WASHINGTON: Facebook is coming under fire for a feature that uses facial recognition software to allow members to tag pictures of their friends on the social network.
Winning the dramatic lead-acting prizes were Colin Firth for his portrayal of stuttering King George VI in the British monarchy saga “The King’s Speech,” and Natalie Portman for the psychosexual thriller “Black Swan.”
Lead-acting honors for the Globes’ musical or comedy categories went to Annette Bening for the lesbian-family story “The Kids Are All Right” and Paul Giamatti for the curmudgeon tale “Barney’s Version.”
The boxing drama “The Fighter” earned both supporting acting Globes, for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.
While “The Social Network” dominated, it was a night with something for almost everybody, as most key films came away with prizes.
The main snub was for the sci-fi blockbuster “Inception,” a best-drama contender that had four nominations but lost them all. Johnny Depp, who had two nominations for best musical or comedy actor, also left empty-handed.
“The Social Network” recounts the story of the founding of social networking site Facebook, an international phenomenon with 500 million users that was started in a college dormitory by founder, billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.
The Facebook founder did not cooperate with the movie’s makers, and the film is a piece of fiction. Nevertheless, producer Scott Rudin pointed out that Zuckerberg’s creation has been a phenomenon that has changed the way the world communicates.
Good night for ‘Glee’
It was a good night for HBO, “Glee” and probably the bartenders.
HBO’s Prohibition-era drama “Boardwalk Empire” dethroned “Mad Men” as television’s top drama—in the estimation of Golden Globe voters. Al Pacino and Claire Danes both won acting awards for their roles in HBO movies.
“Glee” won the Globe for television’s best comedy or musical, its second Globe for the two years the exuberant Fox series has been on the air. Actors who play two of its indelible characters, Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer, won supporting actor awards.
NBC’s broadcast was loose and colorful, as it usually is at an awards show where alcohol is openly served. The night’s first award winner, Bale, uttered a swear word that was wiped out by censors.
Visionary, altruist
David Fincher, directing winner for “The Social Network,” said he thought it was strange when “The Social Network” script came to him, since he usually makes dark character studies about misanthropes or films about serial killers. His films include the murder tales “Seven” and “Zodiac.”
“I’m personally loath to acknowledge the kind of wonderful response this film has received for fear of becoming addicted to it, so suffice it to say, it’s been really nice,” said Fincher, whose film also won the Globes for screenplay for Aaron Sorkin and musical score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Sorkin, creator of TV’s “The West Wing,” had kind words for Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network.”
“Mark Zuckerberg, if you’re watching, Rooney Mara makes a prediction at the beginning of the movie. She was wrong. You turned out to be a great entrepreneur, a great visionary and an incredible altruist,” Sorkin said.
Showdown of women
The win by Portman as a ballerina coming unhinged amid a production of “Swan Lake” sets her up for a two-woman showdown for best actress at the Feb. 27 Oscars with Bening.
Portman thanked the film’s choreographer, her fiancé Benjamin Millepied, with whom she’s expecting a child. He also appears in the movie, and his character doesn’t want to sleep with hers.
“He’s the best actor! It’s not true, he totally wants to sleep with me,” Portman said, giggling.
“Barney’s Version” follows the many loves in his life: his three wives, played by Rachelle Lefevre, Minnie Driver and Rosamund Pike, whom Giamatti described as “a trifecta of hotties.”
“I got to smoke and drink and get laid in this movie and I got paid for it. An amazing, amazing thing,” Giamatti said.
Very special film
Bening won the musical or comedy actress prize in a field that included “The Kids Are All Right” co-star Julianne Moore. The film stars Bening and Moore as a couple whose family falls into turmoil after their teen children seek out the sperm donor that fathered them.
“I’m very proud to be a part of this very special film about two women who are deeply in love and try to keep their family together,” Bening said.
“My partner, Julianne Moore, I have to thank first. She asked me to do the picture with her. She made it possible for us to shoot it where we shot it, when we did, so Julianne—you are a class act, thank you.”
The buzz around town on Globes weekend was not only about likely winners, but also about a lawsuit filed on Thursday by a former longtime publicist for the Globes claiming the organization that runs the show, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, engages in payola schemes for nominations and awards.
The allegations have been denied by the HFPA, a group of about 90 reporters covering show business for overseas outlets.
Mocking Hefner, Sheen
Ricky Gervais returned as Globes host for the second straight year. Gervais joked that Globe nominees weren’t picked just so that Globe voters could hang out with stars such as Depp.
“They also accepted bribes,” Gervais said, referring to the publicist lawsuit.
Philip Berk, who heads the HFPA, made no reference to the lawsuit during his appearance early in the show, simply offering a perfunctory plug for the quality of Hollywood movies.
Gervais pulled few punches as the night progressed, mocking Hugh Hefner, Charlie Sheen, Cher, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Scientologists and Robert Downey Jr., among others.
Animated films
Bale, who won for his role as a former boxer whose career unraveled amid drugs and crime, thanked his collaborators on “The Fighter,” among them director David O. Russell and star and producer Mark Wahlberg, who plays boxer Micky Ward to Bale’s Dicky Eklund, Ward’s older half brother.
“I’ve really got to give a shout out to Mark, because he drove this whole movie, and you can only give a loud performance like the one I gave when you have a quiet anchor and a stoic character,” Bale said. “I’ve played that one many times, and it never gets any notice.”
Leo, who plays the domineering mother of Ward and Eklund, had gushing words for all of her co-stars—along with her own mother and other ancestors.
“Toy Story 3,” the top-grossing film released last year and the second sequel to 1995’s digital animation pioneer “Toy Story,” won the Globe for animated films, making Disney’s Pixar Animation unit five-for-five in the category since it was added in 2006. Past Pixar winners are “Up,” “WALL-E,” “Ratatouille” and “Cars.”
The Sundance Channel’s story of a drug kingpin, “Carlos,” won the Globe for best miniseries or television movie. The drama beat three different HBO productions in the category, including the World War II drama “The Pacific.”
Shimmering jewels
Robert De Niro received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for career achievement.
The usually taciturn De Niro gave an uncharacteristically interesting acceptance speech, making jokes about members of the HFPA being deported (along with most of the waiters working the event) and suggesting that most people in the room hadn’t seen a lot of the films he was proud of, including “Stone,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Stanley and Iris.”
Before the show, glamorous actresses in colorful dresses and shimmering jewels paraded down the red carpet. Portman, wore a light pink Viktor and Rolf dress with a red flower across the front, and Nicole Kidman donned a cream-colored, off-the-shoulder dress by Prada.
Michael Douglas, fresh from treatment for throat cancer, and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones turned out for the show.
Douglas presented the trophy for best film drama and received a standing ovation.
“There’s just got to be an easier way to get a standing ovation,” he said. “Thank you all very much. Needless to say, I’m very, very, very happy to be here tonight.”
The Globe ceremony traditionally had a strong track record as a forecast for what film would win best picture at the Oscars. But the two shows have split in recent times, with only one top Globe recipient—2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire”—also winning the main prize at the Oscars over the past six years.
A year ago, the sci-fi sensation “Avatar” won best drama at the Globes, but the Iraq War saga “The Hurt Locker” took best picture at the Oscars.