Arts & Entertainment
‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ‘Versace’ and other LGBT Golden Globes wins
Lady Gaga, Ben Whishaw and more take home the gold
The 76th annual Golden Globes, hosted by Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh, recognized the best in film and television at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday with some prominent awards handed to LGBT projects.
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Queen biopic starring Rami Malek as queer frontman Freddie Mercury, won Best Motion Picture Drama. Malek’s portrayal of Mercury was also honored with the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. Before raking in the accolades, the film was already a box office hit becoming the biggest-selling music biopic in history.
Malek notably didn’t thank director Bryan Singer during his acceptance speech.
“There’s only one thing we needed to do and that was to celebrate Freddie Mercury in this film. He is a marvel. There is only one Freddie Mercury and nothing would compromise us giving him the love, celebration and adulation he deserves,” Malek said per People.
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace” won for Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Executive producer Brad Simpson noted in his speech that although the story is historical, set in ’90s Miami, it is not dated.
“This was the era of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ It was the Defense of Marriage Act era. Those forces of hate are still here with us. They tell us we should be scared of people who are different than us. They tell us we should put walls around ourselves. As
Darren Criss, who played spree killer Andrew Cunanan, also won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
“This has been a marvelous year for representation in Hollywood, and I am so enormously proud to be a teeny tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipino woman from Cebu that dreamed of coming into this country and getting to be invited to cool parties like this. Mom, I know you’re watching this,” Criss told the crowd.“I love you dearly. I dedicate this to you. This is totally awesome.”
Darren Criss dedicates his #GoldenGlobes award to his mother pic.twitter.com/5jU5MBcZj2
— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) January 7, 2019
Lady Gaga won Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for “Shallow” although both she and her “A Star is Born” co-star Bradley Cooper didn’t bring home awards for Best Actress, Best Actor or Best Director.
Out actor Ben Whishaw also won for his role as Norman Scott in “A Very English Scandal.”
“He took on the establishment with courage and
Check out the complete list of winners below.
Best Motion Picture – Drama
“Black Panther”
“BlackKklansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“A Star Is Born”
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
“Crazy Rich Asians”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Vice”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Glenn Close-“The Wife”
Lady Gaga-“A Star Is Born”
Nicole Kidman-“Destroyer”
Melissa McCarthy- “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Rosamund Pike-“A Private War”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Bradley Cooper-“A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe-“At Eternity’s Gate”
Lucas Hedges-“Boy Erased”
Rami Malek-“Bohemian Rhapsody”
John David Washington-“BlackKklansman”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Emily Blunt-“Mary Poppins Returns”
Olivia Colman-“The Favourite”
Elsie Fisher- “Eighth Grade”
Charlize Theron-“Tully”
Constance Wu-“Crazy Rich Asians”
Best Director
Bradley Cooper-“A Star Is Born”
Alfonso Cuaron-“Roma”
Peter Farrelly-“Green Book”
Spike Lee (“BlackKklansman”)
Adam McKay (“Vice”)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale-“Vice”
Lin-Manuel Miranda-“Mary Poppins Returns”
Viggo Mortensen-“Green Book”
Robert Redford-“The Old Man and the Gun”
John C. Reilly-“Stan and Ollie”
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams-“Vice”
Claire Foy-“First Man”
Regina King-“If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone-“The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz-“The Favourite”
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Mahershala Ali-“Green Book”
Timothée Chalamet-“Beautiful Boy”
Adam Driver-“BlackKklansman”
Richard E. Grant-“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell-
Best Original Score in a Motion Picture
Marco Beltrami-“A Quiet Place”
Alexandre Desplat-“Isle of Dogs”
Ludwig Göransson-“Black Panther”
Justin Hurwitz-“First Man”
Marc Shaiman (“Mary Poppins Returns”)
Best Original Song in a Motion Picture
“All the Stars”-“Black Panther”
“Girl in the Movies”-“Dumplin'”
“Requiem for a Private War”-“A Private War”
“Revelation”-“Boy Erased”
“Shallow”-“A Star Is Born”
Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture
Barry Jenkins-“If Beale Street Could Talk”
Adam McKay-“Vice”
Alfonso Cuaron-“Roma”
Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara-“The Favourite”
Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie-“Green Book”
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
“Capernaum”
“Girl”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”
“Shoplifters”
Best Animated Film
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Best TV series – Drama
“The Americans”
“Bodyguard”
“Homecoming”
“Killing Eve”
“Pose”
Best
Caitriona Balfe-“Outlander”
Elisabeth Moss-“The Handmaid’s Tale”
Sandra Oh-“Killing Eve”
Julia Roberts-“Homecoming”
Keri Russell-“The Americans”
Best
Jason Bateman-“Ozark”
Stephan James-“Homecoming”
Richard Madden-“Bodyguard”
Billy Porter-“Pose”
Matthew Rhys-“The Americans”
Best TV series – Musical or Comedy
“Barry”
“The Good Place”
“Kidding”
“The Kominsky Method”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Best Performance by an Actor in a TV series – Musical or Comedy
Sasha Baron Cohen-“Who Is America?”
