Golden Globes 2024: Barbie domination, Succession v The Crown, and other possible record-breakers
With a reputation as the more irreverent counterpart to the Oscars, the Golden Globes was always the fun ceremony that kicked off awards season with caustic humour, a recognition for comedy and TV, and a lot more booze and bad behaviour.
After several years of controversy over a lack of diversity and allegations of inappropriate “freebies”, the ceremony was held in private and boycotted by celebs in 2022 and didn’t quite fully bounce back in 2023. The hope now is that it can return to its former status as the second most high-profile show of awards season – and, arguably, the funniest.
The Golden Globes has been reinvented all shiny and new, with a fresh organising body and a membership revamp increasing numbers to a more diverse group of more than 300 people from around the world.
Following the actors’ and writers’ strikes, the timing is perfect. Hollywood is ready for some fun again – and thanks to the marketing phenomenon that was Barbenheimer, there are blockbuster films in the mix. Ahead of the ceremony, here are a few potential record-breakers and interesting facts about the nominees.
Come on Barbie, let’s go win all the awards
It topped $1bn in box office sales around the world and, some might say, was largely responsible for a chunk of Oppenheimer’s success too – with nine nominations, it seems inevitable that Barbie will dominate the Golden Globes this year.
It seems a dead cert for best comedy or musical film, as well as the new award for cinematic and box office achievement (you can’t argue with those stats). Stars Margot Robbie and Ryan “Kenergy” Gosling are also up for acting awards, while Greta Gerwig is in the running for best director.
However, three of its nods are in the same category, for best original song – Dance The Night, I’m Just Ken and What Was I Made For? – meaning it can only win a total of seven awards, as could Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon.
Oppenheimer is nominated for eight and could win all of them, which would break La La Land’s record of seven in 2016.
With the new membership this year, voting is harder to predict – but all that said, Barbie is still probably the one to put your money on for the biggest haul.
Bradley Cooper: Best director and best actor?
Pic: Netflix
In Maestro, Bradley Cooper stars as music legend Leonard Bernstein in an intimate portrait chronicling the conductor and composer’s complicated relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein, played by Carey Mulligan. Cooper directed, co-wrote and co-produced the film.
Cooper’s nods for best actor (drama) and best director become his fifth and sixth in total, but he is yet to take a Golden Globe home.
Fans of the actor might also remember he was up for the same two gongs for A Star Is Born in 2019, but lost out to Alfonso Cuaron (Roma) in the directing category and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) in the acting category.
So could the star’s first win also be part of a double?
He’s certainly a favourite in the acting category, despite facing tough competition from nominees including Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers Of The Flower Moon) and Andrew Scott (All Of Us Strangers).
The directing category sees him up against Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer, as well as Scorsese for Killers Of The Flower Moon.
Emma Stone nominated for film and TV
Pic: Atsushi Nishijima/Searchlight Pictures
Also up for two gongs is Emma Stone, a now eight-time nominee who won the best actress (musical or comedy) award for her performance in La La Land in 2017.
This year, she’s up for the same prize for her critically acclaimed performance in Poor Things – “utterly filthy and a true original” is Empire’s review, while Stone’s portrayal of Bella Baxter, a young woman having a sexual awakening after being brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist in the film, is described as “entirely astounding” in the Los Angeles Times.
Stone is also nominated for best actress in a TV drama for her role in the black comedy series The Curse.
In the film category, Stone is definitely a best actress favourite for Poor Things – although the sheer power of Robbie’s Barbie may be hard to beat.
The TV category is even tougher, with Bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us) and Sarah Snook (Succession) also among those in the running for best actress.
The double would be a tricky feat to pull off, only previously achieved by Joan Plowright (Stalin and Enchanted April in 1993); Sigourney Weaver (Gorillas In The Mist and Working Girl in 1989); Helen Mirren (Elizabeth I and The Queen in 2007); and Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road and The Reader in 2009).
Steve Martin has never won before
Pic: Disney +
Surprisingly for an awards ceremony that celebrates comedy right up there alongside the serious stuff, Steve Martin has never won a Golden Globe. From 1982 to 1996, he had five film nominations – Pennies From Heaven, All Of Me, Roxanne, Parenthood, Father Of The Bride Part II – but no trophy.
Since 2022, his performance as an amateur sleuth in comedy series Only Murders In The Building, in which he stars alongside Martin Short and Selena Gomez, has landed him a nod every single year.
Could 2024 be eighth time lucky? He’s up against co-star Short, a three-time nominee, as well as other stars including Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) and Jeremy Allen White (The Bear).
Meryl Streep for Number 10?
Pic: Disney +
Having joined the cast of Only Murders In The Building in 2023, Meryl Streep earns her 34th Golden Globe nomination for her performance as an actress who never got her big break. It broke her own record for all-time nods and a win in the best supporting performance category could see her gain her 10th overall.
Unsurprisingly for one of the most decorated stars of all time, she’s a favourite to take home the prize, but faces competition from stars including Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown).
Succession v The Crown
Pic: HBO/Sky UK
In Golden Globes history, Mad Men and The X-Files tie for most wins in the best drama series category, with three each – but a win for either Succession or The Crown would equal their record.
The Last Of Us, The Morning Show, The Diplomat and 1923 are also in the running, but this seems like Succession’s year once again.
