Rich haul by ‘The Crown’ at Golden Globe Awards amid Covid-19 overhang

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The shadow of Covid-19 shadow loomed over a subdued but impressive The Golden Globe 2021 award ceremony, which was jointly hosted  in Los Angeles and New York.</p>
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Host Tina Fey and Amy Poehler worked the mikes from New York’s Rainbow Room and Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The live audience included frontline workers and first responders, whose services indeed need to be lauded.</p>
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Netflix’s <em>The Crown</em>, which blended fact and fiction about Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, may be mired in controversy but went on to pick four awards. The categories included Best Television Series (Drama) and other acting awards, namely, Actor in a Drama Series (Josh O’Connor); Actress in a Drama Series (Emma Corrin); and Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture for TV (Gillian Anderson).</p>
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For O’Connor and Corrin, who essayed the roles of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, respectively, picked up their first Globes. On winning the award, Corrin said, "Most of all, thank you so much to (Princess) Diana, you have taught me compassion and empathy beyond any measure I could ever imagine."</p>
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O'Connor added: "I'm very lucky to be able to work in this period, and there are so many people who are unable to work, who are alone and isolated, and I hope we can all collectively put mental health at the forefront of our minds."</p>
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<em>Borat Subsequent Moviefilm</em>and <em>Nomadland</em> won two awards each.  The former for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Sacha Baron Cohen for Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and the latter for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director for Chloe Zhao.</p>
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Zhao, became the second female winner of the category in Globes history, after Barbara Streisand in 1983, reports bbc.com. On receiving the award, she said, "Thank you everyone who made it possible to do what I love. I fell in love with making movies and telling stories because it gave us a chance to laugh and cry together, to learn from each other, and to have more compassion for each other."</p>
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Cohen who stars in <em>Borat Subsequent Moviefilm</em>, the sequel to 2006's hugely successful <em>Borat</em>, while accepting the award said, "Thank you to the all-white Hollywood Foreign Press.” He was referring to the recent revelation that the organisation behind the Globes currently has no black members.</p>
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Rosamund Pike, was named Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy film for <em>I Care A Lot</em> while the Best Supporting Actor went to Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in <em>Judas And the Black Messiah</em>. The film cast Kaluuya essayed the role of US activist Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party who was assassinated at the age of 21 in 1969.</p>
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Talking about his character, Kaluuya said, "I hope generations after this can see how brilliantly he fought, he spoke, and he loved. He taught me about myself, made me grow as a man, and I appreciate that with all my heart.”</p>
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The Canadian TV sitcom <em>Schitt’s Creek</em> had five nominations but won in the Best Television Series (musical or comedy) category.</p>
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Veteran actress and activist Jane Fonda was feted with the Cecil B DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement and used her acceptance speech to call for greater diversity in the industry. “Let's all of us make an effort to expand that tent so that everyone rises and everyone's story has a chance to be seen and heard. Let's be leaders."</p>
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Talking about the importance of storytelling, she said powerful stories can "change our hearts and our minds".</p>
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<em>(With inputs from IANS)</em></p>