The 82nd Golden Globes kicked off the night with a celebration of women in show biz from host Nikki Glaser, the first woman to ever host the show by herself, to Zoe Saldana and Jean Smart, who won the first two Golden Globes awarded on Sunday in Beverly Hills.
Glaser, a stand-up comedian known for her sharp jabs on comedy roast shows, was a bit nicer to the Hollywood stars in the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton, but only a bit.
Spotting Eddie Redmayne, nominated for the Peacock series “Day of the Jackal, ” she introduced it as “about a top-secret sniper than no one can find – because he’s on Peacock.”
Turning to Timothée Chalamet, nominated for “A Complete Unknown,” Glaser started off nicely enough: “Can I just say, you just have the most gorgeous eyelashes,” she began. But then inserted the knife: “On your upper lip.”
Wrapping up her opening monologue, Glaser reminded all the losers-to-come to take it in the spirit of their art.
“I just hope you remember that the point of making art isn’t to win an award,” she noted. “The point of making art is to Is to start a tequila brand so popular that you never have to make art again.”
Zoe Saldaña snared the first Golden Globe of the night when she won best supporting female actor in a motion picture for her work in the Netflix film “Emilia Perez,” beating not only Ariana Grande, nominated for “Wicked,” but one of her costars Selena Gomez as well.
After thanking various cast and crew in the musical film that tells the story of a drug cartel boss who transitions from man to woman, she wrapped up a very excited and tearful speech with a few words for her director.
“Thank you, merci beaucoup, Jacques Audiard, for trusting me,” Saldaña said. “You’re so French and so chic and so confident and kind. I love it.”
Best female actor in a television series, musical or comedy, came next with Jean Smart winning the Golden Globe for her work in “Hacks.”
“I never thought I’d be so happy to be called a hack,” Smart said as she accepted the award.