The series leads the TV field with nine nods, and stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong are also in the running to win a second acting gong for their performances in the series – Cox previously won in 2020, while Strong won in 2022.
Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, J Smith Cameron and Alexander Skarsgard are also up for awards in the acting categories.
Should The Crown’s Imelda Staunton beat Snook in the best actress category, she would become the series’ fourth actress to take home the prize, following in the regal footsteps of Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, who also played the Queen, and Emma Corrin, who played Princess Diana in her younger years.
Winners will be announced at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, hosted by comedian Jo Koy on Sunday – starting at 1am on Monday UK time.
Drummer Zak Starkey has said he is “surprised and saddened” after parting ways with The Who following recent charity shows at the Royal Albert Hall.
The musician, who is the son of The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and his first wife, Maureen Starkey, had been with the band since 1996, when he joined for their Quadrophenia tour.
He was introduced to drumming as a child by “Uncle Keith” – The Who drummer and family friend Keith Moon, who died in 1978.
Pic: Carsten Koall/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Earlier this week, the band issued a statement saying a “collective decision” had been made about his departure. It came after their Teenage Cancer Trust shows in March.
A review of one gig, published in the Metro, suggested frontman Roger Daltrey – who launched the annual gig series for the charity in 2000 – was “frustrated” with the drumming during some tracks.
Now, Starkey has issued a statement to Rolling Stone, saying he is “very proud” of his near 30 years with The Who.
“Filling the shoes of my Godfather, ‘Uncle Keith’ has been the biggest honour and I remain their biggest fan,” he said. “They’ve been like family to me.”
In January, Starkey suffered a blood clot in his right leg and a performance with his other band Mantra Of The Cosmos – which also features Shaun Ryder and Bez from Happy Mondays, and Andy Bell of Ride and Oasis – was cancelled.
Referencing this in his statement to Rolling Stone, Starkey said: “I suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf. This is now completely healed and does not affect my drumming or running.”
He continued: “After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?”
Starkey said he planned to “take some much needed time off with my family” and focus on the release of Mantra Of The Cosmos single Domino Bones, which features Noel Gallagher, as well as his autobiography.
“Twenty-nine years at any job is a good old run, and I wish them the best,” he added.
Starkey has also previously played with Oasis, Lightning Seeds and Johnny Marr.
While Daltrey starts a solo tour at the weekend, The Who have two shows planned for Italy in July but no full tour. Details of a replacement for Starkey have not been announced.
Entertainment
Muscles from Brussels Jean-Claude Van Damme sends ‘big kiss’ to Putin with ambassadorial job request
Jean Claude Van Damme appears to have told Vladimir Putin that he wants to come to Russia as an ‘”ambassador of peace”.
In a bizarre video posted on Telegram by a pro-Russian journalist from Ukraine, a man purporting to be the Hollywood action hero said he would be “honoured” to take on such a role.
Addressing the Kremlin leader directly, he said: “We want to come to Russia. We’ll try to do this the way you want to do this – to be an ambassador of peace.”
It would not be the first time the man nicknamed “The Muscles from Brussels” has visited Russia.
In 2010, he enjoyed ringside seats alongside Putin at a mixed martial arts event in Sochi.
The Belgian-born former bodybuilder shares a love of fighting with the Russian president, who is himself a judo black belt, and they are said to have known each other for years.
Tiptoeing around the topic of Russia’s war in Ukraine and its ongoing stand-off with the West, Van Damme promised to talk “only about peace, sport and happiness” and not politics, before signing off the video with a “big kiss for Putin”.
Most celebrities have turned their back on Vladimir Putin since he launched his invasion in February 2022 but a handful continue to defend him. Of those, American actor Steven Seagal is the most high profile.
The Under Siege star, who holds a Russian passport and is a frequent visitor to the country, acts as Moscow’s special representative for Russian-US humanitarian ties.
But when we caught up with him at Putin’s latest presidential inauguration last year, he refused to say why he supports the Kremlin leader…
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Steven Seagal calls Sky’s question about Putin ‘stupid’
Entertainment
Gossip Girl and Buffy star Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, medical examiner says
Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, New York City’s medical examiner has said.
The 39-year-old, who was also known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harriet the Spy, was found dead at her home in New York City after officers responded to a 911 call on 26 February.
According to a source quoted by Sky News’ US partner network NBC, she had recently received a liver transplant.
At the time of her death, officials said no foul play was suspected, and the medical examiner’s office had listed her death as “undetermined”.
Trachtenberg’s family had objected to a post-mortem, which the medical examiner’s office honoured because there was no evidence of criminality.
But the medical examiner’s office said in a statement on Thursday it amended the cause and manner of death for the actress following a review of laboratory test results.
Trachtenberg was best known for her role as Dawn Summers in Buffy, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar between 2000 and 2003.
Michelle Trachtenberg. Pic: AP
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Between 2008 and 2012, she played Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl – the malevolent rival of Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen and Leighton Meester’s Blair Waldorf.
She also starred in the movie 17 Again, where she portrayed daughter Maggie O’Donnell, comedy film Eurotrip and the 2005 teen film Ice Princess.
In 2001, she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for hosting Discovery’s Truth or Scare.
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