TV Talk: Return of the Golden Globes proves a Hollywood insider’s affair
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After a one-year absence because of bad behavior — a diversity and ethics scandal — the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes were back on NBC in a one-year deal that relegated the Globes to a downgraded Tuesday night instead of its usual Sunday prestige spot.
On the TV side, the Globes largely honored ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” giving a broadcast series a rare turn in the awards spotlight, and HBO’s “The White Lotus.” Among movies, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “The Fabelmans” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” took home multiple trophies.
The telecast proved to be an overlong Hollywood insider’s affair, from jokes about Tom Cruise and Scientology to host Jerrod Carmichael’s monologue, which did not gloss over the Globes controversy. He embraced it, telling uncomfortable truths in a way Hollywood folks rarely do publicly, even revealing his hosting fee ($500,000).
“I’m here because I’m Black,” he said. “I won’t say (the HFPA was) a racist organization, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died. Do with that information what you will.”
And here is your host for the 80th Annual #GoldenGlobes… It’s Jerrod Carmichael! ???? pic.twitter.com/tc8KIyt1E5
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 11, 2023
Then Carmichael sat on the stage and engaged in what he does best: telling a story.
That low-voltage approach might not have wowed some viewers, but, if the Globes are to move forward, it was necessary to have some throat-clearing and truth-telling. And there are few comics who do that better than Carmichael.
He spun a story of getting the invitation to host the Globes and seeking advice from an old friend, who told him to “put on a good suit and take them white people’s money” and then getting pressured to take a call from the president of the HFPA that he didn’t want to take.
“I’m like, ‘Or what?! They’re gonna fire me?!’” Carmichael said. “They haven’t had a Black host for 79 years, and they’re gonna fire first one? I’m unfire-able.”
He’s not wrong.
“I’ll be totally honest with everyone here tonight: I don’t really need to hear it,” Carmichael continued. “I took this job assuming they hadn’t changed at all. I heard they got six new Black members, congrats for them, whatever, sure. I’m here, truly, because I look out into this room and I see a lot of talented people. People that I admire. People that I would like to be like. People that I’m jealous of, and people that are actually really incredible artists.”
Speaking truth to power became a recurring theme in the telecast, from winner Michelle Yeoh describing the racist response to her arrival in Hollywood 40 years ago (“It was a dream come true until I got here. I came here and was told, ‘You’re a minority,’” she recalled) to “White Lotus” creator Mike White calling out HBO rivals (“You all passed on this show!”).
Pittsburgh native Billy Porter, clad in a flowing, fuchsia tuxedo dress, introduced a tribute to Porter’s former “Pose” boss, writer/producer Ryan Murphy, recipient of the Carol Burnett Award.
Murphy used the recognition to turn the spotlight back on Porter and other actors he’s worked with as examples of fearlessness that led to achievement, including Jeremy Pope (“Hollywood”), MJ Rodriguez (“Pose”) and Carnegie Mellon University grad Matt Bomer (“American Horror Story”).
“Growing up in Pittsburgh, he was constantly told he was not worthy,” Murphy said of Porter. “When he’d demand to be seen as a three-dimensional being, the work dried up.”
Murphy spoke directly to young people watching, for those told they have to “hide your light to survive” and offering the actors he highlighted as examples of possibility for a way forward.
“Use them as your north stars,” Murphy said. “For 25 years, that’s all I’ve ever tried to do: Take the invisible, the unloved and make them the heroes I longed to see in pop culture.”
Among Globes winners, former child star Ke Huy Quan (Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”) delivered the most heartfelt acceptance speech, thanking director Steven Spielberg for giving him his first opportunity and relating how, as he grew older, he started to wonder if Indiana Jones was his career peak.
“For so many years, I was afraid I had nothing else to offer,” he said, before thanking The Daniels (aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), the directing team behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once” for giving him the opportunity to try again.
Cecil B. DeMille Award-winner Eddie Murphy delivered the best seemingly sincere advice to young up-and-comers that took a hard left into big laughs.
“There’s a blueprint you can follow to achieve success. Just do three things: Pay your taxes, mind your business and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth!” Murphy said, referring to Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Even before the scandal of recent years, the Globes, like most televised awards shows, had hit hard times. Where once it was rarer to see celebrities as themselves — mostly just on awards shows and talk shows — when the social media age began around 2008-10, celebrities took to Instagram, Twitter and most recently TikTok, and many of them became ubiquitous. Why watch an awards show when fans can see, hear from and sometimes even interact with celebrities 24/7?
Golden Globes winners list:
Drama, TV: “House of the Dragon,” HBO.
Comedy, TV: “Abbott Elementary,” ABC.
Limited series, TV: “The White Lotus,” HBO.
Drama, movie: “The Fabelmans.”
Comedy, movie: “The Banshees of Inisherin.”
Non-English language movie: “Argentina, 1985.”
Animated movie: “Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” Netflix.
Actress, TV drama: Zendaya, “Euphoria,” HBO.
Actor, TV drama: Kevin Costner, “Yellowstone,” Paramount Network.
Actor, TV comedy: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear,” FX.
Actress, TV comedy: Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary,” ABC.
Actress, limited TV series: Amanda Seyfried, “The Dropout,” Hulu.
Actor, limited TV series: Evan Peters, “Dahmer – Monster: The Matthew Dahmer Story,” Netflix.
Supporting actor, TV: Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary,” ABC.
Supporting actress, TV: Julia Garner, “Ozark,” Netflix.
Supporting actor, limited TV series: Paul Walter Hauser, “Black Bird,” Apple TV+.
Supporting actress, limited TV series: Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus.”
Actor, movie drama: Austin Butler, “Elvis.”
Actress, movie drama: Cate Blanchett, “Tar.”
Actor, movie comedy: Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inishirin.”
Actress, movie comedy: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Supporting actor, movie: Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Supporting actress, movie: Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Screenplay, movie: Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Director, movie: Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans.”
Original score, movie: Justin Hurwitz, “Babylon.”
Best original song, movie: “Naatu Naatu,” “RRR.”
You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow Rob on Twitter or Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.