La La Land steamrolled the Golden Globes, held in Beverly Hills in the early hours of Monday morning in the UAE. The musical, which is about a musician and an aspiring actress who fall in love in Los Angeles, won all seven of its nominations, including Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.
The night's final award for best motion picture went to Barry Jenkins' tender coming of age drama Moonlight.
On the acting front, Casey Affleck also increased his Oscar favourite status by taking out the best actor award for Manchester by the Sea. The 41-year-old paid tribute to the film's director and fellow nominee Kenneth Lonergan. "I don't have enough time to say what I want to say about Kenny," he said. "So suffice it to say I love you, you're beautiful, you're a treasure to all of us who like movies and work in movies."
Surprisingly, veteran actress Isabelle Huppert took home the Golden Globe for best actress for her role in the French drama Elle, which also won the Best Foreign Language Film Award.
Huppert emerged from a strong field that included favourite Natalie Portman (Jackie) Amy Adams (Arrival), Jessica Chastain (Miss Sloane) and Ruth Negga (Loving).
Viola Davis's stirring performance in Denzel Washington's August Wilson adaptation Fences also earned her an award for best supporting actress.
In her acceptance speech, she alluded to how event organisers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and its collection of 85 members, has its own methods of selecting winners. “I took all the pictures, went to the luncheon,” said Davis, to knowing chuckles through the ballroom, as she clutched her award. “But it’s right on time.”
It was acclaimed veteran actor Meryl Streep, the Cecil B DeMille Award honoree, who supplied Sunday evening’s most striking moment: a rebuke to US president-elect Donald Trump that stirred the crowd. Arguing for the multinational make-up of Hollywood, Streep listed off the far-flung homes of stars from Dev Patel to Ryan Gosling.
"Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if you kick them all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts," Streep said to loud applause. Most of the night's ovation, though, belonged the to Los Angeles musical La La Land.
Damie Chazelle won both best director and best screenplay while stars Gosling and Emma Stone won best actor and best actress in a musical or comedy. It also took best score (Justin Hurwitz) and best song for City of Stars.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Gosling dedicated his award to the late brother of his partner, Eva Mendes. “While I was singing and dancing and playing piano and having one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a film, my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer,” said Gosling, referring to Juan Carlos Mendes.
In another big surprise, British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson took best supporting actor for his performance in Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals. He won in a category that included favourite Mahershala Ali from Moonlight and Jeff Bridges from Hell or High Water.
The ceremony got off to a rocky start, which left host Jimmy Fallon to improvise, as the teleprompter initially froze.
"Cut to Justin Timberlake, please," implored a desperately improvising Fallon. It was the second fiasco for Globes producer Dick Clark Productions, which also presented the infamous Mariah Carey flub on New Year's Eve. The Tonight Show host started the evening with an ode to La La Land in a lavish sketch more typical of the Academy Awards than the Globes.
Fallon did a version of the film's opening dance scene, with starry cameos from Timberlake, previous Globes host Tina Fey, Amy Adams and the white Ford Bronco of The People v. O J Simpson.
The biggest win in the TV field belonged to The Crown. The extravagant Netflix drama based on the world's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, won awards for the best drama series. English actress Claire Foy picked up the best actress award for her portrayal of the queen in the debut season.
The night was notable for the widespread diversity of its winners.
Donald Glover's Atlanta won best TV comedy series over heavyweights like Veep and Transparent. Glover went on to also win best actor in a comedy.
“I really want to thank Atlanta and all the black folks in Atlanta,” said Glover. “I couldn’t be here without Atlanta.”
Tracee Ellis Ross, accepting the award for best actress in a TV comedy for Black-ish, dedicated her award to "all of the women of colour and colourful people whose stories, ideas, thoughts are not always considered worthy and valid and important".
“I want you to know that I see you, we see you,” said Ross.
Hugh Laurie, star of The Night Manager, looked baffled when he won best supporting actor in a limited series or TV film over the likes of John Travolta (The People v. O J Simpson) and John Lithgow (The Crown).
British star Tom Hiddleston shared in The Night Manager's success by winning the best actor award for the same genre.
Meanwhile, The People v. O J Simpson picked up the gong for best mini series.
Disney's Zootopia took best animated feature.
* Associated Press and AFP
