Happy New Year, friends! Awards season is upon us.
Hollywood's foreign press set off awards season January 5, and a myriad of bad fashion choices, with the Golden Globes. We usually avoid these shows as they always run too long, and become irate if actors of color are shut out. Also, why is the patter written for presenters always so terrible?
But in recent years there has been a plethora of LGBTQ actors nominated and presenting and that has lured us in, as it did for the Golden Globes. We were not disappointed.
The big winner of the night was "Emilia Perez," the second most-nominated film in Golden Globe history, with ten nominations and four wins at the 82nd annual ceremony, including Best Motion Picture; Musical or Comedy (the first time a non-English-language film won the category) and Best Foreign Language Film. Zoe Saldaña won for Best Female Actor in a Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song won for "El Mal."
Trans actress Karla Sofia Gascón also became the first trans woman to be nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture; Musical or Comedy.
"Emilia Perez" was also named one of the top 10 films of 2024 by the American Film Institute, and was selected as the French entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
It was a pretty stunning series of wins. Director Jacques Audiard, who does not speak English, turned the stage over to Gascón to speak on the film and she gave a heartfelt message about inclusion.
Wearing an orange and yellow gown, Gascón said, "I chose these colors tonight — the Buddhist colors — because I have a message for you. The light always wins over darkness. You can put us in jail, you can beat us up, but you can never take away our soul or our resistance or our identity. I want to say to you, raise your voice and say that I won, I am who I am, not who you want [me to be]."
It was extraordinary. In her speech earlier in the night, Saldaña acknowledged Gascón, saying, "I'm also sharing [this award] with you, Karla. No one other than you could have played Emilia Pérez."
Other high points of the night included what is sure to be seen as an iconic speech by Demi Moore, who Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for "The Substance."
Moore spoke to what happens to women aging out in Hollywood (though she looks spectacular at 62). She said in part, "In those moments when we don't think we are smart enough or pretty enough or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough, I had a woman say to me, 'Just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.'" Amen.
And Jodie Foster, who won for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture: Television, has been making movies for more than a half century. She spoke about authenticity and thanked her wife, "And the love of my life, Alex. Thank you, forever."
There were also queer presenters, including Ariana DeBose and Ayo Edebiri from "The Bear." Alas, there were also a host of terrible dresses to comment on, to which we will only say, stop dressing large actresses in ridiculous outfits and stop dressing older actresses in dresses you would never make a younger woman wear. It's disrespectful and just plain unkind.
Much missed
Harlan Coben has created so many unforgettable series, there is always great anticipation for each new project. Coben has written more than 30 books, with 12 of them being made into films and TV shows. The best-selling author has a deal with Netflix to have several of his novels adapted into series. Thus far, "Fool Me Once" and "Stay Close" have premiered on Netflix. We start 2025 with his latest, "Missing You."
"Missing You" is adapted from Corben's 2014 novel. When Detective Kat Donovan matches on a dating app with the fiancé who disappeared 11 years before, she learns that some secrets are best left in the past.
It's a complicated story in which Donovan is dealing with grief over her father's death and her lover's disappearance, which happened within weeks of each other. But as she embarks on a new missing persons case, these parts of her own past become vividly integral to the plot and to her own survival.
Rosalind Eleazar ("Slow Horses") is superb as Donovan. There is stellar secondary acting from Jessica Plummer as Donovan's bestie, Stacey and Richard Armitage as Detective Chief Inspector Ellis Stagger.
Mary Malone plays Aqua, one of Kat's closest friends. Aqua, a yoga instructor, is the reason why Kat and fiancé Josh first met. Aqua was Josh's roommate. Malone is a U.K. trans actress who recently appeared in the 2023 "Doctor Who Christmas Special." Her television debut came with a guest role in STARZ's "The Girlfriend Experience." She's getting a lot of buzz for her role in "Missing You," which is integral to the plot. It's definitely a must-see series for Coben fans, now streaming on Netflix.
Spell on you
Many of our favorite series are back with new seasons in January. Among them is "Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches" on AMC which premiered January 5.
Neurosurgeon Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario) has a problem. When she gets mad, she kills with her mind. Her search for answers sends her to New Orleans, home to her biological family and the spirit Lasher (Jack Huston), a powerful, shape-shifting entity who has been bound to the Mayfair witches for centuries and has haunted them for generations.
Ciprien (Sip) Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa), a devoted agent to the Talamasca, is assigned to protect Rowan. He soon realizes he's in way over his head as secrets are revealed that could tarnish Rowan's family and his role in the Talamasca.
Rowan is determined to use Lasher's powers to fulfill her purpose as a healer, but when tragedy strikes, she must put aside her own desires and fight to save her family. With Harry Hamlin as Cortland Mayfair, the current Mayfair patriarch, Ben Feldman as Sam Larkin, Rowan's former boyfriend who is the CEO of a genetics startup and Alyssa Jirrels as Moira Mayfair, Rowan's cousin who is a mind reader. It's compelling viewing, on AMC and Hulu.
Some other queer-forward series that are back this month that you want to check out and/or return to are "XO, Kitty" and "The Traitors." Also, queer comedian Lisa Treyger's first hour-long stand-up special, "Night Owl" is set to premiere globally on Netflix on January 28.
Half-mast
President Biden gave out 19 Medal of Freedom awards to friends, donors, iconic figures in history and culture, past and present on January 4. (www.cnn.com)
Biden's award ceremony triggered the MAGA world. On Twitter/X, lost boy JD Vance compared Biden's posthumous recognition of Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and assassinated former Attorney General and senator Robert F. Kennedy to Pol Pot and Count Dracula. Yet it still won't get him a seat at Mar-a-Lago.
Apparently even an award to Chef José Andrés, who many, ourselves included, view as a near-saint for his work feeding the world's most desperate in war zones and climate crisis zones, was controversial.
But nothing upset the haters more than recognition of Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, senator, secretary of state and presidential nominee (whom Trump threatened to jail) received a standing ovation on Saturday at The White House.
Trump, who has spent days ranting about the flags flying at half-staff for Jimmy Carter, shifted his attention for a hot angry minute. Let's not forget Trump awarded that same medal to Rush Limbaugh, who attacked people with AIDS non-stop. So we DGAF what MAGAs think.
"Let's remember, our sacred effort continues, and to keep going, as my mother would say, we have to keep the faith," Biden told the crowd in the East Room of the White House at the end of the ceremony Saturday. Amen.
So, for the awards, the thrills, the laughs and more, you know you really must stay tuned.
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