All the Inside Details from the 2020 Golden Globe Awards
Photo: Getty Images
With more than five hours of coverage—two on the red carpet and three inside the awards—NBC covers a lot of ground at the Golden Globe Awards. Not to mention all the content generated by the attendees themselves via Instagram and Snapchat. (Honorable mention to Alex Rodriguez, who storied everything from fiancée Jennifer Lopez’s pre-Globes gym session to her hustle down the carpet.) But despite the full-on, from-all-fronts coverage attack, much goes unseen by those eyes not actually present on the glittering night of.
Arriving at last night’s event (or yesterday afternoon’s, rather, as the festivities officially kicked off at 2:00 p.m.), everyone was welcomed with the worst of L.A. traffic—but it was for a good cause! A TSA thorough scan of all the black cars queuing outside The Beverly Hilton hotel included the opening of trunks, replete with police dogs. Once past the checkpoint, everyone was deposited at the red carpet that unfolded more like a crimson labyrinth than a straight shot into the ceremony.
There was much to do on the carpet and you had your options: A shower of flashbulbs at the official step and repeat (which was easily bypassed for the under-the-radar producer or publicist); a line of print and digital-media journalists posted up and eager for interviews—there were photo ops aplenty, and refreshments to be had. On the ground, Roman Griffin Davis (nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy for Jojo Rabbit) put a smile on everyone’s face as he made the rounds, even dancing during an interview. Pose’s Billy Porter (nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Drama) could be seen swanning around the carpet in a white feathered number by Alex Vinash that indeed looked swanlike. And Olivia Colman (who won Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series—Drama for her queenly performance in The Crown) really took the time to chat it up with the ever-grateful press.
Spirits were high, but they only lifted further once inside the ballroom, where a stage was filled with gilt swooshes and semicircles to evoke the evening’s namesake. Tables were crowded with magnums of Moët Chandon Champagnes, large boxes of Lindt truffles at every seat, and cheery floral arrangements. One table sat snugly beside another, so once sat, everyone felt like black-tie sardines.
First in the ballroom and unfazed by all the excitement yet to climax outside on the carpet were funny women Carol Burnett, Ellen DeGeneres, and Kate McKinnon, who sat at their table before anyone else and flouted any fashionably late rules. The next notable guest was Succession’s beloved Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), who appeared to be everyone’s biggest fan, hugging his contemporaries and clearly happy to be there. Perhaps last to arrive was Beyoncé, but we already knew that.
The room remained unseated until the 11th hour (the ceremony’s 5:00 p.m. sharp start time), and not because this group was like herding cats. No, these celebrities, even those Globes first-timers, knew the drill. Within a three-minute countdown, everyone was poised in their seats, clapping on a cue delivered by “the voice of God,” which remained with us all night with down-to-the-second commercial break countdowns and reminders for presenters to stick to the prompters to stay on schedule.
Surprisingly, but for practical reasons, dinner was served before the awards. Meaning that those needing to spin around the red carpet for press wouldn’t actually get to have their vegan suppers.
Soon enough, Ricky Gervais cleared his throat and began his fifth hosting gig for the Globes, tempting the room with his signature am I allowed to laugh? humor. His monologues were delivered like a bored exhale, and his dry British humor was at times nihilistic: “Let’s go out with a bang, let’s have a laugh at your expense. Remember, they’re just jokes. We’re all gonna die soon and there’s no sequel, so remember that.”
