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The 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday were a remarkably politics-free affair – even for an awards show known primarily for being fun and boozy. Compare it to the Globes that were held just before the last time Donald Trump was sworn in as president of the United States: In 2017, Meryl Streep delivered a passionate speech criticizing him and championing the “principled press.”
While a few winners at these Golden Globes alluded to “difficult” times – and Sebastian Stan made it abundantly clear he was proud of having starred in “The Apprentice,” his controversial Trump origin story – most of the focus was on the work itself. “The Brutalist,” a nearly four-hour epic about a Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and undertakes a work of great ambition in the United States, and “Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language musical about a Mexican cartel boss who transitions into a woman, triumphed in film categories. On the TV side of things, the historical drama “Shogun” and dark stalker comedy “Baby Reindeer” followed their 2024 Emmy Awards success by racking up several Globes.
And there were even a few surprises – chief among them Demi Moore’s best actress, musical or comedy, win for “The Substance.” Another surprise: a well-received host. Nikki Glaser lightly jabbed the assembled celebs during her opening monologue. “I’m not here to roast you,” the comedian said, leading into one of the few instances where the ceremony got a little political: “And how could I? You’re all so famous, so talented, so powerful. I mean, you could really do anything – except tell the country who to vote for. But it’s okay. You’ll get them next time.”
Here are the best moments from the Golden Globes.
‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Emilia Pérez’ win big
The Globes are not perfect Oscars predictors, but we got some major insights into the way the 2025 race is leaning. The best picture contest may now officially be between “The Brutalist,” which won three Globes, and “Emilia Pérez,” which won four.
“The Brutalist” looks expensive – even though director Brady Corbet insists he only spent $10 million-$11 million while shooting on VistaVision, a retro 35mm format – and its big theme about an artist striving for greatness resonates with many in Hollywood. With Adrien Brody’s win for best actor in a drama, Corbet’s for best director and the film’s best drama award, this might be the front-runner.
But don’t count out “Emilia Pérez.” The audacious musical from French auteur Jacques Audiard won the musical or comedy category, as well as the trophy for best film in a non-English language. It also took home best original song and supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña, who cried throughout her speech. – Jada Yuan
Demi Moore receives a huge round of applause
The Demissance – we’ll figure out what to call it eventually – is upon us. Once pigeonholed as a “popcorn-movie actress,” Moore said on Sunday that she was considering stepping away from acting before she read the script for “The Substance.” Perhaps more shocking, she said while accepting her Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical, this win marked her first major acting award.
The crowd at the Beverly Hilton roared when her name was announced. The grotesque but high-concept horror film holds a mirror to Hollywood’s unrealistic beauty standards, serving as a rallying cry for women who’ve been told they have “aged out” of leading roles. Apparently, the message resonated. – Olivia McCormack
Fernanda Torres pulls off an upset
There were several marquee names in the running for best actress in a drama, including Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton and Kate Winslet. But Fernanda Torres bested them all, winning for her role in Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” as a woman grappling with her husband’s forced disappearance under the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Torres said she didn’t prepare a speech – a common refrain, but one that might actually have been true judging by the pure shock on her face. She noted that her mother, the 95-year-old Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro, attended the Globes some 25 years ago when she herself was nominated for the 1998 film “Central Station,” another film by Salles. (Montenegro appears at the very end of “I’m Still Here,” playing an older version of Torres’ character.)
“And this is proof that art can endure through life, even in difficult moments,” Torres said, describing “I’m Still Here” as a film that helped her “think [about] how to survive in tough times.” – Sonia Rao
‘Wicked’ thrives in references, but not awards
Glaser mentioned in her monologue that she was “holding space” for television, a reference to the viral interview in which a reporter told “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande that queer people were “holding space” for the lyrics of the film’s war cry of a final number, “Defying Gravity.” Grande later admitted nobody knew what was going on in that moment, but the internet took the clip and ran with it. Glaser again referenced it when she asked Grande if she would hold her finger.
