61st Annual Golden Globe Awards Results and Commentary (2004)

©HFPA
©HFPA
  • Date of Ceremony: Sunday, January 25, 2004
  • For films released in: 2003
Other years:

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Welcome to Digital Hit’s coverage of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

8:02 PM ET

Meryl Streep is kicking off the festivities tonight. We leap right into the first caterory: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture. And the Golden Globe goes to Tim Robbins for Mystic River. Tim was excited, “I just sat down”, and was glad that now his category was over he could start drinking. He thanked his fellow cast, but lavished the most praise on his director, Clint Eastwood.

“Clint, you are the man! I have never felt so trusted and in such good hands as when we were on the set for that movie.”

The gals from Sex and the City, all nominees tonight, were out next to present Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama. And the Golden Globe goes to Anthony LaPaglia for Without a Trace. He paid special thanks to the crew, “who get there before I do, leave after I do and work way harder than I do.”

The Sex and the City gals then presented Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama. And the Golden Globe goes to Frances Conroy for Six Feet Under. Clutching her Golden Globe, dressed in a golden outfit, Frances made sure to thank the HFPA first, something that Anthony forgot.

Melanie Griffith and Chris Cooper then had the task of presenting the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. And the Golden Globe goes to Rene Zellweger. She thanked the HFPA for inviting her to the party alongside so many great women. Co-stars Nicole Kidman and Jude Law beamed as she made her speech, “It was a privilege to shovel out the barn with you.”

“Anthony Minghella, my hero, I have had my fingers crossed for so long that you would call me. My teacher, my friend, I love you.”

8:19 PM ET

Ellen Degeneres was on stage next. She was there to introduce the clip for Finding Nemo, nominated for Best Movie – Musical/Comedy.

CSI’s Marg Helgenberger and According to Jim’s Jim Belushi. They intro’d tonight’s Miss Golden Globe, Lily Costner. They then moved on to present the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. And the Golden Globe goes to BBC America’s The Office. The show’s co-creator Ricky Gervais accepted the award. Not expecting to win, Ricky didn’t have anything prepared.

“I’m not from these parts. I’m from a little place called England. We used to run the world before you.”

Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman followed Ricky to present Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. And the Golden Globe goes to Angels in America. The great cast of Angels, which includes Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, took to the stage. Director Mike Nichols was in England. They also paid tribute to the doctors and scientists working to find an AIDS cure.

Keanu and Uma (were they paired for their names?) then presented the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. And the Golden Globe goes to Meryl Streep for Angels in America. Noticing that her dress was see-through, she joked she was standing with her legs closed. She thanked HBO for “putting their money where their brains are” and thanked her agent “because Tim Robbins didn’t thank his.” She also thanked the “searingly gifted” Tony Kushner for writing Angels in America.

We’re about 36 minutes into the awards now. The broadcast seems loose, like a dinner party that’s not totally planned. Let’s see how the pace holds up as we near 11 p.m.

8:39 PM ET

Ellen Burstyn walks out on stage to present the clip for Anthony Minghella’s Motion Picture – Drama nominated Cold Mountain.

Cate Blanchett had the task of saluting the hosts of the evening, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. She then introduced the president of the HFPA, who listed some of the charities that the HFPA helps support.

Supermodel Tyra Banks and Friend’s star Matt LeBlanc then presented the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Once again, the Golden Globe goes to Sarah Jessica Parker. Jokingly, she thanked her agent first. She then thanked the over 300 people who help put Sex and the City out. She thanked the city of New York for being so supportive. She also thanked all their friends and families for supporting them over the past seven years.

Monster co-star Christina Ricci then intro’d the clip for the Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy nominee Big Fish.

Ashton Kutcher and Ice Cube then presented the nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. And the Golden Globe goes to Jeffrey Wright for Angels in America. Jeffrey thought his table placement meant he wasn’t a winner, “but obviously I was wrong.” He said he shared the award with the other nominees from Angels but added he’d keep it at his house.

8:54 PM ET

Robin Williams presented the clip for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. He said “the seas were cruel, unforgiving and wet…a lot like Paris Hilton.”

Richard Gere then presented the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical. And the Golden Globe goes to Diane Keaton for Something’s Gotta Give. Reading from a prepared thank you, she said getting to play a woman to love at 57 was like “reaching for the stars with a stepladder.” She also pointed out that she and co-star Jack Nicholson had a combined age of 125.

Rene Zellweger then presented the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical. And the Golden Globe goes to Bill Murray for Lost in Translation.

“You can all relax…I fired my agents a couple of months ago. My physical trainer killed himself. And I would thank the people at Universal and Focus Features, but there are so many people trying to take credit for this, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

He also thanked Sofia Coppola for writing a script that would have made a winner out of any actor. Murray then paid tribute to the actors in the Drama category, mocking, of course, the lack of recognition generally afforded comedic actors.

