I can’t contain myself, I HAVE to live-blog the Golden Globes. That statement itself might be a spoiler, I know. If you’re on PST, have this isht on DVR or otherwise loathe learning something before you’re supposed to, don’t go past the jump.
[And if you are a Wesssssider, then come on. You’re used to this, so no need to complain…I’m from there, I remember the feeling, but there’s nothing to be done. Except move here. Which is what I did. ;)]
If you’re on the right coast and feel like gettin’ your Mutiny on…party over here!Simon Beaufoy just accepted a Golden Globe award for “Best Screenplay”, for Slumdog Millionaire.
My hasty attempt to transcribe his remarks:
“Thank you very much, Hollywood Foreign Press Association. It’s an absolute honor. We really weren’t expecting to be here in America at all at one time, so it’s just amazing to be standing here. It started with Vikas Swarup who wrote the novel “Q+A” that amazing book about Mumbai, it went to Tessa Ross (?) the cleverest film woman in Britain, who gave it to me, who sent it to a man called Christian Colson, who produced the film and it went through many many other peoples hands, too many to say thank you to, but to all of them, thank you. And finally it got to Danny, there are some people…there are some directors who shoot a screenwriter’s script and there are once-in-a-blue-moon a director who comes along to make it fly and I don’t need to tell you that he made it fly. Thank you Danny, Thank you to Jane, my wife and my children.”
Felicitations to Freida Pinto, who is beautiful– and elated. Sweetly dorky Dev Patel looks dashing in a cutaway collar and I want to kiss him for it– that table is always sadly ignored at my local Thomas Pink. Then again he’s from England, so they’re not terrified of them over there.
Aside: am I hallucinating or are non-brownz wearing desi clothes? I rushed home but missed the first hour, so I did not get to see the red carpet, and thus, no full-length views to confirm. Haven’t seen Freida’s entire dress, either.
Totally unrelated aside: Renee…fire your makeup artist AND your stylist. Ugh, ugh, utterly fug.
::
Annnnd…A.R. Rahman, who is up for “Best Score”, gets his name mangled by Kate Beckinsale/Puffy. A.R. Roomin’? Like, I’m roomin’ with a total slob? Awesome.
I shall overlook such stupidity, however, because I get to transcribe an ACCEPTANCE SPEECH! 😀
“Unbelievable. Uh, I’ve got this long list I thought I won’t win so anyways thanks to the almighty God for bringing me here, Danny Boyle, Kristin from Cellar Door (?), Fox pictures, all my musicians in Chennai, Mumbai, Samuel Long, Karan Grover, M.I.A. for the collaboration Sam Schwartz (?), Allison and the billion people from India. Thanks for all your prayers.”
I’ve never seen him live, so this is mad exciting for me. His happiness and nervous energy are cute. I like his tux, but a mutineer who is here says the tie reminds him of an undertaker’s. That same mutineer is another ABD of Tamizzhrl extraction, who is now mocking me for my inability to understand some of what A.R. ROOMIN’ was saying.
He actually had to translate for me, especially after he heard me mutter, “Karen WHO?” when Karan Grover was what had been uttered. I didn’t even understand M.I.A. the first time I heard it (Em, em, eye, eye, ay, ay…MIA. zomg. Me. Her stalker. I should give back my CDs.)
I am shame spiraling accordingly. Said spiral commenced after hearing, “look at who thinks she’s a gully South Indian, who can’t understand what my Tamil compatriot is saying…”. Oy. Pwned.
Uh, David Duchovny, thanks but no thanks for your INACCURATE clarification?!
“Um, a slight correction, the gentleman who just won the last award his name is A.R. ROOMIN’, I’m told, so…thank you.”
Wtf?
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Mutineer apsara77 points us to the High Heel Confidential blog, which is currently featuring this picture:
Hrm. Freida’s dress looks okay from that angle, but I’m not a fan of its view straight-on. Decking those hips with boughs of…chartreuce silk? Why?
::
DANNY BOYLE!!! Well at least they pronounced HIS name correctly. :p
I’ll try and transcribe his thank-you speech soon, but my helpful, remote-control-pausin’-friend ran off to get Five Guys and I can’t do it on my own. No woman is an island. Especially when she’s craving a grilled-cheese with peppers and tomatoes. Live-blogging makes me hungry!
