January
12Globes Weekend: Up Front and Personal
Most of us approach Globes weekend with a certain apprehension. Packed with parties and random encounters, the weekend is a carnival of conviviality. Even a master of the mix like Ron Meyer admits he runs out of small talk by mid-weekend. How many ways can you congratulate Kate Winslet when you run into her for the third time? A couple of years ago Sasha Baron Cohen, a confirmed non-extrovert, kept introducing his elderly parents to those rare folks who tried to greet him. “These are my parents, they talk Globes talk better than me,” Borat told everyone. This year he was a presenter and has totally mastered Globes talk.
Globes weekend is more a tribal ingathering than a tribute and, as such, it gives folks an excuse to throw a party for friends and clients. Playwright Peter Morgan (“Frost/Nixon”), who was honored by agent Jeremy Zimmer at an elegant party, noted, “The party enabled me to relive my most unproductive Hollywood meetings.” Paula Wagner and Rick Nicita, two former CAA mavens (Nicita now heads Morgan Creek), threw an even more elegant soiree for actress Kristin Scott Thomas, mainly because, as they pointed out, they think she’s a truly under-appreciated actress (she was a Globe nominee for “I’ve Loved You So Long”). A range of actors and filmmakers, including Keanu Reeves, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Haggis, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall joined in the appreciation.
While the personally hosted parties retained their civility, CAA’s pre-Globes bash was so packed even the fire marshal decided to take a pass. Paramount’s event was jammed even before Leonardo bravely wedged his way to Brad Grey, resulting in instant critical mass. Fortunately for the waiters’ safety, no food was provided – “This town is dangerously hungry,” observed one veteran party-goer. Miley Cyrus and entourage jolted the Disney-Miramax party to life at the Beverly Wilshire and, for a far different demo, Jon Hamm was the superstar at the AMC-Vanity Fair party for “Mad Men.”
Sure, Globes’ voting can get weird: Clint Eastwood makes a great movie like “Gran Torino” and even wins the weekend B.O., but the Globes deliver a total snub. Meryl Streep makes a rare appearance at an awards show and Sally Hawkins (who?) is the winner. The Globes honors “In Bruges,” a movie so obscure even its star, Colin Farrell, says the votes “must have been counted in Florida.” Brad and Angelina make the grandest entrance and win nothing. The only movie CEO who yearns to be invisible, Peter Rice of Fox Searchlight, keeps getting kudos from stars and directors. The normally non-lucid Mickey Rourke delivers the most eloquent speech and the marvelously articulate Steven Spielberg the most pedestrian.
OK, the Globes’ show is supposed to be disorienting and it delivers on that count, but here’s how it also delivers: It’s great entertainment. Watch the Globes and Oscars on the TV screen and you sense the stars are really enjoying themselves at the Globes while their smiles are pasted on at the Oscars. I was sitting in the middle of the action Sunday night and that impression is true. Recession notwithstanding, Globes night was a celebration. There was a genuine swell of emotion at the triumphs of “Slumdog Millionaire,” the tribute to Heath Ledger and the rediscovery of Mickey Rourke. That wasn’t acting, folks. The showbiz fraternity was into it.
And it is a fraternity. The Globes present that rare coming together of film and TV augmented by a Bruce Springsteen or a P. Diddy. My wife and I were wedged between Tina Fey, Sasha Baron Cohen and Seth Rogen – where else would you find such a disparate array?
So the show ends and the floodgates open. Everyone in America, it seems, wants to attend a post-Globes party. HBO throws a stylish event, but why was there a two-hour wait to get in by 10 pm? Most of the stars already had taken shelter by that time or retreated to still other parties, but some execs and filmmakers lingered on. Their conversation broke the myth: No, this was not an evening in which everyone forgot about the economic upheaval and focused on partying. Even in a party setting, there was talk of layoffs and filmmakers were trying to figure out who, if anyone, was going to finance their next movie. “Steven Spielberg got the big honor tonight,” said one filmmaker “But even Steven is trying to figure out whether he’ll get his funding.”
The Academy Awards is still the real show with a host, a monologue and entertainment. The Globes is a happening with awards thrown in – and the broadcast got just ok ratings. But the Oscar show this year has to find a way to lighten up. The movies that won the focus of the Globes were not mass-appeal movies – the national TV audience hasn’t seen “In Bruges,” “The Wrestler” or “The Reader.” The Globes covers it up by doling out awards to pop TV stars, but the Oscars are stuck with technical awards. Wake up, Oscar: It’s tough out there.
So what exactly is Carl Icahn buying? The rumors circulating on the party circuit over the weekend had Icahn taking a stake in MGM, or in a portion of its debt. Previously, Icahn was hovering over Lionsgate. So one question remains: Will Kirk Kerkorian also find this an opportunity to launch Act Three of his MGM melodrama?
Columnists and bloggers take note: The newest entry into our fraternity, Bono, made an impressive debut in the Sunday New York Times. Identified as “a contributing columnist and founder of the advocacy group ONE,” Bono’s initial column read like a lyric merged with a toast at a Dublin tavern. Who else could combine a dissertation on Frank Sinatra with a musing about the present mood of the world… “tussles between hope and fear, expectation and trepidation.”
