Excitement and Drama at the Golden Globes! From First Asian Female Director Win, to The Crown Sweeping Major Awards, and the Late, Great Chadwick Boseman

The 78th Golden Globes Awards marked many firsts. The ceremony went bi-coastal, with returning co-hosts Tina Fey, holding the fort from the Rainbow Room in New York City, and Amy Poehler, taking on the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.

With the pandemic causing almost everything to grind to a halt, the event was held virtually, nearly two months later than scheduled. Suffice it to say that it was not quite the same to the years previous. Captivating red carpet moments turned into cozy scenes at home. It was a real-life paradox: these larger-than-life stars giving their speeches on Zoom, glitches included.

However, the contenders of the awards did not disappoint. Competition was fierce, with titans of the industry going head to head with one another.

Chloe Zhao, awarded Best Director, made history as the first Asian director to win the category. She is also the first woman to win in almost 4 decades. In an unlikely turn of events, her film Nomadland also won Best Motion Picture, Drama, taking out Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7, two films that were major candidates for the title.

The Crown, with 6 nominations took home 4 of the statuettes, with the mercurial on-screen couple Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles) and Emma Corrin (Diana, Princess of Wales) scoring the Best Actor and Actress awards for the drama series. Gillian Anderson won Best Supporting Actress in a Series for her role as Margaret Thatcher. With this many successful outcomes, it was no surprise that the show itself won in the Best TV Series, Drama category.

Another major win was for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Taking the prize was Sacha Baron Cohen, for his performance in the comedy as Borat Sagdiyev. The film, on the other hand, won Best Comedy, killing the dreams of Hamilton.

Although Aaron Sorkin did not get to include this year’s Best Director award in his collection of trophies, he did get his third Best Screenplay award, through Chicago 7. The historical legal drama was nominated for five Globes, but only managed to walk away with one.

David Fincher’s Mank, despite being nominated for six of the awards, was completely snubbed. As a posthumous nod to the late Chadwick Boseman, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) awarded him Best Actor in a Drama for his acting in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.