"The Martian," "The Revenant" Lead 73rd Golden Globe Awards

The 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards began under threat of rain again, but nothing dampened the glitter of stars nor the gall of host Ricky Gervais. The big winner was Twentieth Century Fox with six Golden Globes. The big losers were the original big three TV networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) who received no awards. Gervais noted that NBC was the perfect network to broadcast the event because it didn’t have a single nomination.

Gervais started out greeting “global megastars” and the gold diggers “who married well.” Gervais claimed he was a changed man, but “not as much as Bruce Jenner.” As Caitlyn Jenner, Gervais noted, “She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes,” and yet “she didn’t do a lot for women drivers.” 

Gervais’ opening monologue mentioned two films. He noted that “Spotlight” made “the Catholic Church furious … as it exposed the fact that five percent of all their priests have repeatedly molested children and been allowed to continue to work without punishment” and that “Roman Polanski called it the best date movie ever.”

Then he addressed something that quite a few people had wondered: “The Martian” being deemed a comedy, saying, “To be fair, ‘The Martian’ was a lot funnier than ‘Pixels,’ but then again, so was ‘Schindler’s List.’”

Gervais further noted that the Golden Globe-nominee and eventual winner, Jennifer Lawrence, “demanded equal pay for women in Hollywood” and that he was getting paid “exactly the same as Tina [Fey] and Amy [Poehler] did last year” and that “it’s not my fault if they want to share the money is it?”

Alejandro G. Iñárritu was gracious in his acceptance speeches for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director for "The Revenant," thanking “Mark L. Smith, Mike O’Reilly, Parner, all of the Native Americans who helped us make this film possible.” In his Best Director acceptance speech he also added, “I was lucky to be saved and rescued by the incredible crew, cast, producers that we struggled for so many months long and perilous in very difficult conditions to make this film happen, but we all in this room know very well that pain is temporary, but a film is forever. Right? So who cares.”

In the press room, he was asked about the bear attack that sets off the chain of events in “The Revenant,” and Iñárritu commented that it took months of planning. “I interviewed a crazy guy who did bear attacks in Montana. He witnessed over 100 bear attacks. He told me so much about it. I was absolutely shocked about how a mother bear can feed her cubs and that’s it. It is a very natural thing, right? A mother feeding her kids, as we do every day, with chickens or with cows or with fish. But this time we are the prey.” He admitted to using every technique possible, including CGI “in order to have an impact by and witness something they will never witness in real life.” This is Iñárritu's first Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture. Last year he shared a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay (“Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance”).

Leonardo DiCaprio, who won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), who stood beside Iñárritu to field questions commented, “I am not supposed to talk in great detail about how that was done. Alejandro has watched over 100 different bear attacks, but what he creates in that sequence is almost virtual reality and awakens other senses. I think people are talking about it for good reason. It is going to go down in the history of cinema as an amazing visceral, tactile sequence that makes people feel like they are there. Yes, it was incredibly difficult to do. We rehearsed for weeks beforehand on just that sequence.”

DiCaprio also said that “I think people appreciate being in a different type of cinema out there, more visceral type of movie, really submerged ourselves in the elements. Alejandro shot this whole film in natural life in nine months in very rough conditions. I think people honestly want to see that type of cinema. There’s very little CGI in this movie. It is used very sparingly. Other than that, it is us immersed in this world. That type of unique cinema is something I want to see more of in this industry. I want to see people stepping up to the plate to take chances on movies like this because I am just a fan of film. So the fact that the film won tonight and was acknowledged, all the better. Because we want to see more films like this coming out of the Hollywood studio systems. It is harkening back to an era in the ’70s where the director was king. To me, cinema is a director’s medium. And if they have a unique and strong vision, people should stand behind them. That’s what was done in this movie, and that’s why it turned out the way it did.”

In his acceptance speech, DiCaprio thanked Iñárritu, the entire crew, his good friend Tom Hardy, his make-up artist Sean Grigg as well as others, but he also stated, “I want to share this award with all the First Nations people represented in this film and all the indigenous communities around the world. It is time that we recognize your history and that we protect your indigenous lands from corporate interests and people that are out there to exploit them. It is time that we heard your voice and protected this planet for future generations.” DiCaprio previously won a Golden Globe in 2014 for “The Wolf on Wall Street.”

Backstage, Brie Larson, winner of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) for her role in “Room,” commented that working on the movie “made my heart grow several sizes. There was such a sense of devotion that I had to have to go to work every day and everything I was doing was directed toward the boy who played my son (Jacob Tremblay). To work on a film where I was always worried about him and happy and felt comfortable and he was in a space that he felt creative in and watching him flourish with that made me so happy every day. That was enough.” 

Larson also noted, “I am not used to being in the cycle of talking about the same movie for as long as I have. The thing I found is that I have discovered the movie in many different ways, and it changed about three times in the eight months of press I have been doing. To find new meaning in this movie is absolutely incredible.” When asked what attracted her to this role and her role in “Short Term 12,” Larson replied, “As I got older I realized with moviemaking, we can trick people into anything we want. I feel a great sense of responsibility to tell things as honestly as I can and be as vulnerable as possible. Because vulnerability is the strongest thing you can do.” This is Larson’s first Golden Globe.

