BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Leave it to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to turn some of Hollywood’s sorest subjects into punch lines.
At Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, the comedians turned serious stories such as the hacking of Sony Pictures and sexual abuse allegations against Bill Cosby into jokes. The hostesses used their affable style and breezy comedic timing to address the topics in the opening moments of an awards show known for its boozy outbursts.
“Tonight we celebrate all the great television shows that we know and love as well as all the movies that North Korea was OK with,” Fey quipped in reference to the Sony hack that U.S. authorities have attributed to North Korea.
The hacking led to the release of a wealth of private information about the studio and scuttled the wide release of the Seth Rogen and James Franco film, The Interview.
Fey also jabbed the film, which North Korea said it considered an act of war, by saying that was “not the worst review the film got” either.
Fey and Poehler kept up the jabs at the reclusive nation later on during the festivities, introducing a stern-looking woman dressed in military regalia who they said was the newest member of the group that awards the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
The woman (comedian Margaret Cho) clutched a copy of a magazine bearing an image of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and snapped a photo with Meryl Streep. She reappeared later in the show to “criticize” the ceremony before marching off stage in high-step.
“We got a lot of weird emails that can’t get out,” the women jokingly told Streep to get her to pose for the photo.
Allegations that Cosby drugged and sexually abused several women weren’t off limits.
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Poehler turned the traditional introduction of notable films that is standard in many awards shows as an opportunity to jab Cosby, who is accused of drugging and raping more than 15 women. Cosby has denied many of the claims, but has also joked about the allegations during a recent show in Canada.
“In Into the Woods, Cinderella runs from her prince, Rapunzel is thrown from her tower for her prince and Sleeping Beauty just thought that she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby,” Poehler said during the Globes’ introduction.
A few of the stars may have been on edge when Ricky Gervais – a three-time Globes host who skewers both the show and Hollywood’s elite – took the stage to present an award.
Gervais behaved… for the most part.
“I’m not going to start picking on things you’ve done,” he told his fellow actors. “Some of it immoral. A lot of it illegal. If we’ve learned one thing, it’s that famous people are above the law. As it should be.”
Here are some of the night’s funniest lines from the hosts:
“George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year. Amal is a human-rights lawyer, who worked on the Enron case, was an advisor to Kofi Annan regarding Syria, and was selected for a three-person U.N. commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight, her husbandis getting a lifetime-achievement award.” – Tina Fey
“Patricia Arquette is here. So wonderful, so, so wonderful in the film Boyhood. Boyhood proves that there are still great roles for women over 40 as long as you get hired when you’re under 40.” – Tina Fey
“Reese Witherspoon is here. She’s great in the movie Wild, and yes, she did all of her own walking. So great. And Andy Serkis was great as her backpack.” – Amy Poehler
“Wes Anderson is here tonight for the film The Grand Budapest Hotel. Per usual, Wes arrived on a bicycle made of antique tuba parts.” – Amy Poehler
– with files by Global News
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