Jim Carrey-“Kidding”
Michael Douglas-“The Kominsky Method”
Donald Glover-“Atlanta”
Bill Hader-“Barry”
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV series – Musical or Comedy
Kristen Bell-“The Good Place”
Candice Bergen-“Murphy Brown”
Alison Brie-“GLOW”
Rachel Brosnahan-“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Debra Messing-
Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
“The Alienist”
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
“Dirty John”
“Escape at Dannemora”
“Sharp Objects”
“A Very English Scandal”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Antonio Banderas-“Genius: Picasso”
Daniel Bruhl-“The Alienist”
Darren Criss-“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
Benedict Cumberbatch-“Patrick Melrose”
Hugh Grant-“A Very English Scandal”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Amy Adams-“Sharp Objects”
Patricia Arquette-“Escape at Dannemora”
Connie Britton-“Dirty John”
Laura Dern-“The Tale”
Regina King-“Seven Seconds”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alan Arkin-“The Kominsky Method”
Kieran Culkin-“Succession
Edgar Ramirez- “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
Ben Whishaw-“A Very English Scandal”
Henry Winkler-“Barry”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alex Borstein-“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Patricia Clarkson-“Sharp Objects”
Penélope Cruz-“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)
Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Movies
A ‘Battle’ we can’t avoid
Critical darling is part action thriller, part political allegory, part satire
When Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” debuted on American movie screens last September, it had a lot of things going for it: an acclaimed Hollywood auteur working with a cast that included three Oscar-winning actors, on an ambitious blockbuster with his biggest budget to date, and a $70 million advertising campaign to draw in the crowds. It was even released in IMAX.
It was still a box office disappointment, failing to achieve its “break-even” threshold before making the jump from big screen to small via VOD rentals and streaming on HBO Max. Whatever the reason – an ambivalence toward its stars, a lack of clarity around what it was about, divisive pushback from both progressive and conservative camps over perceived messaging, or a general sense of fatigue over real-world events that had pushed potential moviegoers to their saturation point for politically charged material – audiences failed to show up for it.
The story did not end there, of course; most critics, unconcerned with box office receipts, embraced Anderson’s grand-scale opus, and it’s now a top contender in this year’s awards race, already securing top prizes at the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Awards, nominated for a record number of SAG’s Actor Awards, and almost certain to be a front runner in multiple categories at the Academy Awards on March 15.
For cinema buffs who care about such things, that means the time has come: get over all those misgivings and hesitations, whatever reasons might be behind them, and see for yourself why it’s at the top of so many “Best Of” lists.
Adapted by Anderson from the 1990 Thomas Pynchon novel “Vineland,” “One Battle” is part action thriller, part political allegory, part jet-black satire, and – as the first feature film shot primarily in the “VistaVision” format since the early 1960s – all gloriously cinematic. It unspools a near-mythic saga of oppression, resistance, and family bonds, set in an authoritarian America of unspecified date, in which a former revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) is attempting to raise his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti) under the radar after her mother (Teyana Taylor) betrayed the movement and fled the country. Now living under a fake identity and consumed by paranoia and a weed habit, he has grown soft and unprepared when a corrupt military officer (Sean Penn) – who may be his daughter’s real biological father – tracks them down and apprehends her. Determined to rescue her, he reconnects with his old revolutionary network and enlists the aid of her karate teacher (Benicio Del Toro), embarking on a desperate rescue mission while her captor plots to erase all traces of his former “indiscretion” with her mother.
