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The 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards are gearing up to be nothing like the Globes of the past. It will be the first time in the history of the ceremony that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will be hosting the awards show virtually due to the COVID pandemic. The show will take place on Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. on NBC and hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
The beloved pair are reuniting for the fourth time, after hosting in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Fans love seeing Fey and Poehler join forces, but unfortunately, the pair won’t even be in the same room this year. The comedians will be in different cities, making it the first time the hosts aren’t together for the ceremony. Fey will be covering the show live from New York’s Rainbow Room, while Poehler will be fulfilling her duties from the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
The nominations were announced earlier this month, and there are plenty of other exciting and history-making moments that could go down at this year’s show. The list of nominees had its fair share of high points and plenty of disappointments, but some potential wins could be monumental and historic. Three women are up for Best Director, a 12-year-old is up for an award, and Regina King could become the first Black director to take home the Globe. Check out some of the things to look out for during this year’s Golden Globes as we celebrate the best of the year in television and film.
Women are dominating the Best Director category
The people behind the Golden Globes might have caught wind of Issa Rae’s not-so-subtle shade toward the Oscars last year for having an all-male Best Director category. After announcing the 2020 nominees, the Insecure star stared right at the camera and said, “Congratulations to those men.” Thankfully, the HFPA made sure to avoid any criticism and nominated three female directors this year—and two of them are women of color! Chloé Zhao got a nom for Nomadland, Emerald Fennell got one for Promising Young Woman, and Regina King got hers for One Night in Miami.
All three women have received well-deserved praise for their work in those films, so the trophy could go to any one of them. They are up against David Fincher for Mank and Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7. This year is also the first time in Golden Globes history that more than one woman gets a nom in the Best Director category. It’s hard to believe that it has taken this long, but then again, it’s also unsurprising. To add to that, only five women have ever appeared in this category before this year. Five. Barbra Streisand is still the only woman to have won the director award when she took home the trophy in 1983 for Yentl.
Some wins would make Globes history
It’s 2021, and we are still celebrating “firsts” in the entertainment world. Chloé Zhao landed a nomination in the Best Director category and made Golden Globe history in the process. The nom for her film Nomadland makes her the first Asian woman to be nominated for directing. King is also the second Black woman to be named in the category in Globes history. (Ava DuVernay became the first to be nominated in that category in 2014 for Selma.) If King wins for One Night in Miami, she would be the first Black director to take home the trophy.
Anya Taylor-Joy is up for the Best Performance in a Motion Picture award for her role in Emma. If the Argentinian actress wins, she would be the first Latina to succeed in this category. Dev Patel is nominated for his role in The Personal History of David Copperfield. A win would make Patel, who is of Indian descent, the first Asian actor to win in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture category.
It could be a big night for Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen’s two performances received recognition this year. The actor was nominated for both Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and The Trial of the Chicago 7. The actor could become the first man to win two acting awards on the same night. According to Variety, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Plowright, Helen Mirren, and Kate Winslet have all previously achieved this. If he takes home the award for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, he would be the first person to win twice for playing the same character since he won in 2007 for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
If the film takes Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) this year, it will become the first live-action sequel to win this category. His co-star in the movie, Maria Bakalova, is also up for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) award. A win would make her the youngest winner for a debut performance in this category’s history.
There’s a long list of first-time nominees
There are plenty of household names on the list who will be appearing at the awards show for the first time as nominees. The timeless Catherine O’Hara is a first-time nominee, and it’s all thanks to her role on Schitt’s Creek. The show’s last season also gave Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy, and Eugene Levy their first nominations. Kaley Cuoco scored her first best television actress nom for her role as Cassandra Bowden in HBO Max’sThe Flight Attendant—and she definitely earned it. The incredibly talented Leslie Odom Jr. is getting recognized by the Globes for his role as Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami. He’s up against Judas and the Black Messiah’s Daniel Kaluuya, who is also nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. Jason Sudeikis, John Boyega, Andra Day, James Corden, and Elle Fanning are other first-timers to look out for.
Age is nothing but a history-making number
There’s no expiration date on talent, and it’s never too early to walk away with a trophy in hand, either. Some nominees this year are defying stereotypes and proving that there is no real age limit when it comes to creating art. Anthony Hopkins landed a Best Actor in a Drama nomination for his role on The Father at age 83, making the Hollywood legend the oldest nominee—and potentially the oldest winner—in the category’s history. On the other hand, 12-year-old Helena Zengel could be the youngest winner of an acting Golden Globe award for her supporting role in News of the World.
Spike Lee’s children will be this year’s Globes Ambassadors
Sure, the HFPA left out the famed director’s critically acclaimed Netflix filmDa 5 Bloods from this year’s list of nominees, but at least his kids get to make history, right? The organization announced that Satchel and Jackson Lee will be this year’s Globes Ambassadors and will help hand out the trophies. Satchel and Jackson are the children of the five-time Golden Globe-nominated director and his wife, producer Tonya Lewis Lee. Jackson will be the first Black male Ambassador, and this will also be the first time in HFPA history that two siblings of color are Ambassadors.
There will be in-person presenters at the show
Virtual awards shows are nowhere near as entertaining as the real thing. While most of the nominees will call in from wherever they are, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that presenters would be joining the hosts at their respective locations. The HFPA announced the list of presenters taking the stage earlier this month. It includes Awkwafina, Anthony Anderson, Tiffany Haddish, Kate Hudson, Margot Robbie, Kenan Thompson, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosie Perez, Cynthia Erivo, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Wiig, Renée Zellweger, Kevin Bacon, Sterling K. Brown, Michael Douglas, and more.
Jane Fonda will receive a lifetime achievement award
The 2021 Golden Globes will honor Jane Fonda with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The lifetime achievement recognition will pay homage to the seven-time Globe-winning actress’s long career and contributions to television and film. The activist is joining other Cecil B. DeMille award honorees including heavyweights like Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, and Jeff Bridges. Norman Lear will also be honored with the Carol Burnett Award. Lear will be the third recipient of the recently created award, which celebrates a person’s contributions to television. Lear will be the third recipient of the award, following Ellen DeGeneres in 2020 and Burnett in 2019.