The big winners at this year’s 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards included an Omaha native’s work, a 21st century silent film and one of film’s biggest names. Ricky Gervais hosted the award ceremony for the third time, which took place Jan. 15.
The award for Best Picture – Drama – went to “The Descendents.” This film was directed by Alexander Payne, an Omaha native most known for his previous movie “Sideways.” The movie also won George Clooney his third Golden Globe award. Clooney plays a land owner in Hawaii who learns that his comatose wife was cheating on him. Clooney previously won for his performances in “Syriana,” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou.”
“The Artist” snagged the award for Best Picture – Comedy or Musical. “The Artist” also won for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy or Musical for Jean Dujardin. The film is a black and white silent movie. This year marks the first time a black and white movie has won a Golden Globe since 1994, when “Schindler’s List” won.
Best Director went to Martin Scorsese for the film “Hugo.” “Hugo” marks the first time the iconic director has made a 3-D movie. Most of Scorsese’s previous movies have been gritty dramas, such as “Goodfellas” and “Gangs of New York.”
Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical went to Michelle Williams for her role as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn.” Marilyn Monroe won the same award 50 years earlier for her role in “Some Like It Hot.”
The big losers this year were “Moneyball” and “War Horse.” Brad Pitt was an early front-runner for the Oscar for his performance as Billy Bean in “Moneyball.” “Moneyball” failed to win any of the four categories it was
nominated for.
As for the television portion of the awards, the shows “Homeland” and “Modern Family” found their home.
Showtime’s “Homeland,” which won the award for Best Drama last year, won Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. This was Claire Danes third Golden Globe Award. She has previously won for her performance as the title character in the film “Temple Grandin” and for Best Actress in a Drama series for “My So-Called Life.”
Kelsey Grammer won his third Golden Globe for his stint on “Boss,” beating out last year’s winner Steve Buscemi. Buscemi won for his role on HBO’s “Boardwalk.”
On the lighter side of television, ABC’s hit comedy “Modern Family” finally won the Best Television Series, comedy or drama award. It has been nominated for the past two years but had always lost to Fox’s musical comedy “Glee.”
Matt LeBlanc, famous for his role as Joey on NBC’s “Friends,” won the award for Best Lead Actor in a comedy series. He won for his portrayal of himself on Showtime’s British-American comedy “Episodes.”
Overall, the 69th Annual Golden Globes contained some surprises and increased the buzz for the Academy Award nominations, which came out Tuesday.