The Lead-up
Globes weekend is more a tribal ingathering than a tribute and, as such, it gives folks an excuse to throw a party for friends and clients. Playwright Peter Morgan (“Frost/Nixon”), who was honored by agent Jeremy Zimmer at an elegant party, noted, “The party enabled me to relive my most unproductive Hollywood meetings.” Paula Wagner and Rick Nicita, two former CAA mavens (Nicita now heads Morgan Creek), threw an even more elegant soiree for actress Kristin Scott Thomas, mainly because, as they pointed out, they think she’s a truly under-appreciated actress (she was a Globe nominee for “I’ve Loved You So Long”). A range of actors and filmmakers, including Keanu Reeves, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Haggis, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall joined in the appreciation.While the personally hosted parties retained their civility, CAA’s pre-Globes bash was so packed even the fire marshal decided to take a pass. Paramount’s event was jammed even before Leonardo bravely wedged his way to Brad Grey, resulting in instant critical mass. Fortunately for the waiters’ safety, no food was provided – “This town is dangerously hungry,” observed one veteran party-goer. Miley Cyrus and entourage jolted the Disney-Miramax party to life at the Beverly Wilshire and, for a far different demo, Jon Hamm was the superstar at the AMC-Vanity Fair party for “Mad Men.”
The Main Event
Sure, Globes’ voting can get weird: Clint Eastwood makes a great movie like “Gran Torino” and even wins the weekend B.O., but the Globes deliver a total snub. Meryl Streep makes a rare appearance at an awards show and Sally Hawkins (who?) is the winner. The Globes honors “In Bruges,” a movie so obscure even its star, Colin Farrell, says the votes “must have been counted in Florida.” Brad and Angelina make the grandest entrance and win nothing. The only movie CEO who yearns to be invisible, Peter Rice of Fox Searchlight, keeps getting kudos from stars and directors. The normally non-lucid Mickey Rourke delivers the most eloquent speech and the marvelously articulate Steven Spielberg the most pedestrian.OK, the Globes’ show is supposed to be disorienting and it delivers on that count, but here’s how it also delivers: It’s great entertainment. Watch the Globes and Oscars on the TV screen and you sense the stars are really enjoying themselves at the Globes while their smiles are pasted on at the Oscars. I was sitting in the middle of the action Sunday night and that impression is true. Recession notwithstanding, Globes night was a celebration. There was a genuine swell of emotion at the triumphs of “Slumdog Millionaire,” the tribute to Heath Ledger and the rediscovery of Mickey Rourke. That wasn’t acting, folks. The showbiz fraternity was into it.
And it is a fraternity. The Globes present that rare coming together of film and TV augmented by a Bruce Springsteen or a P. Diddy. My wife and I were wedged between Tina Fey, Sasha Baron Cohen and Seth Rogen – where else would you find such a disparate array?
The Aftermath
So the show ends and the floodgates open. Everyone in America, it seems, wants to attend a post-Globes party. HBO throws a stylish event, but why was there a two-hour wait to get in by 10 pm? Most of the stars already had taken shelter by that time or retreated to still other parties, but some execs and filmmakers lingered on. Their conversation broke the myth: No, this was not an evening in which everyone forgot about the economic upheaval and focused on partying. Even in a party setting, there was talk of layoffs and filmmakers were trying to figure out who, if anyone, was going to finance their next movie. “Steven Spielberg got the big honor tonight,” said one filmmaker “But even Steven is trying to figure out whether he’ll get his funding.”
The Challenge for Oscar
The Academy Awards is still the real show with a host, a monologue and entertainment. The Globes is a happening with awards thrown in – and the broadcast got just ok ratings. But the Oscar show this year has to find a way to lighten up. The movies that won the focus of the Globes were not mass-appeal movies – the national TV audience hasn’t seen “In Bruges,” “The Wrestler” or “The Reader.” The Globes covers it up by doling out awards to pop TV stars, but the Oscars are stuck with technical awards. Wake up, Oscar: It’s tough out there.Musings
So what exactly is Carl Icahn buying? The rumors circulating on the party circuit over the weekend had Icahn taking a stake in MGM, or in a portion of its debt. Previously, Icahn was hovering over Lionsgate. So one question remains: Will Kirk Kerkorian also find this an opportunity to launch Act Three of his MGM melodrama?
Columnists and bloggers take note: The newest entry into our fraternity, Bono, made an impressive debut in the Sunday New York Times. Identified as “a contributing columnist and founder of the advocacy group ONE,” Bono’s initial column read like a lyric merged with a toast at a Dublin tavern. Who else could combine a dissertation on Frank Sinatra with a musing about the present mood of the world… “tussles between hope and fear, expectation and trepidation.”
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someone should teach kate winslet some class....maybe laura linney......god was she discusting....no ms winslet you and your makeup artist and your dressers and your manicurist and your toenail cutter are not the most important people in the world,in fact your are all narcissistic spoiled children
Posted by: elderstatesman | 1/14/2009 4:25:05 PM