As we gear up for rehearsals to begin for Tristan, it may be my last chance to muse about Sunday evening’s Golden Globe Awards before rehearsals start (and the Academy Award nominations are announced next Tuesday.)

There really isn’t much correlation between the Golden Globes and the “Oscars” anyway since few, if any, members of the Hollywood Foreign Press, the group that selects the winners of that organization’s event, are members of the Motion Picture Academy.   Historically, winning a Golden Globe doesn’t seem to have much influence on whether or not an artist even receives an “Oscar” nomination, although I suspect many of the people nominated this year will have been at the Golden Globe dinner.

Among the many oddities this year was that Michelle Williams, who gives a stunning performance in My Week with Marilyn, won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical since the film is neither a comedy nor a musical.   I think that she certainly deserved to win something, but I suppose someone (the film’s producers perhaps ?) thought she stood a better chance of winning in this category, and leaving the pathway open for Meryl Streep to win Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her extraordinary portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

I also find it fascinating that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association only distinguishes between Drama and Comedy in the leading categories, so that no one has to wonder whether Octavia Spencer, who won well deserved recognition for her performance in The Help as Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, appeared in a drama or a comedy.  This wonderful film was so obviously both, wonderfully funny but also heart wrenchingly sad, that categorizing it would have been impossible.

I was also glad to see Christopher Plummer receiving an award as Best Actor in a Supporting Role after so many years on stage and in film, for his role in Beginners.    Frankly, I think he should have been nominated in this category for his performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but at least he won for something!  In a long and illustrious career, this extraordinary actor has only been nominated once for an “Oscar” and maybe this “Golden Globe” win will put him on every casting directors speed dial.

I was delighted that one of my favorite films of the year, The Artist, won several awards, including Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical (in this case, it qualified as both, but there were more than a few moments that tugged at the heartstrings.)

I’ll be eagerly awaiting the announcement next Tuesday morning of the Academy Award nominations to see how that list compares with the “Globes.”   It will be interesting to see how many Golden Globe nominated films get the nod and which films get overlooked.