BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 21, 2000 – Welcome to the Golden Globe nominations, or as we like to call them, “Hollywood Pep Rally.”
That’s because this year each studio and network brought its own cheering section of publicists, armed with clipboards and trendy cat-eye glasses. Surrounding the podium where nominees were announced, the gaggle’s much-needed sound effects (gasping, murmuring, “yesss!”-ing) spruced up the 5:30 a.m. rooster call.
It even got to the point where announcer Kelsey Grammer played along, offering his own “Yesss!” when he named “Frasier” cast mates John Mahoney and David Hyde Pierce in the supporting actor category. Co-announcer Lara Flynn Boyle followed suit, offering her own adjectives for her favorites — the “fabulous” Calista Flockhart and the “fabulous” Dylan McDermott.
The biggest uncontained gasps this morning came with recently paroled Robert Downey Jr. named in the best supporting actor category for “Ally McBeal.” Runners-up were the nods for teen babes Jessica Alba and Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s surprise nods for “Dark Angel” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” respectively, for best actress in a drama series.
And when it was over, the publicists all rushed for the door, dialing cell phones simultaneously — presumably working on next year’s nominees.
Some other observations:
EMPTY CHAIRS: Dick Clark, executive producer at the Golden Globes and perennial emcee of press conferences such as these, was noticeably absent from this morning’s function. Producer Barry Adelman cited “personal reasons,” which we later found out were to do with Clark’s ailing mother. Also absent was announcer Sarah Jessica Parker, whose film schedule (she’s making the comedy “Life Without Dick” with Harry Connick Jr. in Los Angeles) was switched at the last minute, making her unavailable. So basically we missed her reaction to her second nomination for “Sex and the City” (she won last year).
SPOILED SPORTS: If you noticed in the live telecast (if you were up that early), you saw Grammer and Lahti grin when their names were called as nominees. But they’re not smiles of surprise — they actually found out they were nominated (he for “Frasier,” she for the cable film “An American Daughter”) a few minutes before the conference, when the announcers rehearse around a table. “Someone sort of slipped it to me that I was nominated,” Lahti admitted to Hollywood.com after the announcements. “But I didn’t buy it.”
YOU REALLY REHEARSED?: Apparently Boyle either slept through the rehearsal or forgot her latte this morning; the “Practice” star bungled half the names on the best television actor lists, including James Gandolfini, Frankie Muniz and Ray Romano. Come on, Lara — just be glad Chloë Sevigny wasn’t nominated.
THE FRONT LINE: Networks such as E! and MTV, as well as entertainment shows like “Access Hollywood,” eschewed their usual field reporters and brought in their bigwig TV personalities to cover the big event, which, of course, translates to much higher dabbing of facial powder in the room.
THE GONG SHOW: The Ralph Fiennes indie “Sunshine” might have made a small buzz with three dark-horse nominations, but it made the loudest noise: Right after it was named a contender for best motion picture drama, a crash was heard in the back of the room. An overexcited cameraman, perhaps? Or Fiennes’ publicist fainting in disbelief?
WAKE-UP CALL: The publicists for “Will & Grace” had much to cheer for: the entire cast and series were nominated for the second year in a row. Barely able to contain her glee, one of them dialed her phone during the break to call supporting nominee Sean Hayes, then reported to her cohorts: “I’m getting his mother to wake him up.” She spent the rest of the conference counting the show’s nominations on her fingers and looking up to the heavens to say a little prayer of thanks. Her words? You guessed it: “Yesssss.”
