Golden Globes 2021
The most significant moments of the 78th award ceremony
Tina Fey (left) and Amy Poehler gave their best as a moderator duo, but it didn't really work out.
© imago images / ZUMA Press
The Golden Globes had to improvise in many ways due to the corona pandemic. Here are the most touching and embarrassing moments.
Thanks to the 78th edition of the Golden Globes, the awards season 2021 has finally started officially and with considerable delay. Films like "Nomadland" and "Borat Anschluss Moviefilm" as well as the series "The Crown" and "The Ladies' Gambit" crystallized as the big clearers of the evening out. But apart from the winners, the unusual Corona edition of the Globes also provided a lot of talking point. Here are the most memorable moments, biggest upsets and embarrassing mishaps.
The crux of the video conference
Anyone who has had to interconnect with several colleagues via zoom or team call during these times knows the problem. Either everyone chatters off at once, or embarrassing pauses cause discomfort. As a result, it was unsurprisingly a mammoth task for the two presenters Amy Poehler (49) and Tina Fey (50) to pass punchline balls to each other. After all, the two comedians found themselves on different ends of the United States – Fey joked from the traditional Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Poehler from the Rainbow Room in New York City. The usual chemistry of the two, with which they usually make people laugh, was largely absent from the 78th edition of the Globes.
A supposed superstar
The technical problems did not stop at the winners, who picked up their trophies via video link. The biggest mishap happened to "Get Out" star Daniel Kaluuya (32), who simply did not get his microphone during his acceptance speech for the award for best supporting actor for "Judas and the Black Messiah". And other winners also found it difficult to make their speeches at times. Either because they didn't know when to start – or because they had to stop.
Insight into family life – with child and dog
But the virtual switches to the living room of the superstars in the branch not only offered moments of shame. Many celebrities took the opportunity to showcase their children and pets. "Minari" director Lee Isaac Chung (42), for example, where his daughter made himself comfortable on his lap during his acceptance speech. "She is the reason I made this film," he said, among other things, at this heartwarming moment. Sarah Paulson (46) and Jodie Foster (58) meanwhile presented their forbidden cute dogs in the live switch.
Jodie Foster's lucky kiss
Speaking of Foster: The Oscar winner has been in the limelight for decades, but she usually keeps her private life out of the public eye. Not so with her acceptance speech, which she was allowed to give as "Best Supporting Actress". When her name was announced, she pressed her wife Alexandra Hedison (51) a deep kiss on the lips, who was sitting next to her on the couch. A special moment for the actress, who only celebrated her coming out in 2013.
Jane Fonda's incendiary speech
Another film legend used her triumph for an equally important message. Jane Fonda (83), who was honored for her life's work this year, made a fiery plea for more diversity in front of and behind the camera. The story of every human being must "have the opportunity to be seen and heard," said Fonda. "Let's be leaders," she finishes her remarkable speech.
Tina Fey's telling swipe
It was precisely with this aspect criticized by Fonda that the Golden Globes makers had to grab their own nose. Before the award ceremony, it was announced that not a single black person was represented among the 87 members of the jury who determined the nominations. A fact, because Fey used a telling joke: "The Hollywood Foreign Press Association consists of around 90 international, non-black journalists who attend film presentations every year in search of a better life."
The last honor for the "Black Panther"
With this in mind, the moment when Chadwick Boseman's (1976-2020) widow Taylor Simone Ledward virtually accepted the Golden Globe that her husband won posthumously for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" was all the more significant and touching. "He would have said something beautiful, something inspiring. Something that hears the voice in all of us that says. 'You can do it.'" Without a doubt the most poignant moment of the 78th Golden Globes Awards.
Chloé Zhao's historic moment
Director Chloé Zhao (38) set a historic example when she received the award for "Best Director" for the drama "Nomadland". She was the second woman ever and the first Asian woman in film history to receive this award. This honor first went to a woman, Barbra Streisand (78) in 1984 for her film "Yentl". As a result, it took over 35 years before a woman could triumph again in this important category. Since her work was also able to win "Best Film", she is now given a good chance at the Oscars in 2021.
The German debacle
Finally, the German view of the 78th Golden Globes. Thanks to the miniseries "Unorthodox" by Maria Schrader (55) and the young actress Helena Zengel (12), film and TV fans in this country had two reasons to cheer. In the end, however, "Unorthodox" had to admit defeat to Hollywood star Jodie Foster against "The Queen's Gambit" and Zengel.