Michael Douglas and Spider-Man Are Early Winners at Golden Globes

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Douglas was an early winner at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, capturing the prize for his leading role in the Netflix comedy series “The Kominsky Method.”

The award was the first handed out Sunday at the ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. Douglas, a four-time Globes winner, plays an aging actor running a school for wanna-be stars. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” won the award for best animated film, grabbing a prize for Sony Corp.

Globes hosts Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg opened the program with riffs about the lack of diversity in Hollywood. But Oh also used the moment to note the changes that are sweeping the entertainment industry, with nominees this year that include “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians.”

“I see you, all these faces of change, and now so will everyone else,” she told the crowd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Oh could make history as the first woman of Asian decent in a generation to be nominated for best actress in a TV series drama for her role in “Killing Eve.”

Regina King, who won her first Golden Globe for a supporting role in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” pledged in her acceptance speech to ensure that women have 50 percent of the jobs in her future projects.

“Vice,’’ featuring Christian Bale transformed into former Vice President Dick Cheney, came into the night as the most-nominated with six nods. “Green Book,’’ “The Favourite’’ and “A Star is Born’’ each have five.

Split Category

Unlike the Oscars, the Globes split the movie nominees into two categories. That often leads to surprising selections. This year is no different, with “A Star is Born’’ competing against “Bohemian Rhapsody’’ in the drama category, while “Mary Poppins Returns’’ competes in the musical-comedy category against more serious fare like “Vice’’ and “Green Book.’’ 

 “A Star is Born’’ was as the favorite to win in the drama category, according to GoldDerby.com, with Lady Gaga favored to take home an acting honor. Her co-star Bradley Cooper is nominated as producer, director and actor.

Netflix took an early lead in the awards, with wins for “The Kominsky Method” and “The Bodyguard.”

21st Century Fox Inc.’s FX network led in TV nominations, followed by Amazon and HBO tied for the second.   

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