“Too often we forget our brothers on the other side of the aisle, the dramatic actors. I’d just like to say without them, where would our war, our misery, our psychological dramas come from? Let’s not forget them tonight,” he said, as the audience howled.

9:08 PM ET

Antonio Banderas then presented the clip for Musical/Comedy nominee Bend It Like Beckham.

The next award was for Best Television Series – Drama, presented by Molly Sims and Josh Duhamel. And the Golden Globe goes to 24. The producer, Joel Surnow, said “I’ve had three years to prepare this speech and I don’t know what to say.”

Jennifer Aniston then presented the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. And the Golden Globe goes to Ricky Gervais for The Office. “Two…bookends…you need a set. Obviously, I haven’t prepared a speech. Just milking the time…I want that thing to flash ‘Get Off’.”

9:19 PM ET

Elijah Wood, star of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, presented the clip for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Queen Latifah and Gwen Stefani had two chores tonight. First, they presented the Golden Globe for Best Original Score to Howard Shore for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The musical pair then presented the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. And the Golden Globe goes to “Into the West” from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Co-writers Howard Shore and Fran Walsh accepted the award on behalf of themselves and Annie Lennox.

9:30 PM ET

We’re roughly halfway.

Nicolas Cage presented the clip for the next nominated comedy, his cousin Sofia’s film, Lost in Translation.

Recently single Jennifer Lopez then presented the nominees for Best Screenplay. And the Golden Globe goes to Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation.

Justin Kirk and Eva Mendes were out next to present the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. And the Golden Globe goes to Mary Louise Parker for Angels in America. She thanked the “ridiculously talented” cast and Janel Moloney who said she’d pay her a thousand dollars if she “thanked my newborn son for making her boobs look so good in this dress.”

Danny DeVito had the task of presenting the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Michael Douglas. He said that, “I’ve known Michael longer than some men’s wives have been alive.” As per usual, they showed clips tracing the years of Michael’s career, including The Streets of San Francisco, Romancing the Stone, Fatal Attraction and Wall Street.

Sharon Stone then joined the presentation. She said that Michael is truly unafraid to let other actors truly shine and that working with him in Basic Instinct changed her life.

Douglas took the stage to accept the award. He received a rousing ovation from his peers.

He thanked Sharon for the kind words and “the nine days in bed in ’91.” He thanked Danny for being such a great roommate. He mentioned that the Globes bring together TV and film and said that TV gave him his training. Talking about The Streets of San Francisco, he said, “We did 104 hours in 4 years working 6 days a week for 8 months a year.” He paid special tribute to Streets co-star Karl Malden, who he said taught him what a work ethic was about. He paid tribute to his parents, both actors, and of course all the people that he’s worked with over the years. He said that having an award like this isn’t worth it if you can’t share it with someone, so he concluded by paying tribute to his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

10:03 PM ET

Susan Sarandon then presented the next clip for the nominated drama, Mystic River.

The next presenter of the evening was acting legend Dustin Hoffman. He was there to handle the presenting chores for Best Director. And the Golden Globe goes to Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He apologized to the HFPA for lowering the standards on the red carpet. “I didn’t realize that working for seven years on this would turn me into a hobbit.”

Brittany Murphy and Mark Ruffalo were on hand to present the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. And the Golden Globe goes to Al Pacino for his role in Angels in America. He started off by thanking Tony Kushner for his writing of the character and Mike Nichols for guiding him through the project.

10:22 PM ET

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, presented the next comedy clip: Love Actually.

Nicole Kidman then presented the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. And the Golden Globe goes to Sean Penn for Mystic River. Clint Eastwood accepted the award on his behalf. He said that some actors are overlooked because they consistently provide wonderful performances. He felt that Sean was in that category and thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for not making that mistake.

10:30 PM ET

Seabiscuit star Jeff Bridges then presented the clip for…c’mon guess…Seabiscuit.

Pierce Brosnan then presented the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. And the Golden Globe goes to Afghanistan’s Osama. The award was accepted by the film’s writer/director, Siddiq Barmak. “Amazing. A wonderful moment for me and my people.”

10:35 PM ET

Jack Nicholson takes the stage now to present the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. And the Golden Globe goes to Monster’s Charlize Theron. Charlize screamed, “This is so crazy. I’m from a farm in South Africa.” She said she wouldn’t be on the stage right now if she didn’t have the support of the writer/director, Patty Jenkins. As she started to get played off, she yelled, “I will never forget this night.”

10:44 PM ET

Jim Carrey had the task of presenting the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy. And the Golden Globe goes to Lost in Translation. Writer/director/producer Sofia Coppola accepted the award. As time was getting short, they too got played off as they presented their list of thanks.

10:51 PM ET

Leonardo DiCaprio then presented the Golden Globe for the HFPA’s choice for Best Motion Picture – Drama. And the Golden Globe goes to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Peter Jackson accepted the award, bring most of the cast up on stage with him. He thanked the HFPA. He paid special thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien for such an incredible book.

10:57 PM ET

That’s it, another year is over. Thanks for joining us!