Never let it be said that Mark Ronson lets a good speech go to waste. He had prepared some remarks just in case either of his two nominated songs from Barbie — “I’m Just Ken” or “Dance the Night” — won best original song at the Golden Globes on Sunday. As we all know by now, the speech wasn’t needed. Billie Eilish and Finneas won in the category for their Barbie contribution, “What Was I Made For?”
So Ronson tore up the speech, which he had written on note cards, and tossed it into a wicker wastebasket, presumably in his hotel room, next to an empty suitcase. But the ever-thinking songwriter took a photo of the basket and its contents and posted it on Instagram. At least he can get some social media mileage out of it. At press time, the good-humored post — which also included a red-carpet photo and video with wife Grace Gummer — had gotten 19,000 likes.
Barbie had a disappointing night at the Globes. Ryan Gosling, whose go-for-broke performance of “I’m Just Ken” was one of the film’s unquestioned highlights, lost best performance by a male actor in a supporting role in any motion picture to Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer.Margot Robbie, who played Barbie to pink perfection, lost best performance by a female actor in a motion picture – musical or comedy to Emma Stone for Poor Things. More surprisingly, Barbie lost best motion picture – musical or comedy to Poor Things.
In the biggest shocker, Greta Gerwig and Noah Bambach lost best screenplay – motion picture to Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, the screenwriters of Anatomy of a Fall. The screenplay award was widely expected to go to Barbie as a sort of consolation prize for Gerwig’s expected loss in the best director – motion picture category to Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer.
Of course, Barbie’s long ride has been so spectacularly successful that one meh night at an awards show shouldn’t take any of the shine off the experience. And Ronson seems to have a good sense of humor about the whole thing.
Panos A. PanayRaphaële Sohier