It’s a plot straight out of a mainstream action melodrama, top-heavy with opportunities for old-school action, sensationalistic violence, and epic car chases (all of which it delivers), but in the hands of Anderson – whose sensibilities always strike a provocative balance between introspection, nostalgia, and a sense of apt-but-irreverent destiny – it becomes much more intriguing than the generic tropes with which he invokes to cover his own absurdist leanings.
Indeed, it’s that absurdity which infuses “One Battle” with a bemusedly observational tone and emerges to distinguish it from the “action movie” format it uses to relay its narrative. From DiCaprio (whose performance highlights his subtle comedic gifts as much as his “serious” acting chops) as a bathrobe-clad underdog hero with shades of The Dude from the Coen Brothers’ “The Big Liebowski,” to the uncomfortably hilarious creepy secret society of financially elite white supremacists that lurks in the margins of the action, Anderson gives us plenty of satirical fodder to chuckle about, even if we cringe as we do it; like that masterpiece of too-close-to-home political comedy, Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 nuclear holocaust farce “Dr. Strangelove,” it offers us ridiculousness and buffoonery which rings so perfectly true in a terrifying reality that we can’t really laugh at it.
That, perhaps, is why Anderson’s film has had a hard time drawing viewers; though it’s based on a book from nearly four decades ago and it was conceived, written, and created well before our current political reality, the world it creates hits a little too close to home. It imagines a roughly contemporary America ruled by a draconian regime, where immigration enforcement, police, and the military all seem wrapped into one oppressive force, and where unapologetic racism dictates an entire ideology that works in the shadows to impose its twisted values on the world. When it was conceived and written, it must have felt like an exaggeration; now, watching the final product in 2026, it feels almost like an inevitability. Let’s face it, none of us wants to accept the reality of fascism imposing itself on our daily lives; a movie that forces us to confront it is, unfortunately, bound to feel like a downer. We get enough “doomscrolling” on social media; we can’t be faulted for not wanting more of it when we sit down to watch a movie.
In truth, however, “One Battle” is anything but a downer. Full of comedic flourish, it maintains a rigorous distance that makes it impossible to make snap judgments about its characters, and that makes all the difference – especially with characters like DiCaprio’s protective dad, whose behavior sometimes feels toxic from a certain point of view. And though it’s a movie which has no qualms about showing us terrifying things we would rather not see, it somehow comes off better in the end than it might have done by making everything feel safe.
“Safe” is something we are never allowed to feel in Anderson’s outlandish action adventure, even at an intellectual level; even if we can laugh at some of its over-the-top flourishes or find emotional (or ideological) satisfaction in the way things ultimately play out, we can’t walk away from it without feeling the dread that comes from recognizing the ugly truths behind its satirical absurdities. In the end, it’s all too real, too familiar, too dire for us not to be unsettled. After all, it’s only a movie, but the things it shows us are not far removed from the world outside our doors. Indeed, they’re getting closer every day.
Visually masterful, superbly performed, and flawlessly delivered by a cinematic master, it’s a movie that, like it or not, confronts us with the discomforting reality we face, and there’s nobody to save it from us but ourselves.
Sports
‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to participate in Olympic torch relay
Games to take place next month in Italy
“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will participate in the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that will take place next month in Italy.
HBO Max, which distributes “Heated Rivalry” in the U.S., made the announcement on Thursday in a press release.
The games will take place in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6-22. The HBO Max announcement did not specifically say when Williams and Storrie will participate in the torch relay.
Bars & Parties
Here’s where to watch ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ with fellow fans
Entertainers TrevHER and Grey host event with live performance
Spark Social Events will host “Ru Paul’s Drag Race S18 Watch Party Hosted by Local Drag Queens” on Friday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m.
Drag entertainers TrevHER and Grey will provide commentary and make live predictions on who’s staying and who’s going home. Stick around after the show for a live drag performance. The watch party will take place on a heated outdoor patio and cozy indoor space.
This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
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