BEVERLY HILLS (CNS) - “Green Book,” the story of the bond that grows between a black musician and a white New York nightclub bouncer during a 1960s tour through the Deep South, has added Oscar momentum today, thanks to a trio of Golden Globe Award wins.
“Green Book” earned Globes on Sunday night for best comedy/musical film, best screenplay and best supporting actor for Mahershala Ali. The Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” won the prize for best drama film, and a best- actor award for Rami Malek.
Director Peter Farrelly called the “Green Book” film honor “beyond anything we ever imagined when we started shooting this thing.” He said the film's story -- about how people of different races can bond simply by spending time together and talking -- “gave me hope.”
“If Don Shirley and Tony Vallelonga can find common ground, we all can,” he said during the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. “All we have to do is talk and not judge people by the differences, but look for what we have in common, and we have a lot in common.”
Mahershala Ali's supporting-actor prize for portraying musician Don Shirley was the first Globe win of his career.
“Dr. Shirley was a brilliant man,” Ali said. “I just want to thank him for his passion, his virtuosity, the dignity with which he carried himself every day.”
He also hailed his co-star, Viggo Mortensen, calling him “an extraordinary screen partner.”
“You pushed me every day, man. No days off. Even the days off weren't days off,” Ali said.
Nick Vallelonga, whose father was the focus of the film “Green Book,” shared the Globe for best original screenplay with Brian Curry and Farrelly.
“My father, he blessed us with this story,” Vallelonga said. “I can't thank you enough. This is very surreal.”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” star Rami Malek won the best drama actor award for his dead-on portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
“I am beyond moved,” Malek told the crowd. “My heart is pounding out of my chest right now. This is a profound honor to receive this and to be counted among such extraordinary actors. I'm privileged to be counted among you.”
Malek gave special thanks to Queen -- whose members Brian May and Roger Taylor attended the ceremony -- hailing them “for ensuring that authenticity and inclusivity exist in the music and in the world and in all of us.” He also hailed the late Mercury “for giving me the joy of a lifetime. I love you, you beautiful man.”
Glenn Close won her third career Golden Globe, taking home the prize for best actress in a drama film for “The Wife,” in which she portrays a woman who travels with her narcissistic husband to Stockholm and reflects on her life decisions.
She noted that it took 14 years to get the film made, and stressed the importance of the film's message.
“Women, we're nurturers, that's what's expected of us ... but we have to find personal fulfillment,” she said. “We have to follow our dreams. We have to say I can do that and I should be allowed to do that.”
Close previously won Globes for her work in the 2003 TV movie “The Lion in Winter” and in 2008 for best actress in a TV drama for “Damages.”
Christian Bale was named best actor in a musical/comedy for his portrayal of Vice President Dick Cheney in “Vice.” He joked that writer- director Adam McKay chose him for the role because “he said I've got to find somebody who can be charisma-free and reviled by everybody.”
“What do you think, Mitch McConnell next?” Bale quipped, referencing the Republican Senate majority leader. “That could be good.”
Bale, who packed on 40 pounds to portray Cheney, previously won a Globe in 2011 for his supporting role in “The Fighter.”
“Vice” entered the night with a leading six nominations, but came away with only one win.
Olivia Colman was named best actress in a musical/comedy film for her work as Queen Anne in “The Favourite.” She won a Globe in 2017 for her supporting work in the TV limited series “The Night Manager.”
She jokingly thanked “my bitches,” referring to co-stars Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone.
“Every second of working with you girls was such a joy,” she said, adding that she was sad the filming had to end. She also joked about how much she enjoyed working on the film, saying, “I got to ride a private jet. I ate constantly throughout the film. It was brilliant.”
Regina King won her first career Golden Globe for her supporting work in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” She hailed writer-director Barry Jenkins, saying, “I love you with all my heart. Thank you for your empathy. Thank you for telling stories so rich.”
King also made the biggest political statement of the night, pledging that on all of her entertainment industry projects in the next two years, she will employ “50 percent women.”
“I challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power, not just in our industry but in all industries, I challenge you to challenge yourselves and stand with us in solidarity and do the same,” King said.
Justin Hurwitz won his third career Golden Globe for original score for his work on “First Man.” He won two Globes in 2017 for his work on “La La Land,” one for original score and one for best original song for “City of Stars.”
“Shallow” from the film “A Star is Born” won the prize for best original song. Lady Gaga, who performed the song on screen with Bradley Cooper, helped accept the award along with fellow songwriters Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt.
The Mexican film “Roma” won for best foreign-language film, while Alfonso Cuaron was named best director for helming the project. He gave thanks to Netflix for bringing the “very unlikely film” to the public eye, and said the movie was shaped “by this place, this very complex lab that shaped and created me, so much as gracias Mexico.”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was named best animated film.
On the television side of the awards, FX's “The Americans,” the story of a pair of Russian agents posing as an American couple, won its first Golden Globe for best drama series, after losing in the category at the Emmy Awards in September.
The award for best actor in a drama went to first-time winner Richard Madden for his work in Netflix's “Bodyguard.” Madden, a Scottish veteran of HBO's “Game of Thrones,” gave special thanks to “my friends and my family and mom and dad who flew all the way from Scotland. Wouldn't be here without you.”
Sandra Oh -- who co-hosted Sunday night's ceremony with Andy Samberg --
won her second career Globe, winning for best actress in a drama series for BBC America's crime-thriller “Killing Eve.” She won a Globe in 2006 for best supporting TV actress for her work on “Grey's Anatomy.”
She hailed “Killing Eve's” cast and crew, but said, “Mostly there are two people here tonight that I'm so grateful that they're here for me. I'd like to thank my mother and my father.”
Netflix's “The Kominsky Method” was named best comedy series, while the show's star, Michael Douglas, won the prize for best actor in a comedy.
The series' co-creator, Chuck Lorre, was visibly shaken by the win.
“This doesn't happen to me,” he said. “No one's crying for me, but this, this is spectacular. This is an extraordinary acknowledgement. ... I've been doing this a long time and I'm up here trembling like a leaf.”
He thanked Douglas and co-star Alan Arkin, saying that without them, “the script for this would be landfill, it would be mulch.”
Douglas, who portrays an aging acting coach on the show, thanked his fellow cast members while accepting the honor, and also hailed his family, including his 102-year-old father, Kirk Douglas.
“Truth be told, I owe all of this to one man out there, Mr. Chuck Lorre,” Douglas told the crowd. “Chuck thinks getting old is funny. Thank you for your exquisite work.”
The win was Douglas' fourth career Golden Globe, including a best- actor honor for his work in the film “Wall Street.” He also received the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2004.
Rachel Brosnahan scored her second consecutive Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy for her work in Amazon's “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” She won an Emmy for the role in September.
She thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for being “the first people to celebrate this show and helping other people figure out that we exist.”
Patricia Arquette was named best actress in a TV movie or limited series for her work in Showtime's “Escape at Dannemora,” the true story of a woman who falls for a pair of New York prison inmates and helps them escape. She previously took home a Globe in 2015 for her supporting work in 2014's “Boyhood.”
Darren Criss won his first Globe for best actor in a limited series or TV movie for his performance in FX's “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” which also won the prize for best TV movie or limited series. He thanked the crew of the project, noting it was “kind of a grim story to make” but saying the crew made it a “fun place to do some not-so-fun things.”
For supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie, the prize went to Ben Whishaw for Amazon's “A Very English Scandal.” Patricia Clarkson was named best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie for HBO's “Sharp Objects.”
Photos: Getty Images