“Listen, thanks ever so much, Golden Globes or the GGs as we very affectionately refer to them. Your mad, pulsating affection for our film is much-appreciated. Really deeply appreciate it. Um, I have to thank Tessa Ross, who has been thanked before and there’s a reason for that, she’s an extraordinary person. I have to thank uh, Peter Rice, from Fox Searchlight, without whom I wouldn’t be here, standing here, absolutely, I have to thank Cellar Door, I have to thank Pathay (?), um there’s so many people to thank, which I know everybody goes on about. I’ve got to thank my agent, Robert Newman, again, without whom I wouldn’t be here. Um, making a film is a family affair obviously, and the people in Mumbai, who are all watching by the way, big shout of love to them and particularly Loveleen Tandon…?…?…and our three musketeers, Tabrez, Pervesh and Sanjay (?) and finally, and most appropriately in this house, to the actors, particularly Anil, Dev and Freida and Madhur (?) and the six, the six young actors who played the other parts in the movie, who were fantastic. Um, I just want to finish by thanking my kids, Grace, Gabriel and Galen and Gail who is their mom and anyway thanks ever so much. Bye-bye.”
I have had to sit here (while starving) smelling fresh, hot cajun fries while typing all that. Never question the sacrifices bloggers make for you. Never. 😉
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Lesson learned. Never leave a Five Guys grilled cheese to sweat in foil while typing furiously. I was so sad about my mushy sandwich, until I looked up at the screen. Wait. Could it be? Was such a thing even possible?
Was Shah Rukh Khan wearing a sequined tie under his shirt?
Wow.
Maybe wearing it under his shirt is better than over, come to think of it.
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Wot’s this? An even BETTER distraction from my soggy sandwich?
BEST PICTURE!!!
A standing ovation for the other SM, Slumdog Millionaire. 🙂 Christian Colson accepts the award:
“Come on guys, get up here…Dev. Uh wow, thanks so much to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, that’s quite hard to say after a few martinis. It’s an enormous honor for me to be collecting this on behalf of everyone involved in making this film. Um, I’d like to say a few very big thank yous to a few very big cheeses, first of all, Peter Rice of Fox Searchlight, Jeff Robinoff at Warner Brothers…uh…Paul Smith at Cellar Door films, Tessa Ross at Film Four…uh…???…we couldn’t have had a smarter or more supportive bunch of partners watching over us as we made this film so thanks to all of them. Um, we had the great privilege of working for a fantastic cast and crew in Mumbai who will be going nuts as they watch this tonight, they will be going absolutely mental, so Hello to all of them and we’ll see you next week when we come out for the opening of the film in India next Thursday…uh…and that’s going to be some party, I think. Um, our fantastic cast, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal and everyone else, all our young cast, Anil and Irfan, Simon Beaufoy who gave us all an incredible opportunity by writing an extraordinary screenplay and the great Danny Boyle, who brought it so miraculously to life. My mum, my dad, my girlfriend for only dumping me once. Thank you very much. Good night.”
Again, I may not have caught every word of the speech, but that should be most of it. FOUR! They won FOUR! Who’s ready to party in the bunker?
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I love how wiki is already updated with the news. Here’s the list of trophies won:
* Won: Best Motion Picture – Drama
* Won: Best Director – Motion Picture – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Original Score – A. R. Rahman
[wiki]
::
I think it’s safe to update the title at this point. So I did.
Bolly finally made it to Holly…the team deserved this…
Rahman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV8Jb3VCZME SRK & Pinto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ujWc6UGS5Y
Yawn yawn Zzzzzzzzzz yadda yadda yadda
Slumdog Millionaire is a brilliant movie.
In case anyone is curious, SRK makes E! Online’s list of moments of the evening:
Don’t ask me why it’s listed as “Most Promising,” but at least the potential for awesomeness was properly recognized.
I am yet to see this movie. I have heard that it is somewhat like Salaam Bombay.
Ramesh trolled:
Even that might not work. Read this. Pure unadulterated racism.
Is Slumdog a Bollywood movie? I thought it was an American/British production on an Indian subject matter. So who claims this price – India or U.S./U.K.? Or is it a cross-over of both cultures? The funding for the movie is definately from the western world – the cast/characters and music from the east.
