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“The Artist” won three Golden Globes, boosting the financial prospects for Weinstein Co.’s silent, black-and-white movie and its chances to win at next month’s Academy Awards.
“The Descendants” (from News Corp. (NWSA)’s Fox Searchlight) received two trophies during the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards, telecast by Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC. Comedian Ricky Gervais hosted the show for a third time last night from Beverly Hills, California.
“The Artist” – a winner in the best musical or comedy category, highlighted a night in which Weinstein won six awards, triple the runner-up studios. Co-founder Harvey Weinstein has perfected turning critical acclaim into box-office rewards with movies such as “The King’s Speech” – last year’s Oscar winner, and earlier Miramax titles.
“Limiting the distribution puts in the mindset of people that this is a prestigious film” – said Brad Adgate, research director at the New York-based advertising company Horizon Media Inc. The studio can then capitalize at the box office and with home-video sales, he said.
“The Artist,” made for about 15 million dollars and released in November, has earned 27.3 million dollars worldwide, according to researcher Box Office Mojo. “The King’s Speech,” with a similar budget, won last year’s best-picture Oscar and ended up with 414 million dollars in worldwide sales, according to researcher Box Office Mojo.
“Your expectations change when the Weinsteins enter the game” – said Michel Hazanavicius, who directed “The Artist.” “We never expected anything like this; we thought it would be a small movie that critics might enjoy. We never expected it would be this accepted by mainstream.”

Golden Globes 2012.

Led by provocative-as-always but much-less-visible host Ricky Gervais, the 2012 Golden Globes proved to be an entertaining mix of A-list presenters (in the usual sleek tuxes and gorgeous gowns), funny moments and some surprising wins. George Clooney had a big night, from the red carpet (where everyone gawked at his girlfriend Stacy Keibler) to the podium, where he picked up a statue for best actor in a motion picture – drama. The movie he won it for – the quirky dramedy “The Descendents” – also won the top prize of best motion picture – drama.
Meanwhile, “The Artist”, a biopic about silent movie idol George Valentin, added two Golden Globes to the long list of accolades it’s collected this year. It won best motion picture – comedy or musical, and its star, Jean Dujardin, won best actor in a motion picture – comedy or musical.
Surprising no one but herself, Meryl Streep won best actress in a motion picture – drama for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady”. (Or maybe she wasn’t as surprised as she seemed when her name was called? She is known for being the best actress of her generation, after all.) When she arrived at the podium, she fretted over forgetting her glasses, which rendered her unable to read the speech she’d prepared. Naturally, she pulled it off beautifully. Amidst those she thanked was “God, Harvey Weinstein.” (Ba-dah-bump.)
The ceremony itself had its usual, loosey-goosey vibe, fueled as always by the free-flowing alcohol at the guests’ dinner tables. (Gervais himself made a point of bringing his cocktail with him to the podium.) Early on in the evening, when the teleprompter malfunctioned as Rob Lowe and Julianne Moore were introducing this year’s Miss Golden Globe (Andie MacDowell’s radiant daughter Rainey Qualley), Lowe threw up his hands and quipped: “This is why we love this evening!”
But there were also several heartfelt moments, such as Michelle Williams’ acceptance speech after winning the best actress in a motion picture – comedy or musical prize for her role in “My Week with Marilyn”. She nervously thanked her 6-year-old daughter Matilda “for suffering through six months of bedtime stories where all the princesses were read aloud in a Marilyn Monroe-sounding voice.”

George Clooney was the big winner at Sunday night’s Golden Globes. He won best actor, motion picture drama, for his role as a man dealing with his wife’s coma in “The Descendants” – which was also named best drama of the year. “The Artist,” the throwback black and white silent film, nabbed the best musical or comedy award.
Of course, the Globes are tantamount to a T-Ball tournament where everyone wins a trophy. There is such a barrage of categories, that most movies and TV shows seem to walk away with something.
The 69th rendition from Beverly Hills, Ca., on NBC and hosted by Ricky Gervais, was pretty standard as wheezy, long-winded awards fests go. But there were some high points. The supremely graceful Sidney Poitier received a standing ovation as he paid tribute to Morgan “The Voice of God” Freeman, recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille award for career achievement. It was astonishing to recall all that Freeman has achieved as clips of Freeman’s career flashed before our eyes.
Meryl Streep won a record eighth Golden Globe, for portraying Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” a low budget movie she said we “made for 25 cents in five minutes.” Streep dropped an expletive when she realized she had forgotten her glasses to read her speech. An ever-enthusiastic Martin Scorsese won best director for “Hugo.” Sofia Vergara did double duty, participating in a bilingual acceptance speech for best TV comedy “Modern Family,” and appearing in endless Pepsi commercials.
Octavia Spencer (part of “The Help’s” excellent ensemble) won best supporting actress for playing a maid in 1960′s Mississippi. On the eve of the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Spencer, wishing to recognize the work of domestics then and now, quoted King, saying “all labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.”
Gervais was much funnier in his third stint as Globes host. He refrained from rampant put downs and got good laughs for self-deprecation and/or deprecating NBC and the evening’s hosts, the HFPA. “The Golden Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton” – he quipped.
When Gervais introduced Johnny Depp, who he teased last year for the less than thrilling Globe-nominated “The Tourist,” Gervais asked if the superstar had ever actually seen the film. Depp’s reply: “Uh, no.”