Golden Globes: Emilia Perez, The Brutalist win best picture
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(From left) Actresses Adriana Paz, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon pose with the Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy award for Emilia Perez on Jan 5.
PHOTO: AFP
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LOS ANGELES – Emilia Perez and The Brutalist won the top prizes in their respective comedy and drama categories at the Golden Globes film and television awards on Jan 5.
Emilia Perez, a Spanish-language film from streaming service Netflix that blended the musical, crime and comedy genres, won Best Picture - Musical or Comedy, after receiving a total of 10 nominations. The Globes’ voting members, most of whom are in the foreign press, handed the award to a film starring trans actress Karla Sofia Gascon.
“I am who I am not who you want me to be,” she said in accepting the award. The movie also won the award for best international picture.
Upon accepting the prize for that category, director Jacques Audiard said he hoped the film would serve as a “beacon of light” in a changing political environment.
The Brutalist, which won Best Picture – Drama, stars Adrien Brody as a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and achieves acclaim after emigrating to the United States.
Brody took home a statue for best actor and the film also brought another best director award for Brady Corbet, following his Silver Lion win at its premiere at the Venice film festival in September.
Director Brady Corbet poses with the award for Best Director Motion Picture for The Brutalist on Jan 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Accepting the best drama award, Corbet thanked “everyone who bet on the film that kept falling apart”. He also gave a shoutout to fellow filmmakers to follow their instinct.
“I was told the film was undistributable. That no one would come out and see it. I was told the film wouldn’t work... Films don’t exist without the filmmakers. Let’s support them.”
The movie was released in the US by art house studio A24 in December. The international distribution rights were acquired by Focus Features, the specialty arm of Comcast’s Universal Pictures, last February.
Emilia Perez, The Brutalist and Conclave had the most nominations going into the ceremony in Beverly Hills on Jan 5. All three were named in the American Film Institute’s list of the top 10 movies of 2024.
The Brutalist had seven nominations, while the papal thriller Conclave from Focus Features, the specialty arm of Comcast’s Universal Pictures, scored six. Conclave, which stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal tasked with leading the appointment of a new pope, won the award for best screenplay.
Before the ceremony, the movies with the best odds of winning their top categories were from studios including A24 and Focus, which specialise in low to mid-budget productions.
Prediction websites AwardsWatch.com and GoldDerby.com both speculated that The Brutalist, which has grossed US$1.2 million (S$1.6 million) at the box office since its release in December, would win Best Picture – Drama, with Conclave a close runner-up. Anora, which has grossed US$31 million since its release in October, was predicted by some observers to win Best Picture – Musical or Comedy.
That differs from 2024, when Barbie from Warner Bros Discovery and Universal’s Oppenheimer, two of 2023’s biggest blockbusters, received the most nominations. At that ceremony, Oppenheimer won best picture and Christopher Nolan won best director, while Barbie won the inaugural prize rewarding cinematic and box office success.
Wicked, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the cinematic remake of the Broadway hit, won the prize in that category in 2025. The Universal film has sold US$681 million worth of tickets worldwide.
Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres won best actress in a drama for her role in I’m Still Here.
The Globes are one of the first events on the awards circuit that culminate with the Oscars on March 2. Studios campaign vigorously to win the trophies, which can lead to a bump in cinema ticket sales and online purchases of their films, as well as score points with talent.
Unlike the Oscars, the Globes also includes television.
On Jan 5, Hacks, which airs on Warner Bros Discovery’s Max streaming service, won for best comedy series. Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, based on the true story about Richard Gadd, a struggling actor who was mercilessly stalked by a woman, won for best limited series.
Walt Disney cleaned up with multiple awards for Shogun, the Japanese period drama that airs on FX and streaming platform Hulu. The show won accolades for male actor and supporting actor in a drama series, female actress in a TV drama, and best TV series.
This 82nd Globes are the second ceremony under new ownership. Financier Todd Boehly and Hollywood trade publisher Jay Penske took control of the programme in 2023 after a scandal involving its previous owner, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which had been criticised for its lack of diversity and ethical lapses. Bloomberg