I am proud of A.R. Rahman. But the comment made by David Duchovny about “Ruhman” – was that an insult? I didn’t get it. Can someone please clarify?
57 · my_dog_jagat said
Slumdog is a bad movie not because it focuses on what this person thinks is distasteful about India, that’s perfectly alright, but because it doesn’t actually engage or explore any of these topics, and instead just goes on a whistlestop tour of hotbutton “issues”, using them purely as plot devices. The movie is vibrant and high-energy for sure, it is just that there’s not much to cherish underneath this very attractive shell.
This review was over the top. While it makes a few good points about the essential superficiality of the movie, statements like “This is a movie which portrays Indian culture as bankrupt and evil. As shown in Slumdog Millionaire the Indian way of life is one of poverty and callous disregard for basic human rights… their country being portrayed as a heartless nation of beggars and child killers.” are way over the top. If somebody watches this movie and thinks it is meant to be a documentary about the complexity of India, they are capable of as much discernment as those who hope that love will come upon them much as it did for Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, or those who believe that American Pie describes the sex-filled life of the average American high school kid. As a masala movie set in India among the poor, Slumdog naturally portrays hard-scrabble existence with Indian heroes, Indian villains, Indian heroines, and Indian opportunists. I have no idea how one makes the leap from Slumdog being a superficial movie to the notion that it is racist, just because it portrays some Indians as doing bad things. What do we expect? That Slumdog use the age old Bollywood technique of arch nemeses like Dr. Dang, Mr. X, and Peter from vilayat?
Shah rukh Khan becomes the first Indian presenter at the Golden Globes!
It is the review that is racist, not the movie–I haven’t seen the movie yet. Over and over, the review repeats that Indian culture is morally bankrupt. Maybe I should the piece again but I have a deadline to adhere to.
it was fun seeing SRK and Anil get some spotlight…but anil did go over the top esp considering he had a lil role in the movie…newho..my shows didnt win jack :(…Barney Stinson lost, Ari lost, Michael Scott lost…and that crapola 30 rock wins..NOBODY watches that show..ok it has some smart writing..but blahblahblah…it sucks!
Re #59 and 61:
Ok, you’re right. The key word I missed is “portrayal”. Now back to the deadline.
Literally not but it is definitely a “globalized” Bollywood movie something like the Indian IT industry – Vikas Swarup (Q&A novel), A.R.Rahman(music score), Dev Patel(British desi), Loveleen Tandon (co-director(India) and casting director)
Jo: Yawn yawn Zzzzzzzzzz
Exactly, that’s what I did whilst watching the movie.
I liked Slumdog Millionaire (I really must have, I seem to be unable to comment on any thread that brings up this film) and I liked it in the way that I like musicals and films of 1930s Hollywood, which is really where this film comes from, I think.
During the Great Depression, Hollywood made films that quite literally DID pretty-ify poverty. They made stories of shop girls who made good, young men from the wrong side of the tracks who made it big, extravagant musical numbers that defied reality.
Today, we have game shows. Anyway, I think there is value in film that takes a breathless, dizzy, busy pace and fills it with everything, pure heroes, beautiful heroines, dastardly villains, a changing, roiling society and city. This film could be made in other places, it could be made about the US, which is where I disagree with critics who say it’s only India that gives it any interest.
It’s a classic story, and an old one: the hero who remains resolute despite all obstacles. Plus, the child actors are amazing. I hope they get some sort of formal recognition. I understand the criticisms, but as Ty Burr (? I think) said in the Boston Globe, ‘sometimes you can talk yourself out of intense movie going pleasure’.
aargh, I meant I can’t keep myself from commenting on any SDM thread…
No. It just says that westerners are better at making a movie about India that caters to Westerners. Indian movies win Indian awards too, or is that somehow lower on the totem pole in your opinion?
I really enjoyed the movie – I felt it was a wellmade movie, despite having the combination of all possible ‘3rd world cliches’ that a child from the slum can have through his lifespan:) And I am glad that it won a few awards. The music was awesome!
No, the review criticizes the (Western)makers of the movie for reducing Indian culture/society and caricaturizing it as entirely cruel and morally bankrupt. He is not criticizing India, in fact he’s saying there HAS to be so much more to the country than the one-dimensional cruelty shown throughout. I thought it was a fair review, although I liked the movie.
“That says a lot about the abysmal quality of indian film-making.”
