Backstage Banter: A Night of Happy Endings
Julia Roberts, still looking a little dazed from winning best actress in a motion picture, drama, for “Erin Brockovich,” said she figured that when Steven Soderbergh didn’t win for either “Brockovich” or “Traffic,” she wouldn’t either. “It just didn’t look like it would be a family night.”
But she said she was surprised and also grateful that her film had done so well at the box office. “This is a movie that is kind of cerebral and, I think, valuable. And those movies aren’t usually popular. I’m just grateful people--who were not only my family--went to see it.”
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Appearing relaxed and full of good humor, Tom Hanks said he was not going to think about the Oscars, that he was only going to relish the Golden Globe. “It all starts over tomorrow. It’s a clean slate. You have to put this in its proper shelf, so to speak.”
He said the award gave him a sense of confidence for his film “Cast Away,” considering word of mouth on the movie before it was released was mixed. “I heard descriptions of what this movie was about before it came out, and I thought it sounded boring.”
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“I think you win when you are nominated. The rest is luck,” said Benicio Del Toro, winner of best supporting actor for the movie “Traffic.” “It’s just great to be recognized for what you love to do.”
His win also finally put to rest his family’s fears about his becoming an actor. “When you decide that your profession is going to be acting, every family says, ‘Oh, my God!’ So it’s great to be recognized tonight for my family and my friends,” Del Toro said. “My family always thought being an actor would be like a passing cloud and that I would pick something more attainable, like being a doctor or a lawyer, because acting is so hard. I actually think my family turned around in their thinking today.”
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Recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, Al Pacino said he never really understands how he becomes those legendary characters.
“Acting is a funny kind of process. You get to a whole place. It’s not just communicating words with other actors--it’s about finding a whole new psyche.”
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“It’s surreal and exciting!” said Kate Hudson, as she shared news of her win for best supporting actress in “Almost Famous” with her mother, Goldie Hawn, and her stepfather, Kurt Russell, on the phone.
Hudson gave writer-director Cameron Crowe most of the credit for helping her develop her character into an award-winning performance. “I really gained a sense of confidence because of Cameron. He has so much heart, and for all his characters, it is very important for them to have a soul. He’s a very ego-less, driven director.”
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John Wells of “The West Wing” was peppered with more questions about the potential for a writers’ strike than about the Golden Globe he was holding for best TV drama series. He said that, as president of the Writers Guild of America, he was eager to begin negotiations in earnest with studio executives this morning.
“I am seeing a lot of very hopeful signs. I’m very encouraged for the first time in several months. I think that this sense that everyone has that the strike is for real has made all the difference. Everyone is serious about this, so I’m very hopeful.”
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“This is delicious! I highly recommend winning,” a giddy Sarah Jessica Parker said of her win as best actress in a TV series, musical or comedy, for “Sex and the City.” When a reporter asked how she felt when she saw her husband, Matthew Broderick, do sex scenes with Laura Linney in “You Can Count on Me,” she replied: “That is an actor’s job--to be in bed with people on occasion.”
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Renee Zellweger confessed she had been in the bathroom when her name was called as winner for best actress in a movie, musical or comedy, for “Nurse Betty.” “I thought I had something in my teeth, so I went to go check.”
She said she enjoyed playing Nurse Betty because she found the character to be so sympathetic. “I loved her purity, her innocence and her honesty. I loved playing her.”
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George Clooney’s winning role in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” afforded him the opportunity to do something he normally would not have done--a musical. “Dancing and a musical--sure, I was worried--but it was just good fun.”
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Robert Downey Jr., who won best supporting actor in a TV series, miniseries or movie, would not take any questions and instead offered a brief statement.
“I wanted to share this with my fellow parolees, I mean nominees,” said the actor, cradling his Golden Globe and cracking a smile. “I really appreciate all the goodwill that is coming from pretty much everyone.”