Hollywood Authentic reports from inside the 81st Golden Globes, Los Angeles, where Greg Williams was given unprecedented access. Here we report on the evening’s highlights.

There was a sense of occasion, drama and buzz inside the Beverly Hilton’s ballroom as the movie industry elite, fuelled by Moët et Chandon and sushi by Nobu Matsuhisa, attended the first big bash of the year: the 81st Golden Globes.

Oppenheimer was the big winner of the evening – Best Motion Picture, Drama, Best Director, Drama (Christopher Nolan), Best Performance by a Male Actor, Drama (Cillian Murphy), and Best Actor in Supporting Role, Drama  (Robert Downey Jr). It also had some of the best acceptance speeches. Cillian Murphy summed up the Oppenheimer experience when he said: “I knew the first time I walked on a Christopher Nolan set that it was different. I could tell by the level of rigour, the level of focus, the level of dedication, the complete lack of any seating options for actors…that I was in the hands of the visionary director and master. I want to thank Chris and Emma for having the faith in me for 20 years. Thanks so much. One of the most beautiful and vulnerable things about being an actor is that you can‘t do it on your own, really.”

Downey Jr, meanwhile, had a different approach, for his acceptance speech: “Yeah, yeah. I took a beta blocker, so this is going to be a breeze.”

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, went to Emma Stone for her extraordinary performance in Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. After accepting her award, Stone said: “I think this is a rom-com. I see this as a rom-com, but in the sense that Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person, and she accepts the good and the bad in equal measure, and that really made me look at life differently.”

Stone, who received a standing ovation when she accepted her Golden Globe, offered a close-up of the award backstage. Dressed in Louis Vuitton, Emma celebrated with Yorgos and and co-star Willem Dafoe as the movie also won the award for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

The evening also saw Lily Gladstone accept the award for Best Performance by a Female Actor, Drama, for her role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Gladstone (Blackfeet/Nimíipuu) is the first Indigenous person to take home a Golden Globe. “This is a historic one, and it doesn’t belong to just me,” she said, after opening her acceptance speech speaking in the Blackfeet language. “I’m holding it with all of my beautiful sisters in the film and my mother, Tantoo Cardinal.”

Offstage, Timothée Chalamet (nominated for Wonka, and dressed  in Celine) was there with his date Kylie Jenner, and Robert Downey Jr. Also a jubilant Margot Robbie (in Armani Privee), America Ferreira (Dolce e Gabbana) and Barbie director Greta Gerwig were photographed fresh from collecting their gong for Cinematic & Box Office Achievement. Robbie, who accepted the award, captured the spirit of the evening when she said: “Thank you so much to the Golden Globes for creating an award that celebrates movie fans. This is a movie about Barbie, but it’s also a movie about humans. We made it – it’s about you. We made it for you, and we made it with love. Thank you for loving it back.”

Equally thrilled were members of the Oppenheimer crew: Florence Pugh (in Valentino), Matt Damon and Christopher Nolan.

Elsewhere Joaquin Phoenix was spotted seated at his table, and earlier with the Beau Is Afraid director/writer Ari Aster; as was Will Ferrell entertaining Dua Lipa and Jodie Foster; Billie Eilish, who won best original song (along with her brother Finneas O’Connell) for Barbie’s What Was I Made For?; nominees Meryl Streep and Ryan Gosling; Florence Pugh with Selena Gomez (in Armani Privee); Dua Lipa at her table wearing a gown by Balenciaga with jewellery by Tiffany & Co; long-time collaborators Ben Affleck and Matt Damon; and Danielle Brooks, nominated for The Color Purple, wearing Moschino.

And, of course, the night didn’t finish at the Beverly Hilton. The celebrations continued at various locations across town.

The winners in the television category were dominated by The Bear and Beef – both shows received three awards – as well as Succession, which won four: Best Television Series, Drama; Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series, Drama, for Sarah Snook; Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series, Drama, for Kieran Culkin, and Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television for Matthew Macfadyen.

The latter also had one of the our favourite acceptance speech lines: “I just adored every second playing the weird and wonderful human grease stain that is Tom Wambsgans. Tom Wambsgans, CEO, I should say. God help us.” 

And god help all those who had to get up early this morning. 

WINNERS: MOVIES

Best Motion Picture – Drama: Oppenheimer

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Poor Things

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Barbie

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Lily Gladstone – Killers Of The Flower Moon

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Emma Stone – Poor Things

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture: Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

Best Original Song – Motion Picture: What Was I Made For? – Barbie – Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell

WINNERS: TELEVISION

Best Television Series – Drama: Succession

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy: The Bear

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television: Beef

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Sarah Snook – Succession

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Kieran Culkin – Succession

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Ayo Edebiri – The Bear

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Jeremy Allen White – The Bear

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Ali Wong – Beef

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Steven Yeun – Beef

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television: Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television: Matthew Macfadyen – Succession