Golden Globes: my favourite awards kick off awards season

Getting around the country I love that each place in the US has a different vibe and plays to a different tune. There is absolutely no questioning that LA’s tune is celebrity and Hollywood.

We define the year not by the seasons but by what’s going on in Hollywood—awards season, pilot season, hiatus (which is fast becoming obsolete with TV shooting longer and subscription shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black breaking traditions). And so it goes on.

Then there are the sub themes like the weather and rain (or lack thereof) and who’s spotted who (as in celebrity spotting) around town and who lives where.  (Ironically it rained again for the Golden Globes but unlike for the Oscars when that’s all we talked about for days it wasn’t mentioned at all—too much else to talk about).

The Golden Globes are by far my favourite awards. Firstly it covers both TV and movies, secondly there’s drinking going on at the tables and last but not least it was the first awards show I got to attend. OK technically I “only” went to the after-party (thank you Warner Bros and In Style can’t wait for my next invite).

Yep, this time last year I was standing in a queue to get into said after-party.  It all looks glamorous and fun but there’s a lot of standing around and waiting.  The celebs get into the parties first (naturally).  Each event you go into there’s a red carpet so at the Warner Bros after party you not only have to queue to get in but you have to queue to get your pic taken.

You’re feeling on top of the world: you’re holding a much-coveted ticket to the party, you’re in the door, your ticket is real (I don’t know why but it’s a little nerve-racking waiting for them to OK your ticket) and in front of you there are paps EVERYWHERE. They’re each yelling out at the celebs to look their way to get that winning photo. And then our group walks past.  In unison the paps put down their cameras and start talking amongst themselves.  Nothing says you’re a “nobody” more than that.  Deflate ego.

I reckon we had to wait nearly an hour to get into the party. There was a lot of whining and whining and a lot of “do they know who I am?” whispering. Knowing I wasn’t anyone (and just so happy to be in that queue—hey at least it was inside) I realised I had the best “seat” in the house.

You see anyone who was anyone was walking past us. I was trying so hard to write down everyone I saw but there wasn’t enough time so I had to rely on my memory. Some of my highlight spots were Chris O’Donnell, Julianna Margulies, Sofia Vergara, Orlando Bloom and Jared Leto among so many, many more.  At one stage we couldn’t keep up with everyone it was out of control.  Cue utter excitement and a lot of pinching of self and husband.

My biggest highlights were 1) being at a party with the biggest A-listers in the business 2) meeting and chatting to a couple of stars of Downton Abbey and having a great chat to newly married couple Liam McIntyre and Erin Hasan 3) going to the toilets and getting my L’Oreal goody bag and Rollasoles then 4) finding the VIP lounge (which I was allowed into!) by accidentally following (not stalking there’s a subtle difference) Rhianna trying to sneak a pic of her (which I didn’t manage to get) and 5) having a two-second conversation with Taylor Swift and taking a pic with her and my mate (then wondering why tf I didn’t get in on that pic).

I’ve been here 17 months now and going to the Golden Globes is still up there in my top three experiences here in LA. God Bless LA and self-indulgent awards shows.

Hail Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

How good are they? They are so good. Between them and Ellen doing the Oscars women in comedy are absolutely rocking it. It’s not often you want more of the hosts at an awards show and I (and the rest of the Twittermunity) just wanted more. And trying to work out how we get them to come back next year. Let’s start with Bill Cosby. Yep, they went there.

“In Into the Woods, Cinderella runs from her prince, Rapunzel is thrown from a tower for her prince and Sleeping Beauty… just thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby.”

(Did you see Julianne Moore’s reaction when they went there?).

North Korea didn’t get off either. “Tonight we celebrate all the great television shows we know and love, as well as all the movies that North Korea was OK with.”

And then canning The Interview: “North Korea referred to The Interview as ‘absolutely intolerable’ and ‘a wanton act of terror.’ Even more amazing, not the worst review the movie got”.

This was also pretty funny: “Jennifer Aniston is here tonight, nominated for the film Cake. And we should explain to all the people in the room, the Hollywood people, cake is like a fluffy dessert that people eat on their birthdays.” Tina: “And birthdays are a thing people celebrate when they admit they have aged.”

And this was bloody funny when talking about Selma: “American Civil Rights movement. That totally worked and everything’s fine.”

But by far the best moment was this:

“George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year. Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an advisor to Kofi Annan regarding Syria and was selected for a three-person UN commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza strip. So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”

Cue clapping. Bravo girls.

Highs and lows

There were more fine moments like when the girls dragged back “Kim Jong Un” who demanded they change the category for Orange is the New Black saying, “it should be in drama not comedy” Is funny but not funny haha funny. (For some reason known to absolutely nobody it was entered into the comedy category and not the drama comedy for the Emmys.)

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin looked amazing and were funny (they’d be perfect if they actually had a couple of signs of their age on their face).

And I’m wondering if there was an excuse (and if there was it better be good) but somehow the camera cut to Frances McDormand while Maggie Gyllenhaal was giving her thank you speech—which was so good—and she was fanning herself seemingly with her thank-you speech looking extremely unimpressed. Shame on you.

[tweet https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedEnt/status/554472747259019264 ]

And hello?  George Clooney.  Could he get any more gorgeous/lovable/hot?  His speech when he received the Cecil B DeMille was too much.  He gushed.  To quote Top Gun, “He is 100% prime time in love with you.”

Themes

I love that celebs are using the event to take a political stance.  Among those wearing a “Je suis Charlie” badge or sign were George & Amal Clooney, Helen Mirren, the gorgeous Diane Kruger and many more.

It’s so mean to say but the usually boring speech from the head of whoever is the pres of the association.  But tonight Hollywood Foreign Press President Theo Kingma was a highlight with his words, “Together we will stand united against anyone that will repress free speech. Anywhere, from North Korea to Paris.”

Cue tears from yours truly and a standing ovation.

And George Clooney.  Oh George once again you did it for me:

“And one last thing: to reiterate what we’ve all been talking about, today was an extraordinary day. There were millions of people who marched not just in Paris, but around the world. And they were Christians and Jews and Muslims. They were leaders of countries all over the world.  And they didn’t march in protest; they marched in support of the idea that we will not walk in fear.  We won’t do it.  So, Je Suis Charlie. Thank you.”

Je t’aime.

By the end of the telecast I had forgotten all about the TV awards. Then I remembered why: this year was one of those momentous years with new TV shows The Affair and Jane the Virgin getting nods.

And finally thanks to the movie Transparent transgender was another theme being embraced tonight. Looks like I’m off to see the movie.

For a full list of the winners click here.

Those dresses

I lost track of time this afternoon and was behind the eight ball in judging my Best Dressed. There were a huge number of standouts for me tonight and a few fails (or disappointments).  So stay tuned tomorrow for my hits and misses.

xx It Started in LA xx

Series Navigation

Who wore what: Golden Globes 2015 >>