Like most women who enjoy fashion, I ooh and ah at what the actresses are wearing when they walk the red carpet at award shows like the Golden Globes or the Oscars. I don’t usually care for gowns with plunging V-necklines because I always wonder why women think they have to show their tits to be sexy. I prefer classic elegance rather than leaving nothing to the imagination. But it’s all subjective.
Some people loved Nicole Kidman’s Alexander McQueen gown with its mesh-lined rib cage, Halle Berry’s pink-patterned, thigh-high Versace, or Jennifer Lopez’s see-through Zuhair Murad number, while others hated it. Personally, I thought Anne Hathaway’s white-beaded strapless Chanel was perfection.
I don’t care what the most popular color of the year is, and I think journalists who ask the stars what they carry in their small clutch handbags should be banished for putting forth such a trite and banal question.
I’m also not impressed that bodyguards are there to protect the diamond necklaces and earrings worth millions of dollars that Harry Winston loaned some of the stars for the night, when so many people in the world are homeless and starving.
The reason I enjoy watching the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards is because I love movies, especially great feature films and documentaries that have an inspiring message or teach me something I didn’t know.
It seems self-doubt was the recurring theme of the 2013 Golden Globes.
Hugh Jackman – Best Actor – Les Misérables
In order to convincingly play the role of the fugitive Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, Hugh Jackman had to lose 30 pounds. He said he would go 36 hours withing drinking water in order to achieve that sunken-in look.
Like everyone else in the cast, Hugh sang every line. He was absolutely brilliant, worthy of a Golden Globe and an Oscar, yet in his acceptance speech he shared how he’d lost faith in himself.
Three weeks before we started filming, we had a terrible day of rehearsal, a humiliating day, and I came home and said to to my wife, I have to ring him (director Tom Hooper) and tell him he has to find someone else to play this role. I felt I had bitten off more than I could chew. Deb talked me off that cliff. Thanks to my wonderful wife for always being right.”
– Hugh Jackman
LIFE LESSON: Hugh Jackman’s honesty shows us that he too struggles with doubts and fears. But he pushed and stretched himself to get to the other side, and he gave one of the best performances of his life.
Anne Hathaway – Best Supporting Actress – Les Misérables
Anne Hathaway was eight years old when she saw her mother play the part of Fantine, an ill-fated factory worker forced into a life of prostitution, in the first U.S. tour of Les Misérables. Twenty-three years later, Anne won a Golden Globe, and she may win an Academy Award as well for playing that same role. Talk about coming full circle.
Like Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway threw herself whole-heartedly into her role. She dropped 10 pounds by going on a strict cleanse before shooting began, and another 15 pounds by going on a near-starvation diet for two weeks consisting of two thin squares of dried oatmeal paste a day.
She said the role was terrifying. “I had to be obsessive about it—the idea was to look near death. Looking back on the whole experience, and I don’t judge it in any way, it was definitely a little nuts. It was definitely a break with reality, but I think that’s who Fantine is. I was in such a state of deprivation—physical and emotional. When I got home, I couldn’t react to the chaos of the world without being overwhelmed. It took me weeks until I felt like myself again.”
In her acceptance speech Anne said:
Thank you for this lovely blunt object that I will forever more use as a weapon against self-doubt.”
– Anne Hathaway
LIFE LESSON: Anne Hathaway let go of her vanity and ego and showed us that we can cut off our hair and wear no make-up, and still be beautiful because true beauty comes from within.
Daniel Day-Lewis – Best Actor –Lincoln
The audience stood up and cheered when the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, stepped onto the stage to introduce a clip from the historical drama Lincoln, which takes place during the last four months of Abraham Lincoln’s life, and deals with his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution that would abolish slavery.
It is hard enough to give an award-winning performance when playing a fictional character, but to portray the 16th President of the United States in a believable and riveting way is a daunting task, especially if you are a British actor playing someone from Illinois.
“It’s so daunting. The work rescues you from yourself or you would be paralyzed.”
– Daniel Day-Lewis
Julianne Moore – Best Actress – Game Change
Julianne Moore portrayed another political figure—though hardly anyone of Lincoln’s stature and magnitude—playing Sarah Palin in HBO’s Game Change, based on the 2008 United States presidential election campaign.
Tina Fey did a fantastic job parodying Palin on Saturday Night Live, but that’s a lot different than delivering a convincing performance in a serious drama. Here’s what two people from her own camp had to say:
Former Republican, Nicolle Wallace, a chief Palin aide in 2008, said she found Game Change highly credible. She told ABC News Chief Political Correspondent, George Stephanopoulos, the film was “true enough to make me squirm.”
Palin’s chief campaign strategist, former Republican, Steve Schmidt said, “Ten weeks of the campaign are condensed into a two-hour movie. But it tells the truth of what happened.” He said watching the film was tantamount to “an out-of-body experience.”
LIFE LESSON: It took courage for Julianne Moore to play such a controversial figure. She opened herself up to ridicule from both sides. How are we courageous in our own lives?
Adele – Best Original Song – Skyfall
This was twenty-four-year-old Grammy winner, Adele’s first Golden Globe. She recorded the dramatic song with a 77-piece orchestra. She was very pregnant and very emotional at the time, and it took quite a long time to convince her to do the project.
“It’s a big responsibility doing a Bond song. Paul McCartney’s done it and Shirley Bassey is the Queen of them. I was worried I would let everyone down.”
– Adele
But she didn’t. “Skyfall” is the first James Bond movie song to take home the prize. Sheena Easton’s “For Your Eyes Only,” Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill,” Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does it Better,” Madonna’s “Die Another Day,” and Sheryl Crow’s “Tomorrow Never Dies,” were all nominated, but didn’t win an Academy Award. Incredibly, Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger” nor Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” or “Diamonds Are Forever” even received nominations.
Here’s Adele singing “Skyfall” in the official video from the movie.
LIFE LESSON: Adele never puts on airs in order to impress others. Embrace who you are, but always try to be your best.
Jodie Foster – Life Time Achievement Award
Though she started off her speech funny and glib, Jodie Foster allowed herself to be authentic, vulnerable, and honest. Though many industry insiders knew Jodie Foster was gay for years and the public surmised it, it was the first time she openly referred to her sexuality, acknowledging her former partner of 15 years, Cydney Bernard, who she met in 1993 on the set of Sommersby and split from in 2007.
Jodie also paid tribute to her mother who is suffering from Alzheimers.
She ended her speech by saying that she wanted to be seen, understood deeply, and not be so lonely. Bravo Jodie Foster. We love you!
LIFE LESSON: In 1997, when Ellen DeGeneris announced she was gay on her comedy series, her show got cancelled.It’s taken far too long for people to be able to come out as gay or trans without fear of being bullied or discriminated against.
The Supreme Court didn’t make same-sex marriage legal until 2015. Hopefully that law will stand the test of time no matter how many conservative judges are on the bench. (Personally, I don’t believe in lifetime appointments.) We have come a long way, and have a long way to go to make sure everyone has the same inalienable rights.
The best part of these award shows is watching people who demonstrate enormous strength, who continually face their fears and stretch far beyond what they think they are capable of. That’s certainly more meaningful than obsessing about the color dress someone is wearing or the amount of bling they have around their neck.
Remember—You are the star in your own life!
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