The triumph of the theatrical release (Oppenheimer), the swan song of a certain model of prestige television (Succession) and a little jolt to the French film industry (Anatomy of a Fall): The Golden Globes once again summed up the state of the entertainment industry, on Sunday, January 7, at their 81st edition, which took place, as tradition dictates, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, near Los Angeles.
Oppenheimer, which received eight nominations, won five awards: Best Dramatic Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.) and Best Original Score. It's a major accolade for Christopher Nolan, who is an outspoken critic of the "dangers" of streaming movies.
On the series front, the final season of Succession won four awards: Best Drama Series, Best Actress (Sarah Snook), Best Actor (Kieran Culkin) and Best Supporting Actor (Matthew Macfadyen), leaving only Supporting Actress to The Crown (Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana), also in its final run. Succession represents the latest installment of the high-end TV model pioneered in the 1990s by cable channel HBO, whose content has since been swallowed up by streaming service Max, following the Warner Bros-Discovery merger. And perhaps it's the final example of such acclaimed television, after months of restructuring, redundancy plans and budget cuts imposed by Hollywood's most hated CEO, David Zaslav.
The third triumph went to Justine Triet, whose Anatomy of a fall won Best Foreign Language Film and Best Screenplay. Twice on stage, the French director didn't play politics – as she did in Cannes in May 2023, when she received her Palme d'Or and neither did any of the other winners. But she was able to savor the moment, as the committee responsible for nominating a French film for the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars preferred The Taste of Things, provoking controversy. The campaign for the Oscars, whose nominations will be announced on January 23, is shaping up well.
As every year, the balance between studios and streaming services was scrutinized and analyzed in Hollywood. Netflix led the way with five trophies, thanks to the success, on the miniseries side, of Beef (Best Miniseries, Best Actress, Ali Wong, Best Actor, Steven Yeun). Warner Bros Discovery took four trophies with Succession, and Disney, via its Hulu streaming service and FX channel, won three thanks to The Bear, which swept all the comedy prizes: Best Series, Best Actress (Ayo Edebiri) and Best Actor (Jeremy Allen White).
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