The Golden Globes 2013: Who Were The Winners And Losers?

Ben Affleck got his redemption at the Golden Globes last night (January 13)

Though the Oscars is undoubtedly the big one, there’s traditionally been a lot of love for the Golden Globes among the Hollywood fraternity, with the event being seen as a generally looser, less formal affair than its prestigious counterpart – even if the actors have had to cope with the barbs of Ricky Gervais in recent years. The jibes still came from Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, but they were delivered with far more good grace than those thrown by the British comic.

The list of winners were a mixture of those gathering momentum ahead of the Oscars next month, and of those gaining redemption for being slighted by the Academy. But who were the real winners and losers of last night (January 13, 2013)?

WINNERS

Ben Affleck: Bookies favorite for Best Director at the Oscars this year, Affleck suffered the ignominy of being overlooked entirely when the nominations were read out last week. He gained some measure of consolation last night however, being named Best Director at the Globes, whilst his film Argo took Best Drama Picture. Affleck’s director win will have been even sweeter given he beat out Oscar nominees Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee to the prize.

Watch the Argo Trailer

Jodie Foster: There weren’t many begrudging Foster her Cecil B DeMille Award – a prize that recognizes outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment – and there were even fewer after the actress gave an emotional acceptance speech in which she publicly reiterated her homosexuality, and bemoaned those who sought to court press, describing the desire for privacy as a virtue. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Les Miserables: Three wins from a possible four in the main categories was a great return for the Tom Hooper-directed adaption. Those taking home the awards for the film included Hugh Jackman (Best Actor In A Comedy Or Musical) and Anne Hathaway (Best Supporting Actress), whilst the film itself took Best Musical Or Comedy Picture. The only one it missed out on was Best Original Song – pipped by Adele’s theme for James Bond film Skyfall.

Watch Les Miserables Trailer

Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: Just about everyone was ready for a change of host after three years of putting up with Ricky Gervais’ mean-spirited jibes and shock tactics and so Fey and Poehler didn’t have to do much to get it right. Nevertheless, they’re hosting went down a storm, the pair getting the crowd on side by commenting that Gervais’ absence was down to him “technically not being involved in show business anymore”, before throwing some risqué but well-intentioned jokes out at Kathryn Bigelow, Anne Hathaway and Daniel Day-Lewis. Good work ladies.

Quentin Tarantino: In a big two-fingered salute to those criticizing his film Django Unchained, Tarantino scooped Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture, as well as seeing his actor Christoph Waltz pick up the Best Supporting gong. There’ve been comments about the film’s lack of sensitivity towards slavery issues, but Tarantino’s always maintained he provided a realistic representation.

Watch Django Unchained Trailer

LOSERS

Lincoln: Controversial? Daniel Day-Lewis took the Best Drama Actor home, but that was an absolute banker. The wider stats should prove worrying for Lincoln ahead of the Oscars – that was the only win the film took in the eight major categories it was nominated for. Could we see a repeat next month?

Watch the Lincoln trailer

Major Networks: We would have put ‘Game Change’ up in the winners category if we weren’t restricting ourselves to five for each. The HBO political drama took three awards last night, and its success illustrated a wider point: namely that NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox shows didn’t win an award between them, the honors instead being shared out by those on cable. Time for a rethink?

Kathryn Bigelow: If Affleck found redemption, then it was at the expense of poor Kathryn Bigelow missing out on hers. The Zero Dark Thirty director was another strongly tipped for an Oscars nod before last week’s nominations, only to miss out, and Affleck’s nod for Best Director here meant there was no consolation to be had. With Jessica Chastain taking Best Drama Actress all wasn’t lost, but it looks like the hope that surrounded the film coming into awards season looks to be dissipating pretty quickly.

Watch the Zero Dark Thirty trailer

The Golden Globes themselves? With so many Oscars snubs, there was the element of the also-ran in some of these categories. Whilst we mentioned Affleck winning the Best Director category, he was up against only two directors who’ll be going up for the big one next month. With Zero Dark Thirty also gaining more recognition in the nominations here it seemed like at least one of the awards ceremonies had got it wrong; but was it the Globes or was it….

The Oscars: Yep, you could well argue that the double triumph for Argo was a kick in the teeth for the Oscar committee, proving them wrong and showing that Affleck should have been included in the Best Director category. The Academy hardly ever admits fault so we can’t see any form of public acknowledgement coming forth, but the success of Argo here might certainly make them re-consider their view of Argo in the Best Picture category at least.

Jodie Foster made an emotional 'coming out' speech last night