The Golden Globe Awards is set to feel like a major evolution from its 2015 broadcast, when comedian Margaret Cho’s appearance as a North Korean film journalist who spoke in heavily accented English was slammed by some as awkward and racist.
Cho was the only Asian on stage the entire evening. Sunday’s show will have a decidedly different feel, with Sandra Oh as co-host and the rom-com “Crazy Rich Asians” up for two nominations. The recognition feels like a seismic shift for Asians and Asian-Americans in Hollywood after decades of struggling to get starring roles while dealing with stereotypes and “whitewashing.”
The last time the Globes honored an all-Asian film at that level was the 1961 musical “Flower Drum Song,” which was nominated in the same categories as “Crazy Rich Asians”: best comedy or musical and best performance by an actress in a musical or comedy. The Globes has doled out nearly 1,000 film and TV acting trophies in its 76-year history, including for now defunct categories like best juvenile performance and “new star of the year.” Of all those wins, 10 have gone to performers of Asian descent, including Oh.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that Oh and Andy Samberg will share emcee duties for the ceremony. Oh, who earned a TV supporting actress Globe in 2006 for “Grey’s Anatomy,” will be the Globes’ first-ever Asian host. She is also up for best actress in a television drama for “Killing Eve.” She, Constance Wu and Darren Criss, who is half-Filipino, are the Asian acting nominees this year.
Wu, nominated for “Crazy Rich Asians,” believes the film won Globes recognition in part because so many moviegoers turned it into a blockbuster.
The last time an Asian woman was nominated in Wu’s category was in 1974, when Yvonne Elliman was nominated for “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
– From news service reports
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.