows are praising?
If Altman were given a few points for sentimentality, it would be understandable.
The veteran director, who created M*A*S*H, has established himself as a
constant director of fine films in the industry. But where are the
awards for the cast of Gosford Park, or the writers of the film?
Also, this isn't a sport or even a competition where points are tallied
throughout a movie for a rough directing shot, or even for an actor's emotional
bit. It's
truly impossible to sincerely rate four or five films, all of which
deal with different issues, and choose the best film.
Especially this year, there hasn't been one film nominated for any award
given thus far that has had a true edge over on the competition.
In this case, the only advantage Beautiful had over the other films
nominated for best motion picture was that it addressed the true life story
of an ailing
genius.
And don't think Crowe won the best actor award for his performance in
the film simply due to the story being based on real events.
If picking up a script about a true story was the key to winning an
award, then Denzel Washington should have won every award his performance
in 2000's
Hurricane was nominated for.
The truth about awards ceremonies is that, at the end of the night,
when those nominees toss out their prepared speech that went unread, they
are losing
nothing. And for the winners, well, the winners will enjoy a bonus
in their future contract negotiations.
As for television, two actors whose faces were once plastered on the
covers of those teen magazines made their way to the stage to accept awards.
Charlie
Sheen won for Spin City in the best comedic actor category, while Kiefer
Sutherland won for best dramatic actor in the new series 24.
Sheen, who is more known for his film work in the '80s and his rehab
stints, had the best quote of the evening when he described his feelings
after winning
the award by saying, "This is so surreal. This is like a sober acid
trip."
Relative newcomer Jennifer Garner won the best dramatic actress award
for Alias, while HBO's comedic Sex and the City and dramatic Six Feet Under
garnered the rest of the awards handed out for television accomplishments.
It is worth mentioning that both The West Wing and The Sopranos went
the whole evening without winning an award.
As for the miniseries categories, Tom Hanks' project Band of Brothers
won best miniseries. Hanks co-produced and directed a couple of the shows
as well.
Both Judy Davis and James Franco received the best acting for a miniseries
awards for Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows and James Dean,
respectively.
