Monday 7 January 2019 saw the 76th Golden Globes award ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. And as with all major awards ceremonies, the event became a hot topic of conversation. One such subject was acceptance speeches. Olivia Colman was hailed as the humble hero after winning the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her role in The Favourite. ‘Cor blimey, thank you so much. I’m not going to cry because my entire table will point and laugh at me. I’ve been crying all evening.’
Sandra Oh brought a lump to everyones throat, as she accepted the Best Actress in a TV Drama Series for Killing Eve. ‘There are two people here tonight that I’m so grateful that they’re here with me. I’d like to thank my mother and my father,’ she said tearily, before addressing them in Korean: ‘Mom, Dad, I love you.’ Sandra also made history being the first Golden Globes host of Asian decent and also being the first Asian women to win multiple Golden Globes, after winning her first in 2006 for her role as Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy.
However, the ‘Speech of the Night’ must go to Regina King who won the Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for If Beale Street Could Talk, directed by Barry Jenkins. She used her passionate and emotional speech to make a commitment to gender equality in the Industry. ‘In the next two years I am making a vow and it’s going to be tough to make sure that everything that I produce, is fifty percent women’, she stated. ‘I just challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power, not just in our industry, in all industries…to stand with us in solidarity and do the same.’
At Team MsMono we have proudly accepted Ms. King’s challenge and will be making a vow that all the work we produce from 2019 onwards will be at least 50% female. It is well documented that the film and TV industry is predominately male. No women were nominated for the Best Director award at this year’s Golden Globes and only one woman has ever won an Oscar for best director; Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in 2009. A BBC Study from 2018 revealed that on average, about three quarters (74%) of leading cast and crew roles go to men and one quarter (26%) to women.
We want to change this and while we cannot guarantee our work will win Golden Globes, Oscars, or BAFTAs we can ensure our projects will be 50% women. It’s an ambitious goal and to fulfil it won’t be easy, but anything that will bring about real change, never is. We hope our commitment will inspire others to also accept the challenge as we work together to create an industry that is truly representative. And we unite under the battle cry ‘All hail, Regina King!’.
By Karla Williams
