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An insider’s look at the Golden Globes
Los Angeles — It is not called Hollywood’s party of the year for nothing!
And this year, the Golden Globe Awards turned 75.
To make the occasion more special, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organization behind the Globes, will be donating $2 million in grants to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Each organization will be getting $1 million each.
This was announced by HFPA president Meher Tatna during the ceremony. This is the first time a donation announcement has been made during the live telecast.
Tatna said, “We HFPA journalists are committed to supporting humanitarian organizations, film restoration, and film education. To date, we have granted over $30 million to those causes. And being an association of journalists, we are keenly aware of its importance, especially today.”
The red carpet also turned black as Meryl Streep and other actresses wore black to show solidarity against sexual abuse among women in Hollywood, supporting the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. A number of men and women also wore #TimesUp pins.
Last year, Meryl Streep delivered a powerful speech that went viral and even made somebody in the White House tweet his reaction about it.
This year, it was Cecil B. Mille awardee Oprah Winfrey, who delivered a rousing speech, receiving not one but three standing ovations.
She moved us when she said:
“In 1982, Sidney (Poitier) received the Cecil B. DeMille Award right here at the Golden Globes, and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award.
“I’d like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we all know that the press is under siege these days, but we also know that it is the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice - to tyrants and victims and secrets and lies.
“I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this: What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I’m especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell. And this year, we became the story. But it’s not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It’s one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics, or workplace. So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue.”
Asked backstage what gems of wisdom she could pass on to the future generation of Hollywood who want to make films, Oprah said, “The way you make movies is to do stuff you love. You know, for 25 years, I worked on the Oprah show, and I will tell you there were nights when I came home and it was hard to even take off my clothes because I knew I was going to be getting up four hours later.
“But I never really felt exhausted, like depleted. I felt exhausted, but I never felt depleted. So do the work that comes straight from the soul of you, from your background, from stories that you’ve grown up with, from stories that bring you passion, from stories that you are not just drawn to tell, but if you don’t tell them, they don’t get told.
“And when you are operating, you know, the single greatest wisdom I think I’ve ever received, other than when people show you who they are, is that the key to fulfillment, success, happiness, contentment in life is when you align your personality with what your soul actually came to do. I believe everybody has a soul and has their own personal spiritual energy. So when you can use your personality to serve whatever that thing is, you can’t help but be successful.”
Aside from Oprah being the first black woman to be given the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Sterling K. Brown and Aziz Ansari also made some monumental wins.
Sterling, star of “This is Us,” became the first black man to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV drama.
“Master of None” actor, Aziz, became the first Asian-American to win Best Actor in a TV comedy.
As for the after-parties, guests at the Golden Globes had a choice of eight after-parties to go to. Six of them were held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and two were held at the new Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.
Filipinos were represented at this year’s Golden Globes. Fil-Am Darren Criss presented the Best Actor – Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television with his “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” gang which included Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz and Ricky Martin.
“Coco’s” “Remember Me” Fil-Am composer Robert Lopez proudly wore an Oliver Tolentino piña tux jacket to the awards ceremony. It was touching when his wife Kristen Lopez told us after the show, “Too bad we did not win for the Philippines!” when they lost to the winning composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul who wrote “This is Me” for “The Greatest Showman” and were last year’s winners for “City of Stars” for “La La Land.”
Other Filipinos who attended the event as guests included fashion designer Puey Quinones who is also the creative director of the global bridal brand, Cocomelody; Rene Durian who is the publicist of internationally acclaimed film director Brillante Mendoza; Narciso Chan who is the president of Curve Entertainment Philippines; Flora Ramos who is the former managing director of Dyna-EMI Music; her husband Marlo Ramos who is a retired manufacturing safety and environmental manager; Jerry Sibal who is the founder of Jerry Sibal Design of New York City and his partner Edwin Josue who works with Halstead Property. — LA, GMA News
