‘The Artist’: Black-and-White Silent Film Leads Winners at Golden Globes
- Posted on January 15, 2012 at 11:59pm by
Scott Baker
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The black-and-white silent film “The Artist” led the Golden Globes with three wins Sunday at a show that spread Hollywood’s love around among a broad range of films, including best drama recipient “The Descendants” and its star, George Clooney.
Wins for “The Artist” included best musical or comedy and best actor in a musical or comedy for Jean Dujardin.
The dual best-picture prizes at the Globes could set up a showdown between “The Artist” and “The Descendants” for the top honor at next month’s Academy Awards.
Other acting winners were Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, and Octavia Spencer, while Martin Scorsese earned the directing honor.
“I gotta thank everybody in England that let me come and trample over their history,” said Streep, earning her eighth Globe, this time as dramatic actress for playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Williams won for actress in a musical or comedy as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn,” 52 years after Monroe’s win for the same prize at the Globes for “Some Like It Hot.”
The supporting-acting Globes went to Plummer as an elderly widower who comes out as gay in the father-son drama “Beginners” and Spencer as a brassy housekeeper joining other black maids to share stories about life with their white employers in the 1960s Deep South tale “The Help.”
“With regard to domestics in this country, now and then, I think Dr. King said it best: ‘All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.’ And I thank you for recognizing that with our film,” Spencer said.
Scorsese won for the Paris adventure “Hugo.” It was the third directing Globe in the last 10 years for Scorsese, who previously won for “Gangs of New York” and “The Departed” and received the show’s Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement two years ago.
He won over a field of contenders that included Michel Hazanavicius, who had been considered by many in Hollywood as a favorite for his black-and-white silent film “The Artist.”
Williams offered thanks for giving her the same award Monroe once won and joked that her young daughter put up with bedtime stories for six months spoken in Monroe’s voice.
“I consider myself a mother first and an actress second, so the person I most want to thank is my daughter, my little girl, whose bravery and exuberance is the example I take with me in my work and my life,” Williams said.
Dujardin became the first star in a silent film to earn a major Hollywood prize since the early days of film. He won as a silent-era star whose career unravels amid the rise of talking pictures in the late 1920s.
It’s a breakout role in Hollywood for Dujardin, a star back home in France but little known to U.S. audiences previously. His French credits include “The Artist” creator Hazanavicius’ spy spoofs “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies“ and ”OSS 117: Lost in Rio.”
While the musical or comedy categories at the Globes offer recognition for lighter films amid Hollywood’s sober-minded awards season, the winners usually are not serious contenders for the Oscars. The last time the winner for best musical or comedy at the Globes went on to claim best-picture at the Oscars was nine years ago with “Chicago.”
This time, though, “The Artist” and Dujardin have enough critical mass to compete at the Oscars with dramatic counterparts such as “The Descendants” and Clooney.
Both films have a good mix of laughs and tears. “The Artist” could be called a comedy with strong doses of melodrama, while “The Descendants” might be described as a drama tinged with gently comic moments.
Directed by Alexander Payne (“Sideways”), “The Descendants” provided a more down-to-earth role for Clooney, who’s often known for slick, high-rolling characters such as those in his “Ocean’s Eleven“ heist capers and or the legal saga ”Michael Clayton.”
Adapted from Kaui Hart Hemmings’ novel, “The Descendants” casts Clooney as Matt King, the scion of an aristocratic Hawaiian clan and a neglectful dad suddenly forced to hold together his two spirited daughters after his wife falls into a coma from a boating accident.
Along the way, Matt uncovers a staggering secret about his marriage and comes to reevaluate the principles under which he’s lived his life.
Charming audiences since it premiered last May at the Cannes Film Festival, “The Artist” tells the story of George Valentin (Dujardin), a big-screen superstar known for adventurous comic capers alongside his adorable dog, who’s always at his side on screen and in real life.
As talking pictures take over and the Depression hits, George loses everything — his career, his marriage, his fortune and his home. Through it all, he has a guardian angel in Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo, a supporting-actress Globe nominee and Hazanavicius’ real-life romantic partner). A rising talkies star, Peppy got her career going with help from George, and she now aims to repay the favor.
The only time silent films have won best-picture or acting Oscars was in the awards first year, for 1927-28, 16 years before the Golden Globes even started.
At that first Oscar ceremony, when the transition to the sound era was just under way, the silent winners included the war story “Wings” as outstanding picture and the marital betrayal tale “Sunrise” as most unique and artistic picture, the only time that category was used. Janet Gaynor won as best actress for “Sunrise” and two other silent films, while Emil Jannings was picked as best actor for the silent films “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh.”
Other than some short silent films and one silent foreign-language nominee in 1983, it‘s been all talkies among contenders for top honors during Hollywood’s awards season in the 83 years since the first Oscars.
“The Artist,” which led the Globes with six nominations, also won the musical-score prize for composer Ludovic Bource.
Among its losses was for screenplay, a prize that went to Woody Allen for his romantic fantasy “Midnight in Paris,” the filmmaker’s biggest hit in decades. Never a fan of movie awards, Allen was a no-show at the Globes.
Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” won for best animated film, while the Iranian tale “A Separation” was named the foreign-language winner.
Ricky Gervais, who has ruffled feathers at past shows with sharp wisecracks aimed at Hollywood’s elite and the Globes show itself, returned as host for the third-straight year. He started with some slams at the Globes as Hollywood’s second-biggest film ceremony, after the Oscars.
