backstage2

8:03 p.m.: The first award, the first
upset. Clive Owens wins the Best Supporting Actor award for Closer.
Somebody give the man a Moët.

8:05 p.m.: So, the Golden Globes
started--and a Closer coronation broke out! Natalie Portman takes the
Best Supporting Actress Globe for Closer.

8:05:30 p.m.: A startled Portman thanks
director Mike Nichols for being her rock-star daddy-friend. (We paraphrase but
not too much...)

8:13 p.m.: The offshore gaming sites are
going to take a bath on this show. Anjelica Huston, another dark horse, wins the
Globe for her supporting role in the HBO TV movie Iron Jawed Angels.

8:14
p.m.: The Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
category is up now. Given the upset trend, I'm going to guess Don Knotts.

8:14:30 p.m.: Wrong again. William Shatner
wins for Boston Legal.

8:14:45 p.m.: Thought: When Shatner comes
backstage, could and/or should I ask him why those space aliens were so hot for
Spock's brain?

8:17 p.m.: Portman is the first star in the
backstage interview room. She looks tiny. And more than a tiny bit
overwhelmed.

8:18 p.m.: Why did Portman wear a
slip...sorry, a Chloé designer dress? "I just wanted to be comfortable," she
says.

8:22 p.m.: Portman plays a stripper in
Closer, but in real life, she "get[s] really nervous talking in front of
a lot of people."

8:23 p.m.: Unlike Portman, Clive Owen is
one cool cucumber. He says he hadn't even sat down at his table in the Hilton
ballroom when he was called up to accept his trophy. Owen says, "It was the
strangest three minutes."

8:24 p.m.: Tonight's survey: In which hand
does a Golden Globe winner hold his or her Golden Globe? So far, the tally is
one steady right hand (Owen) and one unsteady left hand involving much fidgeting
(Portman).

8:27 p.m.: Anjelica Huston is at the
interview mike now, showing off her award--and much bling-bling (on her wrist
and around her neck).

8:27:30 p.m.: Huston says, "I'm all for
women voting." Those out-of-touch Hollywood liberals...

8:30 p.m.: For the record, Huston holds her
Globe with her right hand, occasionally holding its base with her left.

8:31 p.m.: Shatner is in our midst, wowing
us with his honesty. "I've been around a long time," he says. "I really wanted
to win."

8:32 p.m.: I skip the Star Trek
question and, instead, ask Shatner if he finds anything remotely party-like
about this punch- and balloon-free affair. "Well, the shrimp were a little
soggy. But I'm hoping it takes off from here," says Shatner. "I'm ready to
party."

8:35 p.m.: Shatner, in discussing
powerful-sounding character names, barks Kirk two times and says
truck one time. Unfortunately, he bellows Khan no times.

8:37 p.m.: I forgot to check which hand
Shatner had his Globe in, much to the dismay, I'm sure, of the scientific
community.