The references kept on coming. Glaser wore an elaborate costume to sing “Pope-u-lar,” a play on the “Wicked” song “Popular” that was parodied with the papal dramedy “Conclave” in mind. Stars Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum acknowledged the musical’s fan base by riffing about online slang. “People, for instance, have been calling me ‘Zaddy,’” Goldblum said. “The same people have been saying that I’m serving ‘Mother,’” Yeoh added.
But when it came to awards, “Wicked” came up nearly empty – with the exception of the newly created award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. “Inside Out 2″ and “Deadpool & Wolverine” both made more money in 2024, but the award seems designed solely to make sure that the best movie that mass audiences actually liked doesn’t go home empty-handed. With some hard campaigning, maybe “Wicked” can sprout more wings in time for Oscar nominations. – J. Y.
Karla Sofía Gascón delivers a powerful message
Writer-director Jacques Audiard had his moment to shine while accepting the best screenplay prize for “Emilia Pérez,” so he ceded the microphone to actress Karla Sofía Gascón when the film won best motion picture, musical or comedy. Gascón, who was nominated for her lead performance, didn’t specify who she was speaking to but seemed to urge fellow trans people to summon the courage to stand up to bigotry.
“You can put us in jail, you can beat us up, but you can never take away our soul, our resistance, our identity,” she said. “I want to say to you, ‘Raise your voice’ … and say, ‘I am who I am. Not who you want.’” – S. R.
Zoe Saldaña and Adrien Brody get emotional
It wouldn’t be an awards show without some waterworks and emotional speeches. Saldaña and Brody bookended the night with heartfelt words about their individual acting wins.
Saldaña, who has spoken publicly about how personal of a project “Emilia Pérez” was to her, won best supporting actress and ended up shouting tearful thank-yous to her family, fellow nominees and Netflix over the music playing her off. Brody paid homage to his family – including his mother, a Hungarian who emigrated to the United States – and said he wishes for “The Brutalist” to give immigrants some hope. “I hope this work stands to lift you up a bit and give you a voice,” he said. – Herb Scribner
‘Shogun’ and ‘Baby Reindeer’ reign supreme
The Globes echoed the Emmys of last fall, handing out several trophies to “Shogun,” FX’s mostly Japanese-language historical drama, and “Baby Reindeer,” Netflix’s limited series about a troubled man dealing with a female stalker.
All three actors nominated for “Shogun” won: lead actor Hiroyuki Sanada, lead actress Anna Sawai and supporting actor Tadanobu Asano. The show itself won best drama series, and is poised to keep racking up wins in future seasons.
“Baby Reindeer” proved to be as indelible as it was disturbing; it won best limited series and best supporting actress for Jessica Gunning. While creator Richard Gadd lost the limited-series acting category to Colin Farrell (“The Penguin”), Farrell was moved enough by Gadd’s performance to mention it during his own acceptance speech. – S.R.
Colin Farrell shouts out craft services
Farrell, who won his third Golden Globe for his role in the Gotham-set miniseries “The Penguin,” made sure to thank himself in his speech. Yes, himself. He was joking, of course. But he did pay tribute to one Carolina (or maybe Karolina?) from craft services, who brought him coconut waters every half-hour during those cold winter nights on set in New York. “She kept the whole crew going,” he said. – H.S.
‘Flow’ beats bigger animation contenders
In animation, the little guy is supposed to win at the end. The scrappy band of well-meaning kids/animals/inanimate objects is meant to overtake a bigger foe – and at the Globes, “Flow” did just that. The small Latvian film beat “Inside Out 2,” the highest-grossing movie of last year and highest-grossing animated movie of all time, as well as critical darling “The Wild Robot” and the very popular “Moana 2.” The film, which follows a black cat trying to survive a natural disaster, contains no dialogue and was rendered on a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software. – O. M.