Streaming giants had a big night at the Golden Globes on Sunday, as Netflix won for “The Kominsky Method” and “Roma” and Amazon scored with “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” And the debate over streaming’s impact on traditional theatrical and broadcast models continued offstage.
Alfonso Cuarón was asked directly whether the success of “Roma” might mean the death of independent film, and Michael Douglas discussed how streaming has allowed actors like himself to bridge the gap between film and TV.
But that wasn’t all that happened backstage after the Globes. Here are some things you didn’t get to see on TV.
Michael Douglas is on Team Netflix
Douglas comes from a long line of actors, and he knows all too well that back when TV was a new medium, it was tough for actors to bridge the gap between TV and film. Why pay to see an actor when you could watch for free? Douglas said streaming has given actors the flexibility to do projects they otherwise wouldn’t.
“Streaming has made television much more acceptable to film people,” Douglas said. “A half hour comedy, which can be 25 minutes long, it can be 40 minutes long. You can say whatever you want, there are no commercials. It’s as close as you can get to having a short film.”
So is Alfonso Cuarón
The “Roma” director pushed back hard on a notion that the success of “Roma” might help kill independent cinema. He reacted to a journalist’s notion that now a movie doesn’t need a theatrical viewing window in order to get recognized for awards, and that this will hurt indie distributors of smaller films that get attention from awards.
Cuarón has long defended Netflix for distributing a foreign language, black-and-white film. Despite its availability on Netflix, “Roma” is still playing theatrically, more than a month after its release. And the director challenged the journalist to look into just how long similar films have hung around in theaters.
“I just hope that the discussion between Netflix and of platforms and theatrical should be over. I think those guys should come together and whatever they’re doing should realize this discussion is hurting cinema,” Cuarón said. He added that the theatrical experience has become “gentrified” with just one specific product, whereas other platforms have welcomed diversity from films and filmmakers.
Mahershala Ali and Octavia Spencer again addressed the “Green Book” backlash
The family of Dr. Don Shirley called the Golden Globe winning “Green Book” “full of lies” and challenged the accuracy of the film and Dr. Shirley’s portrayal. Ali has already addressed this issue, but he and executive producer Octavia Spencer reiterated their thoughts Sunday night.
“I’m a little troubled that answering that question could cause them any more distress. So what I’d like to say, in lieu of anything direct to the Shirley family, is what it meant to me. It was the first time I saw a person of color with agency,” Spencer said. “So for me it was about the idea that there were people like Don Shirley in the ’60s and we never saw them on film.”
Ali reiterated his past comments and said he wishes the family well, but added, “My job is always the same.”
“Spider-Man” director Peter Ramsey finishes his thought
There were a lot of directors and producers behind the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” and not everyone got a chance to speak as they accepted their Golden Globe for Best Animation feature. Co-director Peter Ramsey was cut off before he finished his thought on why the mixed-race character Miles Morales is so important. But he finished his thought backstage.
“We all felt deeply the idea that anyone can have this kind of experience. Anyone can share in this kind of myth, this kind of legend, and the story of Miles Morales was a way to crystallize all those ideas into one character,” Ramsey said. “Anyone can wear the mask. Everyone is powerful, everyone is necessary, and we’re all counting on you.”
Richard Madden weighed in on whether he’s been offered James Bond
“They are just rumors,” the actor from “Bodyguard” said. He was a little more optimistic about potentially returning to his character from “Bodyguard.”
“Hopefully he’s going to have some genius ideas,” Madden said of creator Jed Mercurio.
Ben Whishaw wants to see more gay actors in straight roles
The Golden Globe winner Whishaw for “A Very English Scandal” said there was a time when actors’ personal lives were very hidden, but that now that they’re more public, performers should have more flexibility.
“I’d like to see more gay actors playing straight roles,” he said. “That’s where we should be aiming, I think.”
Lady Gaga is the real deal
“There ain’t nothing realer than what you’re looking at right now,” Lady Gaga said backstage after “Shallow” won Best Original Song. She pointed out that the “real” side of her isn’t the one on screen but the one who collaborated closely with artists she loves.
Mark Ronson, though, is still starstruck. “I hesitate to use the word genius,” he said. “She’s the master chef, and we’re all just holding up celery. Do you like this, do you like this?”
Chuck Lorre is surprised he won
“The Kominsky Method” mastermind Chuck Lorre took a big pause when he was asked just how long it has been since a show he’s worked on was recognized by a major awards body.
“Uh…sorry, time’s up. I got a Golden Globe for ‘Roseanne’ in ’91 and for ‘Cybill’ in ’95. So… recently,” he joked. “I’m absolutely stunned, amazed, delighted and grateful, that our work was acknowledged and held up as being worthy, I’m shaken, just overwhelmed.”
Glenn Close gets emotional talking about her mother
In her acceptance speech for “The Wife,” Glenn Close said she thought of her mother. “I’m thinking of my mom, who really sublimated herself to my father her whole life. And in her 80s she said to me, ‘I feel I haven’t accomplished anything.’ And it was so not right.”
Asked backstage to elaborate, Close said, “I understood what she meant.”
“There’s another part of you that has nothing to do with who is in your life and everything to do with what’s in your heart and what’s in your soul and what feeds you and makes you feel you’re giving an important contribution to your life. I’m holding her in my heart, and I’m very moved to get this award for this particular story for her sake.”
Sandra Oh on that “This is Us” joke
Probably the raciest moment of the evening was a joke as Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh introduced the cast of “This is Us.” Oh said that you’ll need to get out your tissues, not because you might cry, but because you might want to masturbate to all of them.
“All I was thinking about was landing that joke,” Oh said. “It was my last joke of the night. All I’m thinking about is that word, and I’ve got to land it. I thought it was a fantastic, funny, biting line.”
Asked if she would do what she suggested the audience do: “Oh, that’s private. That’s very private,” she said.
The cast and producers of “Bohemian Rhapsody” dodged questions about Bryan Singer
The departure of director Bryan Singer from “Bohemian Rhapsody” has loomed over the film, despite its awards success, and Best Actor winner Rami Malek and producer Graham King dodged commenting on him.
“There was only one thing we needed to do, and that was celebrate Freddie Mercury,” Malek said. “There is only one Freddie Mercury, and nothing was going to compromise us giving him the love and adulation he deserves.”
“Every single person who worked on this film collaborated and did it out of the passion of the story,” King added.