With the exception of Martin Scorsese's $110 million film, The Aviator that won the best picture (in the drama category) and best actor (drama) award, practically every high profile Golden Globe Award went to movies that cost between $16 million and $35 million.
Golden Globe winners like Million Dollar Baby that saw its director Clint Eastwood triumph over Martin Scorsese will benefit considerably from the awards. These films, including the best foreign film winner The Sea Inside, are either at the start of their career or have been waiting for an award or two to improve their box-office.
The Golden Globes, given out by the 93-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association, often indicate films that go on to get Oscar nominations. Unlike the Oscars, the Globes have a category for television films and serials, and hands out key film awards in the musical/comedy as well as the drama categories.
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The story of a real life quadriplegic poet fighting for several decades to end his life legally was the subject of Spanish film, The Sea Inside, which is a big hit across Spain and Portugal, having grossed $25 million. It has been struggling at the American box-office, having grossed just about $260,000 in over a month, and with little hope of improving its prospects. The Golden Globe recognition might give it a modest lift at the box-office but the award could be more effective when the film reaches DVD shelves.
Also winning the second award for Million Dollar Baby was Hillary Swank (in the drama category) who plays a female boxer. The film is playing in 122 theatres and has grossed a modest $5.6 million in five weeks of limited release. Several years ago, Swank unexpectedly won the Golden Globe for Boys Don't Cry. She went on to win an Oscar for the same. She is certain to get an Oscar nomination.
Made for about $35 million, Million Dollar Baby was to be released in February 2005 but hearing the great buzz about the film, Warner had it out much earlier.
Eastwood, who was also nominated for the movie's music, did not run for the Best Actor Golden Globe Award. But Swank, while receiving her award, made a special point to declare that he had given his best performance ever in the film. Earlier, Eastwood, 75, while accepting his award for directing the film, had thanked his co-actor Morgan Freeman, calling him the greatest actor in the world. Eastwood directed Freeman in Unforgiven, the hit released over a decade ago.
In the comedy/musical section, Sideways, a bittersweet tale of friendship and yearning for romantic love, won over the acclaimed bio-pic Ray. Still, Jamie Foxx, who recreated the wonderful but often anguished world of singer and composer Ray Charles, won the Best Actor award for the film. Sideways was made for $16 million and has grossed a healthy $28 million though it has been showing in 370 movie theatres for the past several weeks. The movie also won a screenplay award for Alexander Payne (who also directed it) and Jim Taylor. It will surely add in more theatres in coming days.
The Ray Charles bio had been looking for backers for over 15 years and was finally made on a $30 million budget. The film, which has nearly completed its first run in America, has grossed an impressive $72 million.
At the Golden Globe awards and at every opportunity, including the press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival where Ray premiered in September, Foxx had profusely thanked director Taylor Hackford for his commitment to the project and the efforts made to understand the life and times of Ray Charles.
In Toronto, Hackford had told rediff.com that Hollywood was generally averse to bio-pics and was reluctant to teach black subjects but he just would not give up on the film project. No Hollywood studio, except Universal, showed interest in buying the film even after it was completed, he revealed.
The award for the best dramatic film should give a boost to The Aviator that has grossed a decent but unspectacular $49 million in four weeks.
The bio epic of billionaire aviation pioneer and movie producer Howard Hughes also received a best actor award to Leonardo DiCaprio.
Annette Bening won the best actress award for a comedy for playing a 1930s stage actress in a mid-career crisis in Being Julia. The movie, which has received mostly negative reviews, has grossed just about $3 million and is on its way out.
Mike Nichols's Closer earned Britain's Clive Owen the Best Supporting Actor trophy and Natalie Portman the Best Supporting Actress prize. Both were new to the Golden Globe Awards.
The losers: Kinsey, Hotel Rwanda, Finding Neverland and the musical The Phantom Of The Opera. Of these, Kinsey had received the best reviews but has been struggling at the box-office having grossed just about $8 million in more than two months.
Though Hotel Rwanda has been showing in only 192 theatres, it has grossed $3.8 million in less than a month. The real story of a hotel manager who saved hundreds of Tutsi lives during the genocide in Rwanda carried out by fellow Hutu tribesmen, Hotel Rwanda has a career-defining performance by Don Cheadle. Many people must have been surprised to watch DiCaprio walk away with the award.
Photographs: Getty Images
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