Sunday's Golden Globes to Launch Hollywood's Awards Festivities

FILE - Event signage appears above the red carpet at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Event signage appears above the red carpet at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
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Sunday's Golden Globes to Launch Hollywood's Awards Festivities

FILE - Event signage appears above the red carpet at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Event signage appears above the red carpet at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Hollywood will kick off its 2025 awards festivities on Sunday at the annual Golden Globes ceremony where films such as "Wicked,The Brutalist" and "Emilia Perez" compete for trophies and attention ahead of the Oscars.
Timothee Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande and Angelina Jolie are among the stars in the running for acting honors at the red-carpet ceremony that will be hosted for the first time by comedian Nikki Glaser. The show will be broadcast live on CBS and stream on Paramount+, Reuters reported.
Spanish-language musical "Emilia Perez" and post-World War Two epic "The Brutalist" lead the night's movie nominees.
"The Brutalist" stars Adrien Brody as a Holocaust survivor who flees to the United States to chase the American dream. The 3-1/2 hour tale is considered a frontrunner for the night's top prize, best film drama.
Competitors include "Conclave," about the selection of a pope, and two movies starring Chalamet - Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown" and sci-fi epic "Dune - Part II."
Unlike the Oscars, musical and comedy films compete in a separate category at the Globes. Nominees in that field include box office smash "Wicked" and dark romantic comedy "Anora."
Winning a Globe can help films in the run-up to the Academy Awards in March. If a movie or actor takes home a Globe, "it increases the likelihood a member of the film academy will check out that project," said Scott Feinberg, executive editor for awards at The Hollywood Reporter.
Feinberg predicted "The Brutalist" or "Conclave" would earn the drama prize at the Globes. The musical or comedy category is harder to gauge, he said, because the nominees are so different from one another.
"Emilia Perez," a musical thriller, tells the story of a Mexican drug lord who transitions from a man to a woman. "Wicked," a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," was adapted from a popular Broadway stage show.
"Anora," about a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, is more of a traditional comedy while "The Substance" starring Demi Moore as a fading celebrity seeking a fountain of youth, is essentially a horror movie, Feinberg said.
"That (category) is just all over the place," Feinberg said.
Winners of the Globes are chosen by 334 entertainment journalists from 85 countries, compared with roughly 9,000 voters who select the Academy Awards. The Globes voting body was expanded in recent years and organizers instituted reforms after being criticized for ethical lapses and a lack of diversity.
In TV categories, restaurant tale "The Bear" leads the Globes nominees, followed by mystery comedy "Only Murders in the Building" and historical epic "Shogun."



‘Comeback’ Queen Demi Moore ‘Has Always Been Here,’ Says Director

US actress Demi Moore poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for "The Substance" in the press room during the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 5, 2025. (AFP)
US actress Demi Moore poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for "The Substance" in the press room during the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 5, 2025. (AFP)
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‘Comeback’ Queen Demi Moore ‘Has Always Been Here,’ Says Director

US actress Demi Moore poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for "The Substance" in the press room during the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 5, 2025. (AFP)
US actress Demi Moore poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for "The Substance" in the press room during the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 5, 2025. (AFP)

Demi Moore's Golden Globe best actress win for "The Substance" has, almost overnight, transformed the 1990s megastar into a seemingly unlikely favorite for the Oscars.

In her acceptance speech Sunday, the 62-year-old -- who once generated headlines as much for her love life as for her hit films -- said she had long been dismissed as a "popcorn actress," and had never "won anything as an actor."

But for Coralie Fargeat, the French director who also wrote Moore's new, blood-drenched body horror film, there is nothing surprising about the late-career reappraisal her leading lady is now enjoying.

"It was so moving to see Demi on that stage," Fargeat told AFP, the morning after Moore's big win.

The movie allowed audiences "to see who she is as an actress, and not project any more the stereotype that if you're beautiful, you can't be a good actress."

"It is being called a comeback. But she has always been here," Fargeat added.

Society's obsession with pigeonholing and pinning expiration dates on women is the core premise of "The Substance."

In the film, globally distributed by MUBI, Moore's character Elisabeth is a fading movie star, who is abruptly fired from her hit TV fitness show as she turns 50.

Out of desperation, she injects herself with a mysterious serum which allows her to live in a younger version of her body -- as long as she returns to her older form every week.

Inevitably, the allure of remaining young proves too strong, especially after Elisabeth's stunningly youthful alter ego is catapulted to fame by creepy male executives.

- 'Dream' -

Fargeat had long been a fan of Moore's acting work, which included hits like "Indecent Proposal" and "Ghost," as well as more divisive fare like "G.I. Jane."

"I could like or not like the movies, but I think she always delivered pretty great performances," said the director.

But Moore's real-life career also incarnated "this iconic star" represented by her character in "The Substance."

"Someone who has been totally valued for this dream, this fake promise that if you're young, beautiful, you're going to be happy and successful," said Fargeat.

"And when this goes away, it's like all your life is going away."

Even so, Moore's pitch-perfect casting as Elisabeth nearly did not happen.

Fargeat at first assumed Moore would not be interested in a role requiring countless, grotesque scenes of gore and decay.

But the director picked up a copy of Moore's 2019 memoir "Inside Out," which laid bare the actor's battles with ageism and misogyny, as well as addiction, abuse and very public divorces.

"When I read her book, I really saw that she was ready to take the level of risk that the movie requested," said Fargeat.

"The film is really about women's bodies. I wanted to tell my stories [in] the flesh," recalled Fargeat.

Fargeat also admits she was a demanding and meticulous director on set, requiring "a lot of takes."

Moore has spoken about losing 20 pounds (nine kilos) and contracting shingles due to the intense strain of filming, while co-star Margaret Qualley described being in the movie's prosthetic suits as "torture" that triggered panic attacks.

"If the lead performance isn't ready to go that far, the whole movie falls apart," said Fargeat.

Moore "took the risk to follow the vision of the movie... that's very, very brave and courageous," she said.

- Oscars race -

With the Globes win, more attention will come to "The Substance" -- both from wider audiences, and Oscars voters, who are picking their final nominees on ballots due this week.

Fargeat herself could earn nods for best director and best original screenplay, and "The Substance" is tipped by many pundits to make the best picture list.

But few would now bet against Moore for best actress.

"From the beginning, I believed that this can happen," said Fargeat. "That's what cinema is about -- creating things that people are not expecting."

"I'm just immensely proud to have created this part."