ALL THE front-runners were left empty-handed as underdog Slumdog Millionaire swept the board at the 66th annual Golden Globe Awards presented in Los Angeles on Sunday night, writes Michael Dwyer, Film Correspondent.
Four Irish actors were among the nominees, competing with each other in two categories. Only two could win, and they did. Colin Farrell received the best actor in a film (comedy or musical) award for his edgy performance as an Irish hit man in Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy-thriller, In Bruges. And Gabriel Byrne was named best actor in a TV drama series for his portrayal of a troubled psychotherapist in In Treatment.
“They must have done the counting in Florida,” Farrell quipped in a reference to the 2000 US presidential election. Winning was “an absolute shock”, he said.
Smartly dressed in a tuxedo and waistcoat, Farrell paid tribute to his In Bruges co-star Brendan Gleeson, who was nominated in the same category.
“Brendan, I love you dearly,” he said. “This is at least half yours.” Farrell also thanked his family in Dublin. He and Gleeson had been nominated in the same category as Dustin Hoffman, James Franco and Javier Bardem.
Gabriel Byrne was not present to receive his award. His fellow nominees were Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (for The Tudors), along with Jon Hamm, Michael C Hall and Hugh Laurie.
In the biggest upset of the night, the three films with the most nominations – Doubt, Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which had been shortlisted in five categories each – failed to collect a single award.
They were shut out by English director Danny Boyle’s exhilarating Mumbai-set Slumdog Millionaire. Made on a relatively low budget and with no Hollywood stars, it was threatened with US distribution limbo for a while last year. It was nominated for four Golden Globes and won all of them: best film (drama), director, screenplay and music score.
Boyle’s film is now firmly established as the front-runner for next month’s Oscar ceremony. Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes are influential in generating extensive publicity for the nominees – and winners – at a time when the Oscar voters are marking their ballots.
The first award in the three-hour ceremony went to Kate Winslet as best supporting actress for her portrayal of a Nazi concentration camp guard in The Reader.
In a night when tears flowed freely, she gave an emotional acceptance speech in which she thanked, among others, her Hollywood agent, Hylda Queally, who is from Co Clare. Irish film producer Redmond Morris, one of the producers of The Reader, was in attendance.
Winslet was even more teary and emotional when she collected a second Golden Globe towards the end of the ceremony, as best actress in a film (drama) for Revolutionary Road. She thanked “two incredible men”, her co-star Leonardo di Caprio and her director, Sam Mendes, to whom she is married.
One of the most popular winners was Mickey Rourke, named best actor in a film (drama) for The Wrestler. His long hair hanging over his tinted glasses, Rourke said: “Several years ago I was almost out of this business.” The Wrestler received another Golden Globe when Bruce Springsteen accepted the best film song award for the film’s title track.
Rourke was the only American among the six actors who received film awards at the ceremony. The first standing ovation of the evening came when Australian actor Heath Ledger, who died a year ago this month, was named best supporting actor for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Sally Hawkins was voted best actress in a film (comedy or musical) for Mike Leigh’s London-set Happy-Go-Lucky. Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona was named best film (comedy or musical).
The award for best foreign-language film was given to the timely Israeli animated documentary, Waltz with Bashir. The prize for best animated feature film went to Disney’s production, Wall-E.
President Mary McAleese and Minister for the Arts Martin Cullen yesterday congratulated Colin Farrell and Gabriel Byrne on their Golden Globe victories.
Mrs McAleese said that the awards were a “fitting recognition of the great talent” of both actors.
Mr Cullen commented: “It was an auspicious night in America for innovative Irish talent and it demonstrates that we have some of the best international artists whose individual creative ability continues to occupy centre stage.”