11/09/2007

Monday, January 14

It was, without a doubt, the strangest Golden Globe Awards in memory. When the Writers Guild of America, the union that represents writers for film and television that has been on strike for the past two months, announced that they would set up picket lines at the event, top actors and directors (who belong to their own unions) announced that they would not participate and cross the picket lines. So, the live event was cancelled, as was the television broadcast of it (the first time that has ever happened).

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Not only was there not the lavish and extravagantly catered affair at the Beverly Hilton, but no actors, writers or directors were present to make acceptment speeches. In fact, the whole event was nothing more than a glorified Press Conference and some rather boring (and ratings challenged) telecasts on NBC, CNN and some other media outlets. In spite of the Writers Guild strike, the Awards were indeed announced (if not handed out, I guess they are all on a UPS truck somewhere in the San Fernando Valley) and there were both juicy surprises and expected predictions, with European talents making big waves that could continue to Oscar night next month (provided that is not cancelled due to the strike).

The lavish wartime drama Atonement [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (a UK/US co-production based on the bestseller by English novelist Ian McEwan) won Best Drama--Motion Picture and Best Score. An even bigger surprise was the double win by the French language The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], which won Best Foreign Language Film and a Best Director award for Julian Schnabel. The film is not even competing in the Foreign Film Oscar race, since France did not choose it as its film representative (the choice instead was the animated memoir Persepolis [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Marc-Antoine Robert
interview : Marjane Satrapi, Vincent P…
fiche film]). THE DIVING BELL can and will attempt to get nominations in all the other categories, including Best Picture, with a massive campaign now underway by its US distributor Miramax Films.

European actors cleaned up in the acting categories. Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor/Drama honors for his portrayal of an oil magnate in turn of the century USA in the acclaimed THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Winning the Best Actress/Drama award was UK screen veteran Julie Christie, for her moving portrayal of a woman who loses her memory in the Canadian film AWAY FROM HER. Hot Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who better be shopping for his Oscar duds, took Best Supporting Actor honors for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, which also won a Best Screenplay prize for its writers/directors Joel and Ethan Coen. The French actress Marion Cotillard surprised many by being named as Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for her role as Edith Piaf in LA VIE EN ROSE [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film].

This win makes her inclusion on the Oscar list a much surer thing.

The Oscar race is certain to include most of the above named actors and films, with several European productions also being touted for Best Foreign Language awards. We will have to patiently wait just two weeks more when the nominations for the Academy Awards will be announced on the morning of Tuesday, January 22nd.

By Sandy Mandelberger, North American Editor