The Crown’s Claire Foy and the stars of BBC’s The Night Manager - including Tom Hiddleston, son of Aldeburgh arts consultant Diana - have won Golden Globes in a night of British success at the Hollywood awards show.
Foy was named best actress in a television drama for her portrayal of the Queen in the big-budget Netflix series about the monarch’s early reign.
Tom Hiddleston was named best actor in a limited television series for his performance in BBC thriller The Night Manager, while Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman collected awards for their supporting roles on the show.
Hiddleston’s mother works as an arts consultant, is a trustee of Aldeburgh Cinema and has previously been involved in the running of Aldeburgh Festival.
In June, Hiddleston was seen on the beach in Aldeburgh with then-love interest Taylor Swift as the couple paid a visit to Diana Hiddleston.
On stage, Laurie appeared to take aim at President-elect Donald Trump as he joked that he was collecting his award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the “last ever Golden Globes”.
“I don’t mean to be gloomy,” he said. “It’s just it has ‘Hollywood’, ‘foreign’ and ‘press’ in the title. To some Republicans even the word ‘association’ is slightly sketchy.
“I accept this award on behalf of psychopathic billionaires everywhere.”
Stockport-born Foy, 32, described her award win as an “out of body experience” as she paid tribute to the Queen.
“I really wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for some extraordinary women, one is Queen Elizabeth II,” she said on stage.
“She has been at the centre of the world the past 63 years and I think the world could do with a few more women at the centre of it if you ask me.”
The Crown, which stars John Lithgow as Sir Winston Churchill and Matt Smith as the Duke of Edinburgh, was also named best television drama series.
There was more British success as Aaron Taylor-Johnson won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a movie for his portrayal of a psychopathic drifter in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals.
The 26-year-old actor dedicated his gong to his wife, film-maker Sam Taylor-Johnson, 49, who he described as his “soul mate”.
“I want to thank my wife for being there with me and supporting me,” he said on stage.
“Thank you for putting up with me. Jesus, I was not very pleasant in this role.”
The People Versus OJ Simpson: American Crime Story beat The Night Manager to win the award for best limited TV series.
The television winners
The Crown - Best television series - drama
Atlanta - Best television series - musical or comedy
Billy Bob Thornton, Goliath - Best performance by an actor in a television series
Claire Foy, The Crown - Best performance by an actress in a television series
Donald Glover, Atlanta - Best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy
Tracee Ellis-Ross, Black-ish - Best performance by an actress in a television series - musical or comedy
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager - Best performance by an actor in a limited series or motion picture made for television
Sarah Paulson, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story - Best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager - Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager - Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television
La La Land
This year’s Golden Globe ceremony will be seen as a reaction to an increasingly dark and bleak world. During Christmas and the New Year, the news has been dominated by shootings and terrorist attacks and the world remains rather unsettled at the prospect of what President Trump will do once he takes up residence in The White House.
So, just as The Great Depression in the 1930s triggered the golden age of Hollywood musicals, this latest era of uncertainity has found the film world once again embracing well-made, colourful confections rather than challenging dramas.
This year La La Land, the gloriously tuneful celebration of Hollywood, a big popular and critical hit in the US, picked up seven out of the 14 film awards available including best musical or comedy film.
Ryan Gosling was named best actor in a musical or comedy for his performance as a struggling musician in La La Land while co-star Emma Stone was named best actress in a musical or comedy film. Damien Chazelle won best screenplay and best director for the film. The movie also picked up gongs for best score and best original song for City Of Stars.
Gosling dedicated the award to Juan Carlos Mendes, the brother of his partner, actress Eva Mendes, following his death from cancer last year at the age of 53.
On stage, Gosling said: “While I was singing and dancing and playing piano and having one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a film, my lady was raising my daughter, pregnant with our second and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer.
“If she hadn’t taken all that on so I could have this experience, it would surely be someone else up here other than me.”
Before the prizes were handed out, the pundits had predicted that this yearv was going to be a tight four horse race with La La Land the enjoyable, but less weighty, also ran. Challenging times mean that audiences are more inclined to reward a fun night out rather than a demanding, emotional rollercoaster.
La La Land’s three rivals for the top prizes were Lion, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea.
La La Land has been described as “a gleeful mash-up of every backstage Hollywood musical ever made,” while Lion, starring Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel follows the story of an Indian boy, adopted by Australian parents, who goes in search of his biological family.
Moonlight, which has been a big awards winner until now, tells the story of a young black man growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami while Manchester by the Sea has been described as a career-defining movie for Casey Affleck who plays a resentful uncle who is expected to look after his nephew after his brother’s death.
All these films have been well reviewed and have been award-winners elsewhere but the Golden Globes have a habit of capturing the mood of a nation and the times are changing. But, these well-received films didn’t go home completely empty-handed. Moonlight was named best film drama. Casey Affleck won the Golden Globe for best actor in a film drama for his performance in Manchester By The Sea. French star Isabelle Huppert beat strong competition from Natalie Portman and Amy Adams to win best actress in a film drama for her role in psychological thriller Elle.
Viola Davis won best supporting actress in a movie for her performance in the drama Fences, beating British actress Naomie Harris, who was nominated for her portrayal of a crack addict in Moonlight.
It will be interesting to see, in the coming weeks, if the BAFTAs and the Oscars continue this feelgood trend.
The Big Screen Winners
Moonlight – Best motion picture - drama
La La Land – Best motion picture - comedy or musical
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea – Best performance by an actor in a motion picture - drama
Isabelle Huppert, Elle – Best performance by an actress in a motion picture - drama
Ryan Gosling, La La Land – Best performance by an actor in a motion picture - comedy or musical
Emma Stone, La La Land – Best performance by an actress in a motion picture - comedy or musical
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals – Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture
Viola Davis, Fences – Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture
Damien Chazelle, La La Land – Best director - motion picture
Damien Chazelle, La La Land – Best screenplay - motion picture
Zootopia – Best animated feature film
Elle – Best foreign language film
Justin Hurwitz, La La Land – Best original score - motion picture
City of Stars, La La Land – Best original song - motion picture
Meryl Streep takes on President-elect Trump
Meryl Streep criticised President-elect Trump as she collected the Cecil B DeMille award, which honoured her contribution to the world of entertainment.
A husky-sounding Streep, who had lost her voice, told the audience: “You and all of us in this room belong to the most vilified segment of American society right now, think about it, Hollywood, foreigners and the press.
“But who are we and what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places.”
Referring to an incident last year during which Trump appeared to mock a disabled reporter, Streep added: “It broke my heart when I saw it and I still can’t get it out of my head.
“It wasn’t in a movie, it was real life... disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. When powerful people use their position to bully others we all lose.”
She also paid tribute to her friend, the late Carrie Fisher, repeating a quote from the Star Wars actress.
“Take your broken heart, make it into art. Thank you my friend,” she said.
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