Gervais joked that the Globes “are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem. The Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton. A bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker and more easily bought. Allegedly. Nothing’s been proved.”
He also needled early winners, saying the show was running long and stars needed to keep their speeches short.
“You don‘t need to thank everyone you’ve ever met or members of your family, who have done nothing,” Gervais said. “Just the main two. Your agent and God.”
___
Online:
http://www.goldenglobes.org
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LookTowardsTheLight
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 1:49pmUGH!
Another Hollyweird display of self congratulation and elitist demagoguery.
YAWN!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 17, 2012 at 3:01pmYea, I bet just as many people watched the Globes as they did a silent movie starring a Frenchman.
Report Post »Goody-2-Shoes
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 1:01pmnzkiwi
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:35am
Dammit “two”. I can’t believe I missed that. TWO small girls.
Bugger.
“Occasionally”
Oh to hell with it. I give up.
Best laugh this morning! Thanks.
Report Post »vtxphantom
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 12:13pmWhat is their next innovation, Vaudeville. Hollywood and the screen writers guild have become sterile in thought and ability. They are a fine representation of our own government under obama
Report Post »In a Bunker
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 11:28amI’m going to see it. Don’t we all long for a time when people had class and were literate?
Report Post »rdk
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 11:16amHollywood has finally found something good to portray, the wonderful sound of silence.
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 11:01am.
Report Post »Ho-Hum.
Note to self:
Self, skip this one if the Hollywood types loved it.
NC
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 10:36amNZKIWI, I’ve been posting requests for TheBlaze to allow a 30 second edit window, with proper annotation, of course.
Alas, I request adn post again.
Another request, in case any of the powers that be are taking notes; It would be great if you could post a reply to a specific post immediately after the post. This is the way many message boards are structured…but then again, BHO is the POTUS and a former HoffPo suit is now the editor of TheBlaze.
NC (yes, I misspelled and)
Report Post »Ming The Merciless
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 8:44pmI have written to the blaze asking for the same thing too. Quote button and a preview message option would be good too.
Report Post »Freedomtomakeupmyownmind
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 9:00amAnd Modern Family won for best comedy series. And Jessica Lange won Best Supporting Actress for American Horror Story. Oh NO what is this world coming too?
Report Post »GeorgieJo
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 7:30amFunny I wasn’t aware Harvey Weinstein was GOD???
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 7:26amI have a hard time believing Hollywood would ever make a movie that casts a positive light on Margaret Thatcher, anyone seen it?
Report Post »gwssacredcause
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 10:31amSorry man, I gave up on Hollywood getting any story right a long, long, long time ago and I do not idolize Hollywood not even as a child. To me they live in little playhouses otherwise known as movie sets and try and tell other people they know best for us because we are stupid and they are all knowing.
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:53amWhat does that tell you about the quality of movies made today? It tells you that the movies today are nothing but teen perversion films filled with smut and crap, lousy writing and acting. That a black and white silent film takes the cake is very telling.
Report Post »NOTvotingforRomney
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:47amDid anyone even watch this?
I wasn’t interested but was wondering who would be?
Report Post »burnteye86
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 5:02amIrregardless, if you were all of the sudden flustrated at having to suck an egg, then that would be a whole nother issue.
Report Post »B_rad
Posted on January 17, 2012 at 3:34pmI seen that post and told my friend and all of the sudden we was like “what?”.
=+)
Report Post »Chet Hempstead
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 3:12amThat’s funny. I might have reversed the categories and said that The Descendents was a bit more of a comedy than a drama and The Actor was a bit more of a drama than a comedy.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 2:58amSo, I guess less is more?
Report Post »Drakkhanlord
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 2:29ammel brooks …silent movie
Report Post »zoose
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 1:23amI could care less.
Report Post »B_rad
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 2:17amForgive me, but if you could care less, that means that you do care, at least a little. If you meant to express that you don’t care at all, the expression is “I couldn’t care less.” A nit-picky thing for me to correct, but our language and grammar have been degraded and I can’t continue to ignore the continued misuse of phrases and terms. “Irregardless”, “a whole ‘nother”, and “all of the sudden” are all too often used as well. I could list dozens, but those three are some of the worst offenses…oh what the heck, along with “flustrated”, “supposably”, “I seen…”, and “we was….” Please learn our language, people.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 2:54amFor Spanish, press 2…
Report Post »burnteye86
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 4:57amgo suck an egg
Report Post »burnteye86
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 4:59amI couldn’t care less if you sucked an egg.
Report Post »nzkiwi
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:32am@B_Rad
I am not a pedant, but you are right. And an adverb has an “ly” on the end (not an example here, but all too often I hear or see such a grating misuse of the language). “He played that perfect”.
Typos forgiven, of course.
And you may believe that I took an especial care to proof-read this post.
That to one side; as the father of to small girls, I did look askance at the trailer for “The Descendants”. Hollywood has a way of smoothing over reality. I will still watch it, though.
I will make any sacrifice to gain even the slightest advantage in the alien world which I now inhabit.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:34amMust be a retired english teacher with nothing better to do???
Report Post »nzkiwi
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:35amDammit “two”. I can’t believe I missed that. TWO small girls.
Bugger.
Report Post »nzkiwi
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:39amFor those that occasionly criticise the Blaze journos for their slips; it ain’t as easy as you think!
Report Post »nzkiwi
Posted on January 16, 2012 at 6:53am“Occasionally”
Oh to hell with it. I give up.
Report Post »