No it says a lot about what hollywood values
42 · Whose God is it anyways? said
it was indeed.
I’ve decided not to see the movie, it sounds like Salaam Bombay made by a Gora.
I also found the Jai Ho song mediocre, Rahman has composed better ones. Incidentally, I find Rahman’s music unappealing, it sounds assembled, and has the flavour of one of those fancy dishes in gourmet restaurants, all fancy color and aroma, and no heart.
2 · Indian008 on January 11, 2009 09:58 PM · Direct link · “Quoteâ€(?) And they butchered his name royally. How difficult is it to say Rahman?
74 · wellsaid said
If I was going to announce it on stage in front of millions I would learn. It shows respect to the award winner.
@ 74 – Yes, I agree: How hard is it to practice a few times before you go on stage? It shows deep disrespect to me and to a lot of Indians who are watching. It’s not nice at all.
Who cares abt. critical theory/reviews ? At the end of the day, success (and how you feel abt. it) is all that matters sometimes…
Just watched the clip of AR Rahman accepting his award giving a hug to P. Diddy on the way. What a humble, nice man Rahman is. To go along with his prodigious talent, to be so grounded and humble makes me like the guy a lot. Sometimes nice guys do get the breaks.
Regarding how they pronounced AR Rahman’s name, it was almost a comedy of errors:
First, the voice over got it wrong when they announced ‘The nominees are ..’ – he pronounced it ‘Ruman’ Kate Beckinsale got it right when she read out the winner, she said it perfectly – Rahman! And then David Duchovny had to come back after Rahman exited the stage to correct it (wrongly) and said ‘The gentleman who won the last award – his name is actually Ruman’.
Any thoughts on how the movie will do in India? My guess – after an initial flurry, maybe one good weekend, then interest will die down. Call my cynical, but I think Indian audiences are still uncomfortable with a guy named “Jamal” pursuing a woman named “Latika”. While Indian films occasionally show a Hindu-Muslim romance, it is usually where the guy is Hindu and the girl is Muslim. It’s still a touchy matter.
Back in 2000, when American audiences (including me) were thoroughly impressed with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” – modern Chinese moviegoers generally took a pass. Does not mean it was a bad film, just that cinema tastes are still different.
did not sound like it. sounded more like raman – and i also did not hear the pronunciation of the ‘h’ in there. even if somebody had just said re-maan. at this moment, i am very thankful for the tamilian naming system of just having your “surname” as initials before a name – imagine if they had to say allah rakha rahman?!
i imagine that most of the audience – esp. the bombay audiences – will walk out at the precise moment when jamal mispronounces “tendulkar.”
73 said: I’ve decided not to see the movie, it sounds like Salaam Bombay made by a Gora.
Uh, so, why can’t a ‘gora’ make Salaam Bombay? What’s with the gora stuff?
As for the misprononciation of Rahman – those movie actors can barely read the cue-cards without tripping over their words. Par for the course…..
79 · kdasbiswas said
Slightly OT. It’s great to notice when others get names ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but one of the reasons Westerners have trouble pronouncing names like ‘Rehman’ in particular is because they usually cannot handle the ‘h’ sound next to consonants, and at the syllabic break. So it usually becomes more like the ‘kh’ sound when Westerners say it. As it so happens, in just this case, the classical Arabic pronunciation of’Rahman’ or ‘Rehman’ is also closer to ‘kh’ than ‘h’, though not completely ‘kh’ either. But in South Asia, it is usually just the ‘h’ sound. And BTW, ‘Rahman’ comes from the Arabic word ‘reham’ which translates as ‘mercy’, ‘compassion’,’kindness’, so that it means ‘He that is merciful, compassionate, kind’.
In the case of A.R. Rahman, there is something even more interesting behind the name. He was born as A.S. Dileep Kumar, and on conversion to Islam, changed his name to ‘Alla Rakha Rahman’.
//I have no idea how one makes the leap from Slumdog being a superficial movie to the notion that it is racist,
It is the review that is racist, not the movie–I haven’t seen the movie yet. Over and over, the review repeats that Indian culture is morally bankrupt. Maybe I should the piece again but I have a deadline to adhere to//
its a adaptation of a novel…try read that first…
KXB,
I can’t think of any movies with a Muslim male lead character and a Hindu female lead character besides Coolie and Jodha Akbar. Although there are movies like Sarfarosh, Fanaa, 1947 Earth and Mission Kashmir that had Muslim male leads but I am don’t think the female leads were Hindu.
Yeah, whatever, the same Indians in India who are so proud and grinning ear to ear now would have been the same ones who would have looked down upon him when he says he was an aspiring musician back in 1987.
Sure, he can. I have seen Salaam Bombay, I just don’t want to waste my money to see a Gora’s version of it.
Would you pay to see a Karan Johar version of Erin Brockovich?
@70:
And why does the reviewer assume that the movie intends to show the totality of Indian culture. I hate it when people start thinking in civilizational terms.
Is it really that difficult to realize that this movie depicts only a certain milieu of Indian society? One of the things I liked about the movie was it’s universality (in terms of geography) – it would have been just as good if it were set in Rio, LA, Baltimore, Beijing or London.
not necessarily. when he produced music for his first movie (around 1990 or so) he was instantly accepted in TN. he became so popular so quickly that he had the strongest foothold in tamil film music until he started expanding into hindi films. sure, some of his more western-influenced/rap etc tracks were a bit too much for certain audiences, but that was, maybe, 1 or 2 tracks out of an entire album. even today, people in TN still complain that he has no time for tamil music.
90 · ak said
I am from TN. Thats why I specifically put 1987. Roja released in 91. Do you think people would have appreciated him for trying out a career in music? He would have been looked down upon by typical “middle class” families. I am an ARR fan, I am just saying arts and music is not exactly considered worthy enough by Indians. But it is wholly different “after” getting a few awards.
Exactly ak, not sure from where saa got the notion. The one I knew who was cribbing about ARR was Annu Malik, and it was not because he is a Muslim but for other reasons.
saa,
don’t know what your beef is, you say you are a fan then why not celebrate his success rather. DO you have any links to articles that say he was mocked for choosing music as his career. I think he got the national award for Roja in 1992, can someone confirm.
i’m not quite sure that there was that much of a difference between the audiences in 1987 and 1991. in 1987, illaiyaraja had already reached his peak and was becoming pretty repetitive, so who knows – arr very well could have made it big. it’s all speculation, though – no way to tell. and in case, he was accepted and he has received tremendous support both in india and abroad, way before these international awards came his way.
i do understand your point about the arts, though – but even that has been changing. in any case, i think desi people have always been open to the arts – it’s usually just that when their own children choose it, they fear the lack of steady income.
saa:
I think his father Mr. Shekhar was a music director too though not that well known. So there is a history behind his interest in music.
Why are you dragging typical “middle class” families ?. And even if they crib, I think it is quite valid. How many people end up successful like A.R.Rahman?. Thousands of people dream about making a name in Kollywood / Bollywood etc. and sacrifice a big part of their lives chasing their “filmy dreams” and only a few succeed.
I’m pretty sure a career in the arts is pretty much ‘looked down upon’, or rather, met with a certain hesitancy by A LOT of cultures. Even Western.
You think the middle class, white kid telling his parents that he wants to “focus on his band” instead of finishing med-school is met by hugs and a “that’s just what we always wanted” from his folks?
Getting annoyed that a certain artist wasn’t accepted until he got mainstream success/recognition seems like a pointless endeavor. I mean, there’s probably a thousand super-talented musicians/artists out there right now, that you won’t have any idea exist until some hipster blog tells you about them.
I’m so happy for ARR! And thanks to onparkstreet for #66.
And I’m looking forward to Slumdog Millionaire the Broadway show! hehe
95 · Ponniyin Selvan said:
Maybe it is little bit valid, but you won’t end up with the next ARR if this keeps happening. I am sure glad ARR’s mom did not make him do a B.E. (I know there were other reasons involved, but still). You know, we all die one day, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t live anymore. Again I am not talking about ARR but talking about other people putting down artists(and no I am not one, just a lover of arts).
saa, quit bringing your conflicts with your parents into this. Just because your family doesn’t think highly of the arts does not mean that all Indian parents are like that.
100 · SSK said
Personally, my mother still criticizes me 15 years later for refusing to learn to play an instrument as a child.
According to her, my failure to cultivate my musical talents makes me a “useless goat.”
If only I had known then how much playing an instrument could have helped my romantic life. . .