Golden Globes 2014: Alfonso Cuarón Wins Best Director for 'Gravity'
Mexican writer/director Alfonso Cuarón will fondly remember the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards because it marks his first Golden Globe award for Best Director --Motion Picture. He beat out contenders Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Alexander Payne (Nebraska) and David O. Russell (American Hustle).
Cuarón's innovative 3-D spectacle Gravity, for which star Sandra Bullock received a nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama, but lost out to Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), "should be a bigger Oscar heavyweight at the Academy Awards, which honor technical categories that the Globes don't," according to an earlier report by The Associated Press. "With more than $630 million in worldwide box office, Gravity stars Bullock and George Clooney who play astronauts whose shuttle explodes, leaving them tethered only to each other.
Gravity was the brainchild of writer-director Cuarón, who directed Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá Tambièn and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. His son, Jonès, who is Cuarón's biggest advocate, co-wrote the film, which was a challenging four-and-a-half-year journey.
"We shot space scenes in a sort of virtual-reality box that had the characters' environments projected on the walls. The actors had very little room to change their timing or their positions. But we adapted," Cuarón told Wired. "Sandra Bullock trained like crazy to be able to be a part of all these technological challenges. It was choreography for her. I think her background as a dancer helped a lot. It was so much by numbers. After all the training and all the rehearsals, she was able to just focus on the emotional aspect of her performance."
Besides the impressive yet grueling animation process and CG mastering, Cuarón told Wired how he approached the character development and brought its meaning and symbolism to life.
"In 'Gravity' nearly everything is a metaphor for the main character. The way I tend to approach a film is that character and background are equally important; one informs the other. Here, Sandra Bullock is caught between Earth and the void of the universe, just floating there in between. We use the debris as a metaphor for adversity," he explained.
"She's a character who lives in her own bubble, and in the film she's trapped in her space suit. She's a character who has trouble communicating, and here she literally starts having communication problems. She's a character who needs to shed her skin to move on, and in the film she needs to get out of her astronaut suit because it's suffocating her," he added. "In the end, the story is about rebirth as a possible outcome of adversity."
Who were other big winners Sunday night?
"Hailed by critics as the movies' most unblinking portrait of slavery," 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Breaking Bad, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Behind the Candelabra were among the big winners.
12 Years a Slave took home the win for best motion picture, drama, while American Hustle won as best musical/comedy. Breaking Bad was named best TV drama, while Brooklyn Nine-Nine surprised with a win for best TV comedy. Behind the Candelabra won in the miniseries/TV movie category.
The ceremony was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton on NBC and SNL favorites, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, returned and brought the laughs as hosts. In a surprise twist, Poehler won Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy for Parks and Recreation. Talk about a stellar night for her!
Check out a complete list of winners below: (winners names are in bold):
Best Motion Picture, Drama
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Robert Redford, All Is Lost
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Kate Winslet, Labor Day
Best Director -- Motion Picture
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer, American Hustle
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix, Her
Best Animated Feature Film
Frozen
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Best Foreign Language Film
The Great Beauty (Italy)
Blue Is the Warmest Color (France)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Past (Iran)
The Wind Rises (Japan)
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Best Original Score -- Motion Picture
Alex Ebert, All Is Lost
Alex Heffes, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Steven Price, Gravity
John Williams, The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer, 12 Years a Slave
Best Original Song -- Motion Picture
"Ordinary Love," Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
"Atlas," The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
"Let It Go," Frozen
"Please Mr. Kennedy," Inside Llewyn Davis
"Sweeter Than Fiction," One Chance
Best TV Series, Drama
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
The Good Wife
House of Cards
Masters of Sex
Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Best Actor in a TV series, Drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
James Spader, The Blacklist
Best TV Series, Comedy
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Big Bang Theory
Girls
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Lena Dunham, Girls
Julia Louis-Dreyfus,Veep
Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy
Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Michael J. Fox, The Michael J. Fox Show
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Best Miniseries or TV Movie
Behind the Candelabra
American Horror Story: Coven
Dancing on the Edge
Top of the Lake
White Queen
Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
Rebecca Ferguson, The White Queen
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge
Idris Elba, Luther
Al Pacino, Phil Spector
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie
Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge
Janet McTeer, The White Queen
Hayden Panettiere, Nashville
Monica Potter, Parenthood
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Rob Lowe, Behind the Candelabra
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Corey Stoll, House of Cards
Cecil B. DeMille Award
Woody Allen
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