Drunk celebrities are fun celebrities

Courtesy of MCT

Awards season officially kicked off last Sunday with the Golden Globes. A long awards show that honors both film and television, the Globes are notorious for the open bar available to the celebrities–the cause of many a drunken speech both this year and in years past. In case you missed it or didn’t feel like sitting through four hours of TV, here’s our compilation of the night’s most exciting moments.

Peter Dinklage dedicates his award

Dinklage’s win for best supporting actor in a TV series was exciting for many reasons: it was his first nomination for a Golden Globe, his character on “Game of Thrones” is a fan favorite and his win turned out to be the only “Thrones” victory of the night. However, his acceptance speech stood out because he mentioned Martin Henderson, who he suggested that the audience search online. Google they did–by the millions. Henderson, it turns out, is an aspiring British actor who was attacked due to his dwarfism and left with serious long-term injuries. After being mentioned by Dinklage, his name trended on Twitter, making Henderson one of the most buzzed-about people after the Golden Globes. Good for Dinklage for using his platform to raise awareness of discrimination.

Martin Scorsese upsets “The Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius

The Golden Globes were a great night for “The Artist.” The silent film picked up awards for best actor, score and film (in the Musical or Comedy category), coming the closest to a sweep in a year without a real frontrunner. But it was a shock when it didn’t win best director, which seemed like a sure bet. That honor went to Martin Scorsese for his work in “Hugo,” a family-friendly film lauded as one of the best of the season. The film is obviously a huge departure from the famous director’s usual gritty subject matter. Also Scorsese’s first film in 3D, “Hugo” showed that 3D isn’t just a fad and that when directed well, it can actually enhance the story. Rewarding Scorsese for that–all while adding some surprise to the awards ceremony–made it one of the most memorable moments of the night.

Funny acceptance speeches: George Clooney and Meryl Streep

Even though they won for best actor and actress in dramatic movies, both George Clooney and Meryl Streep brought some hilarity to their acceptance speeches. Clooney skipped the usual laundry list of thank-you’s in order to congratulate fellow nominee Michael Fassbender for “taking on full-frontal responsibilities this year.” Meanwhile, Meryl Streep, gloriously drunk but still somehow graceful as always, complimented many of her fellow actresses and then proceeded to call Harvey Weinstein “God.”

“The punisher…Old Testament, I guess,” she added. Speeches like this are why alcohol should be a part of all awards shows.

Courtesy of MCT

“Homeland” wins big

“Homeland,” Showtime’s new TV series about troubled CIA agent Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes), was not widely expected to win any awards going into the Golden Globes. It hadn’t generated the buzz that popular HBO series “Game of Thrones” had, nor did it have the audience of FX drama “American Horror Story.” That didn’t stop the series from claiming both best drama series and best actress. And deservedly so–“Homeland” is a crisp, well-written look at the inner machinations of the CIA. Carrie, played to paranoid perfection by Claire Danes, is constantly teetering on the brink of a meltdown while chasing down threats to American security. The show blends action and drama skillfully, and with a few Golden Globes under its belt, “Homeland” can look forward to a bigger audience going into its second season.