Jennifer Lawrence didn’t strive to be a media darling when she came backstage after winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) for “Joy.” For her acceptance speech, she thanked Joy Mangano for her story which is what inspired the movie, but back stage she remembered when she too faced closed doors. “I got told no a million times. You weren’t going to become a successful actor and not be told many, many, many times. I really wanted it to work. I wanted to do absolutely everything that I could do before giving up. I had a five-year plan, but yeah, I definitely had to convince people to hire me.“

While Aziz Ansari was filmed during the awards ceremony reading a book “Losing to Jeffrey Tambor with Dignity,” backstage when a reporter began asking Lawrence, “How did you see yourself?” Lawrence shot back, “You can’t live your whole life behind your phone, bro. You got to live in the now” before she let him finish his question. He then asked, “How do you see yourself for Oscar night?” She responded curtly, “We’re at the Golden Globes. If you put your phone down, you’d know that.” This is Lawrence’s third Golden Globe for Best Actress with the previous ones for the 2014 “American Hustle” and the 2013 “Silver Linings Playbook.”

A reporter later asked a gracious Lady Gaga about the Oscars even though she won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (“American Horror Story: Hotel”).

Ridley Scott accepted the Golden Globe when “The Martian” won for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). He had been nominated for Best Director. Scott put things in perspective during his acceptance speech saying, “I was just quietly enjoying ‘The Martian’’s cume when along came a juggernaut called ‘Star Wars.’ I was left in the dust, except we did pretty good. That put everything into perspective because, you know, our business is like a sport, and that kind of success—we had success, and ‘Star Wars'" majestic success, actually, it’s inspiring. You’ve got to stay hungry and keep bouncing the ball. That’s me. ‘Martian’ began with a very smart book by Andy Weir and adapted to a brilliant screenplay by Drew Goddard.” He did compliment Matt Damon for his special brand of humor, but backstage, when asked if “The Martian” was put in the correct category, Scott replies, “Bearing in mind I am carrying this right now (Golden Globe statue). I have nothing else to say on the grounds that it may incriminate me.”

Matt Damon was humorous but also contemplative when he won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) for “The Martian.” Damon commented in his acceptance speech that “I was here 18 years ago. It’s literally been 18 years since I’ve been here doing this. With a little more context, I know how lucky I am and how lucky I am to do this for a living. When people go see movies, it’s just—it’s kind of rare. I’ve made a lot of movies that people just didn’t go to see.” In the press room, when Damon was asked if “The Martian” is a comedy, he replied, “No, it is a musical and I think that’s what the 18-year-gap was, was me working on my singing, which really is what brought me here tonight.” Damon was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor (Drama) for “Good Will Hunting,” but won a Golden Globe with Ben Affleck for writing “Good Will Hunting.” (Peter Fonda won Best Actor that year for “Ulee’s Gold.”)

Sylvester Stallone didn’t learn to sing, but he was very humble during his acceptance speech noting “Last time I was here, that was 1977. I was kind of hit by tumbleweed. It was a long time ago. It’s like a different, different situation and the view is so beautiful now.” Stallone thanked his wife and children and others, but he also thanked “my imaginary friend Rocky Balboa for being the best friend ever.” Stallone was nominated for Best Actor (Drama) and Best Screenplay for “Rocky” but lost to “Network” in both categories (Peter Finch won Best Actor [Drama] that year).

Kate Winslet was shocked to win, but did give a shout out to girl power when she won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for “Steve Jobs.” Backstage, she elaborated by stating, “There’s a real sense of girl power this year in terms of performance. It is incredible to be a part of that.” She noted that “Joanna Hoffman, who I forgot to mention in my speech because I didn’t think I was going to be making one so I didn’t prepare one. Joanna Hoffman was very pleased with the film and commented how wonderful it was to see Steve Jobs’s warmth come through in Michael’s portrayal of Steve. So that meant a lot to Michael.”

Winslet also complimented Aaron Sorkin, who won for Best Screenplay, saying “When I first read the script, I so couldn’t imagine how it would be possible to even pull off something of that size. It is 187 pages long. I mean, it is just an incredible undertaking for all of us as actors and Danny Boyle as the director.” On Joanna Hoffman, she commented, “I just knew this was a woman that was nothing like me, looked nothing like me, was from a world that I know absolutely nothing about, and I wanted that challenge. That’s what acting is. That’s where you get to play the most and pretend the most is when you are playing a part that you never anticipated would come your way. So for that reason really more than anything, I felt that I really wanted to take on the challenge.” 

Winslet previously won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (“Mildred Pierce”) and for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) for the 2008 “Revolutionary Road” where she was reunited with her “Titanic” co-star DiCaprio. 

Denzel Washington who was given the Cecil B. DeMille Award lost his speech and both his wife Pauletta and he were without glasses. They did not come backstage. Washington has won two Golden Globes (Best Actor for “The Hurricane” and “Malcolm X”).

If you’re keeping score, Susan Wloszczyna (@Wozerina) guessed right on eight out of nine categories, only being wrong on Kate Winslet’s win. “The Revenant” won three awards, “The Martian” won two as did “Steve Jobs.” Twentieth Century Fox won six and Universal Pictures earned two. A24, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures Releasing, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures and The Weinstein Company won one each.

For television series, “Mozart in the Jungle” and “Mr. Robot” won two awards. That gave Amazon Prime Video and USA Network two each. AMC, The CW, FOX, FX, HBO, PBS and Showtime earned one Golden Globe each. 

Best Motion Picture (Drama): “The Revenant”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama): Brie Larson, “Room”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama): Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”

Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical): “The Martian”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical): Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical): Matt Damon, “The Martian”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture: Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs”