Beverly Hills, 6 Jan

The Golden Globes, which host Nikki Glaser introduced as “Ozempic's biggest night,” dished out awards on Sunday for Demi Moore in the body horror film ‘The Substance’, Sebastian Stan for ‘A Different Man’ and the genre-shifting trans musical ‘Emilia Pérez’.

In a ceremony that offered few surprises early, one shocker was Moore's win for best actress in a comedy or musical. Her comeback performance in ‘The Substance’, about a Hollywood star who resorts to an experimental process to regain her youth, landed the 62-year-old Moore her first Globe — a victory that came over the heavily favoured Mikey Madison of “Anora.”

"I'm just in shock right now. I've been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first thing I've ever won as an actor," said Moore, who was last nominated by the Globes in 1991 for “Ghost.” “Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress.”

Best supporting actor in a musical or comedy went to Sebastian Stan for another movie about physical transformation: ‘A Different Man’, in which Stan plays a man with a deformed face who's healed. Stan, who was also nominated for playing Donald Trump in “The Apprentice," noted that both films were hard to get made. “These are tough subject matters but these films are real and they're necessary,” said Stan. “But we can't be afraid and look away.”

Glaser opens

Comedian Nikki Glaser kicked off the 82nd Golden Globes, with a promise: “I'm not here to roast you.”

But Glaser, a stand-up whose breakthrough came in a withering roast of Tom Brady, made her way around the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on Sunday picking out plenty of targets in an opening monologue she had worked out extensively in comedy clubs beforehand.

Glaser, hosting the Globes two weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump, reserved perhaps her most cutting line for the whole room of Hollywood stars.  “You could really do anything ... except tell the country who to vote for,” said Glaser. “But it's OK, you'll get 'em next time ... if there is one. I'm scared."

She then turned toward “Wicked” star Ariana Grande with a request: "Ariana, hold my finger.”

Glaser complimented Timothée Chalamet, nominated for his performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” for having “the most gorgeous eye-lashes on your upper lip.”

While Glaser might not have reached Tina Fey and Amy Poehler levels of laughs, the monologue was mostly a winner, and a dramatic improvement over last year's host, Jo Koy. Glaser assured the crowd that, win or lose, “the point of making art is to start a tequila brand so popular that you never have to make art again.”

Early Winners

The night's first winner was Zoe Saldaña for best supporting actress. Saldaña won for her performance in Jacques Audiard's “Emilia Perez,” the trans musical that came in with a leading 10 nods. Later, it added another prize, for best non-English language film. French director Audiard said through an interpreter that he hoped the film is “a beacon of light" in dark times.

“I don't have sisters and maybe that's why I made this film about sisterhood,” said Audiard. "If there were more sisters in the world, maybe it would be a better place.”

Though few film awards have been predictable this season, Kieran Culkin is emerging has the clear favourite for best supporting actor. Culkin won on Sunday for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg's “A Real Pain,” his second Globe in the past year following a win for the HBO series “Succession.” He called the Globes “basically the best date night that my wife and I ever have,” and then thanked her for “putting up what you call my mania.”

The papal thriller “Conclave” took best screenplay, for Peter Straughan's script.

TV prizes

The big Emmys winner “Shogun” kept its momentum on Sunday, with wins for Hiroyuki Sanada, for best actor in a drama series, and Tadanobu Asano for best supporting actor in a drama series. “I'm very happy!” exclaimed Asano with his arms raised.

Ali Wong, who reportedly previously turned down the chance to host the Globes, won for best stand-up comedy performance. For the second time, Jean Smart won best lead actress in a comedy series for “Hacks.” Said the much-honoured Smart: “I never thought I'd be so happy to be called a hack.”

Other wins included Jeremy Allen White for “The Bear” (he wasn't in attendance), Jodie Foster for “True Detective” and Colin Farrell for his physical transformation in “The Penguin.”

“I guess it's prosthetics from here on out," said Farrell.

Steadying Globes?

After a rocky few years and the disbanding of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes have seemingly stabilized. The question heading into Sunday was: But can they still put on a good show?

Last year's comeback edition, hosted by Koy, was widely panned, but it delivered where it counted: Ratings rebounded to about 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen. CBS, who waded in after NBC dumped the Globes, signed up for five more years.

The Globes are now owned by Todd Boehly's Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which acquired the award show from the now defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. After diversity and ethics scandals, the HFPA sold off the Globes and dissolved. However, more than a dozen former HFPA members are seeking to have the sale to Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions rescinded.

Either way, the Globes' primary reason for being, from studios' perspectives, is to serve as one big marketing event for its awards contenders. It's still almost two months until the Academy Awards on March 2.

But unlike last year, where “Oppenheimer” steamrolled and the billion-dollar-grossing “Barbie” juiced the race, this year's top contenders are more arthouse, and no clear favourite has yet emerged.