Is everything like it used to be now? Like back then, before Corona? You could almost get the idea when Globes gala host Jerrod Carmichael draws laughs at his side with industry-critical sneer and friendly Steven Spielberg thanks his mother in his acceptance speech for the awards for The Fabelmans.
Or if the no-shows in Beverly Hills are not meant as a political protest, but are due to deadlines: Cate Blanchett did not personally accept her third golden globe because she was on a shoot. Or when the Germans are at a disadvantage with “Nothing new in the West”, although – or because? – they bet on a war film in the tried and tested manner. For a long time they tried it in Hollywood with films about the Nazi era, or with other ways of coming to terms with the past. Works less and less.
The anniversary edition of the Globes ceremony on Wednesday night had a lot of the tried and tested style, with its consensus and compromise mixture of Hollywood cinema and art house. Even the nominations listed the current blockbusters such as the high-flyer “Avatar” and “Top Gun: Maverick” as well as the somewhat more demanding, successful independent productions at the box office, from “The Banshees of Inisherin” to “Triangle of Sadness”. The prizes strike the golden mean, honoring the universally popular Spielberg and Martin McDonagh’s Irish tragic comedy “The Banshees…”: Actor’s cinema with gnarled heroes and brittle landscapes, everyone can somehow agree on that too.
Crisis over, only that more is streamed? At the moment it doesn’t really look like a restart or a change in direction. Were the women who recently scooped up awards in the award seasons as well as finally at the festivals in Cannes, Venice and Berlin only the stopgap? Were they allowed to get involved in the pandemic years, which were few and far between with blockbusters, just as women kept the shop running in the times of war and crisis in the 20th century? And now that the relentless focus on profit is dominating again, are the men still in the lead, except for the actress awards for Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh, of course?
The industry claims diversity, honors it here and there, and at the same time plays it safe. Rather no risky votes, but business as usuall. Let’s see if the course is confirmed when the Oscar nominations are announced on January 24th.
Christiane Peitz likes to go to the cinema – and would like to see a biting mockery from the local award ceremonies, as it sometimes succeeds at the Globes and the Oscars.
