Last night, the Golden Globes aired kicking off the 2014 Awards Season. Many people refer to The Golden Globes as the redheaded stepchild of The Oscars; basically saying The Globes don't matter. I beg to differ. I believe The Golden Globes and The Oscars both matter quite a bit and, at the same time, don't matter at all.
THE GLOBES:
1. A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE:
I can't tell you how often people get upset with the winners of the Globes (at times, myself included). I feel like the Globes give a different take on filmmaking. The Globes are made up of Journalists from all over the the world. So, there will be a very different perspective, as there should be. For example, last year Ben Affleck won Best Director at the Globes and wasn't nominated at the Oscars. Also, Kathryn Bigelow earned a direction nomination and was not nominated at the Oscars. So, right there we have two different perspectives on filmmaking. This, in my opinion, is a good thing. The Hollywood Foreign Press and The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences are two separate entities; therefore, you will never have the same result. Why is this a bad thing? I don't think it is. I don't think it is at all. People have made these awards very personal. Why?
The main reason I feel people dislike the Golden Globes is The Best Musical/Comedy category. Let's talk about the Musical/Comedy category. I think it is an interesting category to have and an important one. That being said, the definition of a Comedy always seems a bit loose. Yet, it is a nice counter to the Oscars, which is ALWAYS serious. The last major Comedy to win an Oscar in my recollection was 'My Cousin Vinny' in 1993; 21 years ago. The last time a Comedy won a Golden Globe... last night. Leonardo DiCaprio took home gold for 'The Wolf Of Wall Street' - a film that may get nothing at the Oscars. So, Best Musical/Comedy is not a bad thing in my eyes. The category gives worthy films consideration they may not otherwise get.
2. WHAT THE OSCARS MISS:
In some years, as with any human run organization, mistakes are made and sometimes films get missed or overlooked. People are human.
Last year, I felt the above happened at the Academy Awards. As I stated earlier, Affleck wasn't nominated for Best Director and neither was Kathryn Bigelow. Also, John Hawkes didn't get a nomination for 'The Sessions' (which was, in my opinion, the best male performance all year.) People have speculated the reason 'Zero Dark Thirty' didn't win any major awards was due to the content and politics. That may be true; that may be malarky. I don't know. What I do know is that the Oscars are an organization made up of Actors, Directors, Cinematographers, Composers, Editors, Set and Costume Designers, Sound mixers etc. and all of these men and women (some having huge age gaps) vote in their respective slots. I can understand great films getting missed and people having very different views and this is a major reason why the Globes matter. If the Globes miss a great film, the Oscars might award it and visa versa. The two entities are different with the same goal... award great achievements in filmmaking and that is exactly what they do.
The Globes matter as much as the Oscars do. They give a different, but worthy, view on the best of the year.
3. WHY NEITHER MATTER:
It is simple. In the end, we remember how a film makes us feel whether it won an Oscar, a Golden Globe or a Razzie. The power of films and filmmaking (at least of great filmmaking) is the emotion it brings to the table... how we laugh or cry. Making and watching a film is about feeling something and wanting to make your audience feel something. Let's celebrate that.
- George McCann
No comments:
Post a Comment