|
NO-FRILLS CEREMONY: Instead of stars, the Beverly Hilton was filled with reporters who filed their stories as the winners were named at an event modelled after a press conference. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
BEVERLY HILLS (CALIFORNIA) - ON A night when Hollywood's unofficial promise - The Show Must Go On - was broken, the tragic romance Atonement and the bloody musical Sweeney Todd won the big prizes.
Instead of a room full of stars at a rollicking, banquet-style ceremony, this year's Golden Globes ceremony was a stripped-down affair modelled on a news conference with barely a hint of star power - thanks to a strike by the Writers' Guild.
At an event where the presenters were virtual unknowns outside of the United States, the biggest stars turned out to be the striking screenwriters, who derailed the event with a threat to picket it in large numbers if the ceremony went ahead as planned. Hence the absence of stars and the usual red-carpet extravaganza.
As a result, Hollywood's first big awards show was over in a flash - it took a scant 35 minutes, to be exact - and fears remained that the Oscars could go down the same route if the two-month-old strike is not resolved soon.
Though not deeply meaningful, the Golden Globes function as a much- watched marker on the road to the Oscars.
But, perhaps fittingly on a night devoid of wattage, the awards were spread so evenly that it was difficult to assign anyone the role of overall winner.
Atonement won the honour for best film drama and claimed a second award for best original score.
Sweeney Todd won best film musical and best actor in a musical for Johnny Depp.
The other two double winners were crime saga No Country For Old Men and the disability drama The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.
Yet, no one film gained critical momentum that might set it ahead of the pack for the Academy Awards on Feb 24, and the compressed Globes show highlighted what a joyless awards season this is for Hollywood.
Among the other big losers: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which bestows the awards, and caterers, florists and party planners, who took a big hit from the lack of a ceremony and after-parties.
NEW YORK TIMES, ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS
AROUND THE GLOBE IN 35 MINUTES, LIFE!
|
