Rafu Wire and Staff Reports
The 80th annual Golden Globes Awards ceremony, held Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, marked a big night for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which won in two out of six categories in which it was nominated, both for acting.
The film’s star, Michelle Yeoh, won for Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy. Also nominated were Lesley Manville for “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Margot Robbie for “Babylon,” Anya Taylor-Joy for “The Menu,” and Emma Thompson for “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.”
The Malaysian-born Yeoh was just the second female actor of Asian descent to win in the category, after her “Crazy Rich Asian” co-star Awkwafina, who won for “The Farewell” in 2020. “Forty years,” the 60-year-old Yeoh said, referring to her movie career. “Not letting go of this.”
She recalled the long odds that she, as an Asian, faced when she first came to Hollywood, and spoke of her “amazing journey and incredible fight to be here today.”
“Look at this face,” Yeoh said. “I came here and was told, ‘You’re a minority.’ And I’m like, ‘No, that’s not possible.”’
As her words pushed against the clock and music urged her off the stage, Yeoh drew laughter with a joking reference to her early days in martial arts movies, telling the piano player, “Shut up, please — I can beat you up, and that’s serious!”
This was Yeoh’s first Golden Globe nomination. She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast of “Crazy Rich Asians.” Her other recent films include “The School for Good and Evil,” “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank,” “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Gunpowder Milkshake,” and “Last Christmas.” Her recent TV credits include “Star Trek: Discovery” (Paramount+), “American-Born Chinese” (Disney+) and “The Witcher: Blood Origins” (Netflix).
“Crazy Rich Asians” and “Last Christmas” star Henry Golding was one of the evening’s presenters.
Ke Huy Quan, who played Yeoh’s husband in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” won in the Best Supporting Actor in Any Motion Picture category. Also nominated were Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Brad Pitt for “Babylon,” and Eddie Redmayne for “The Good Nurse.”
Despite the Globes’ diminishment amid controversy in recent years, winning them still brought plenty of tears. Quan set the emotional tone as he cried throughout his acceptance of the night’s first award, tearfully thanking Steven Spielberg for giving him his start in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” before talking about the decades he spent thinking he would never get to top it.
Quan, also known for “The Goonies,” had left acting years before directors/writers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert cast him in their multiverse tale. He thanked them for his second act. “More than 30 years later, two guys thought of me. They remembered that kid. And they gave me the opportunity to try again.”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” was also nominated in the following categories:
Best Supporting Actress in Any Motion Picture for Jamie Lee Curtis (who was also one of the evening’s presenters). The Golden Globe went to Angela Bassett for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. The Golden Globe went to “The Banshees of Inisherin.”
Best Screenplay-Motion Picture. The Golden Globe went to Martin McDonagh for “The Banshees of Inisherin.”
Best Director-Motion Picture. The Golden Globe went to Spielberg for “The Fabelmans.”
The winner for Best Motion Picture-Animated was ““Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” Nominees included “Turning Red,” directed by Domee Shi.
The award for Best Motion Picture-Foreign Language went to “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina). Nominees included “Decision to Leave” (South Korea) and “RRR” (India).
The award for Best Original Song-Motion Picture went to “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR.”
The Golden Globes returned to NBC after being banished from the airwaves last year following the Hollywood Foreign Press Association scandal over the organization’s long-term lack of diversity as well as ethical issues involving influence over nominations. No stars attended the 2022 ceremony and the winners were announced on Twitter.
HFPA President Helen Hoehne, near the end, addressed the scandal directly by saying, “This has been a year of tremendous change for our organization.”
“We’re proud of the work we have done, the progress we have made and the journey we are on,” Hoehne said. “We commit to continue strengthening our partnership with Hollywood and with the worldwide fans who celebrate like we do the best in film and television.
“We will continue to support groups that amplify a variety of voices and continue to add representation to our organization from around the world as we did this past year.”
Over the past year, the HFPA overhauled its leadership, bylaws and membership — adding more than 100 new voters to its ranks, more than doubling the organization’s previous size.
According to the HFPA, the Globe nominees were chosen by 96 members and 103 international voters who were “recruited from international industry organizations, well-known foreign film festivals and journalism professionals.”
The organization stated that voters represent 62 countries, and the voting body is now 52% female and 51.5% racially and ethnically diverse — 19.5% Latinx, 12% Asian, 10% Black and 10% Middle Eastern.