Oppenheimer, Succession, Beef, The Bear sweep Golden Globes

The cream of Australia’s acting talent – actors Sarah Snook and Elizabeth Debicki – left the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards draped in glory. They won for performances in two of the most talked-about television series in the world: Succession and The Crown.

“This show has changed my life,” Snook said in her acceptance speech.

Sarah Snook won best performance by an actress in a television series – drama for Succession.Credit: Getty

“Everybody in it was amazing. The cast, the crew were fantastic. This was a team effort. It was always a team and that’s what made this show an amazing thing to be a part of.”

Two other Australians – Margot Robbie, nominated for best actress in Barbie, and screenwriter Tony McNamara, nominated for best screenplay for Poor Things – did not win their categories.

And while she may have lost the best actress in a musical or comedy film gong to Emma Stone, Robbie slayed on the red carpet at the Globes.

The 33-year-old actor, born in Queensland, wore a pink-sequined homage to the 1977 Super Star version of the iconic Mattel doll, designed by Giorgio Armani.

Plenty more where they came from! Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas with their Golden Globes.Credit: Invision

This year’s Golden Globes come off the back of an astonishing year in cinema, fuelled by massive revenues. The 12 films nominated for best motion picture at the Globes account for about $US2.7 billion ($4 billion) in the box office between them.

But the devil is in the detail: just two of them, Oppenheimer and Barbie, account for about $US2.3 billion of that. That was certainly an early clue to explain wins for Oppenheimer (best drama motion picture, best actor, supporting actor, director, original score) and Barbie (box office achievement, original song).

All up, there were winners in 27 categories and more than 40 presenters on the stage at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, all of whom walked away with one of 83 gift bags curated by billionaire men’s glossy magazine Robb Report, containing about $US500,000 in swag. (What happened to the roughly 16 bags in the shortfall is anyone’s guess.)

The night also played out as a clearer predictor of the upcoming Oscars, following changes to the Globes’ voter base, expanding it from less than 100 to about 300, including a larger group of international film journalists and critics.

But despite the changes to the voting structure of the awards, and a gentle shift from unpredictable results to something more in parallel with their more serious sibling the Oscars, the Globes retained one of their historic knacks: the ability to nose out an audience favourite.

Snook’s co-stars Kieran Culkin and Matthew Macfadyen also won their categories, and Succession claimed best television drama, making the show’s haul four from four.

“It’s been said it’s a team effort, this show, which is one of the reasons it’s so lovely to do,” creator Jesse Armstrong said, thanking the “extraordinary, supple and subtle cast and crew who have worked so dedicatedly and brilliantly”.

Two television comedies also swept their categories with three-for-three wins: Beef won best performances by an actor and actress and best limited series, while The Bear won best performances by an actor and actress and best series in comedy.

Beef actors Steven Yeun and Ali Wong with their Golden Globes.Credit: Invision

“It’s unreal. I love this show,” The Bear star Jeremy Allen White said in his speech. “I must have done something right in this life to be in your company,” he added, referring to the show’s cast and crew. “I feel so lucky I get to do this.”

Beef star Steven Yeun reflected on the value of the win to an actor who had spent much of his career outside the spotlight. “The story I usually tell to myself is one of isolation, separateness, and then you come up here and have this moment, and you can only just think about everyone else,” Yeun said. “And that feels like the plot of Frozen.”

Beef creator Lee Sung Jin said the series, about a road rage incident that escalates into a feud between two people, was based on a real incident that happened to him.

“I would be remiss not to thank that driver,” he said. “Sir, I hope you honk and yell and inspire others for years to come.”

The softest part of the telecast was American comedian Jo Koy’s opening monologue, historically one of the key elements in an awards night telecast. Koy had a lot to live up to; in previous years comedian Ricky Gervais and duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler won wide acclaim for their cut-to-the-bone scripts.

“We all dreamt of this moment. This is a good night and I got the best seat in the house,” Koy said, in a speech that lacked zingers and any real risk. Gags about Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan’s penis, and Barbie’s “big boobies” fell flat, as did barbs aimed at easy targets such as Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan.

The Globes marks the beginning of the busiest part of the film awards season, which began in November with New York’s Gotham Awards.

The key dates remaining in the 2024 awards season are the Critics Choice Awards (January 14), Directors Guild Awards (February 10), AACTA International Awards (February 10), the BAFTA film Awards (February 18), Screen Actors Guild Awards (February 24), Producers Guild Awards (February 25) and, finally, the Academy Awards on March 10.

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