Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards

Level 3 Advanced

1 Key words

Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.

posthumous sequel feelgood score rejuvenated

animated bizarre sombre downside glitz

1. If something is described as _____________________, it is strange and difficult to explain.

2. If something is described as _____________________, it has become good or effective again.

3. An _____________________ film is a cartoon, a film consisting of a series of drawings.

4. If an event is _____________________, it is serious or sad.

5. A _____________________ award is one given to someone after they have died.

6. _____________________ is a special quality that makes something seem very exciting and attractive even

though it has no value.

7. A _____________________ is a film that continues the story of a previous one.

8. The _____________________ of something represents its negative aspects or disadvantages.

9. A _____________________ film makes you feel happy and satisfied.

10. The music written for a film is known as its _____________________.

2 What do you know?

Decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F). Then check your answers in the text.

1. The Oscar ceremony always takes place before the Golden Globes.
2. Kate Winslet is an American actress.

3. Kate Winslet’s husband is also an actor.

4. The Golden Globes ceremony did not take place in 2008.

5. The Golden Globes ceremony is held in New York.

6. The actor Heath Ledger died last year.

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Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards
Level 3 Advanced
Brits have the Midas touch at Golden
Globe awards
• Kate Winslet wins best actress and best
supporting actress
• Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire on course
for Oscar glory
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
January 12, 2009
6 The rejuvenated awards ceremony – it was
1 UK actress Kate Winslet has won the two Golden
Globe categories for which she was nominated:
best dramatic actress for Revolutionary Road
and best supporting actress for The Reader.
2 In her acceptance speech, Winslet said that she
never won awards, a remark picked up later by
presenter Ricky Gervais, who remembered telling
her: “Do a Holocaust movie, the awards come”.
7 One of the biggest surprises of the evening
In an emotional address for her surprise win for
Revolutionary Road, Winslet paid tribute to her
“spectacular” co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, and to
her husband, Sam Mendes, who directed the film.
3 Perhaps the most highly anticipated award of the
night was the posthumous Golden Globe given to
Heath Ledger for his performance as the Joker in
The Dark Knight. Acknowledging his contribution,
Christopher Nolan, who directed the Batman
sequel, paid tribute: “We will miss him, but he will
8 The Pixar-Disney collaboration paid off with a
never be forgotten.”
4 The Globes are traditionally seen as an indication
of form for Oscar night, a month and a half away.
Sunday night’s awards made the feelgood movie
Slumdog Millionaire one of the favourites for
9 Another animated feature, the Israeli film Waltz
the Oscar, as well as dealing a blow to other
hopefuls. While Slumdog Millionaire also won
awards for best script and best score, Frost/
Nixon failed to pick up a single award, despite
being nominated in the best drama, director,
actor, screenplay and score categories. Likewise,
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring
Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt, directed by David
Fincher and nominated in five categories, was
not a winner on the night.
5 The Wrestler, another Oscar frontrunner, did
better, with its star Mickey Rourke winning
the best dramatic actor award and Bruce
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009
NEWS LESSONS /Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards / Advanced
Springsteen winning for best song. Rourke, seen
by many as this year’s comeback kid, dedicated
the award to his canine companions, past and
present. “It’s been a very long road back for me,”
he told the audience. “Several years ago I was
almost out of this business. I’d like to thank all my
dogs. Sometimes when a man’s alone his dogs
are all he’s got.”
cancelled last year because of the scriptwriters’
strike – celebrated its return with a night of
classic Hollywood glitz. The red carpet, the frocks
and the tearful acceptance speeches were all
in attendance as a collection of Hollywood stars
turned out for the relatively informal evening at
the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
came as Sally Hawkins won the best actress in
a comedy or a musical prize for her role as a
schoolteacher in Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky.
The British actor beat off strong competition
from some famous Hollywood names, including
Frances McDormand, Meryl Streep and Emma
Thompson. The distance from her table to the
stage was an indication of the unexpectedness of
her victory.
win for the robot romance WALL-E in the best
animated feature category beating Kung Fu
Panda, an attempt to capitalize on last year’s
Olympics-inspired enthusiasm for things Chinese.
With Bashir, won the best foreign language
film award. An animated documentary that
examines the massacres of Palestinians during
the 1982 Lebanon war, the highly political film
has received multiple nominations this awards
season. Speaking backstage after accepting
the award, director Ari Folman said that he did
not regret the film’s relevance: “Unfortunately,
the film is always relevant,” he said. “There’s
only one major statement, which is an
antiwar statement, and it is relevant now and
unfortunately it was relevant two years ago, when
we were working on it.”
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Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards
Level 3 Advanced
10 The ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel
represented a turnaround from last year’s
bizarre event. A year ago, in the midst of a
writers’ strike that had seen most production
in Hollywood shut down, the Golden Globes
dropped the glamorous prize-giving in favour
of a more sombre press conference at which a
list of winners was read out. The advantages
of last year’s arrangement were that it was
shorter, cheaper and more reflective of the
significance of the Globes. The downside was
that it deprived Hollywood of one of its primary
to designers, the red carpet was rolled up and
Steven Spielberg and Rumer Willis had to wait
an extra year for their moment in the spotlight.
11 This year amends were made: Spielberg was
duly given the Cecil B DeMille award for lifetime
achievement, and la Willis – offspring of Bruce
Willis and Demi Moore – was acknowledged
as Miss Golden Globes, an accomplishment
reserved for the children of the stars.
© Guardian News & Media 2009

love-ins of the year as gowns were returned First published in The Guardian, 12/01/09

3 Comprehension check

Choose the best answer according to the text.

1. The Golden Globes …

a. … always give awards to the same people that get awards in the Oscars.
b. … usually give people a good idea of who will do well in the Oscars.
c. … traditionally give awards to people who do not win Oscars.

2. Why was it surprising that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button didn’t win any Golden Globes?
a. Because it was clearly the best film.
b. Because it starred Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt.
c. Because it had been nominated in five different categories.

3. What did the distance from Sally Hawkins’ table to the stage indicate?
a. That she was not an important guest.
b. That she was not expected to win an award.
c. That she had strong competition from some famous names.

4. How did last year’s Golden Globes differ from this year’s?
a. The ceremony was followed by a press conference.
b. Steven Spielberg was given an award for lifetime achievement last year.
c. There was no ceremony at all – just a press conference.
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NEWS LESSONS / Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards / Advanced
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Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards
Level 3 Advanced

4 Find the word

Find the following words and phrases in the text.

1. A two-word expression meaning an important part but not the main part in a film. (para 1)
2. A three-word expression meaning to praise someone publicly. (para 2)
3. A noun meaning the person considered most likely to win a competition. (para 5)
4. An adjective meaning relating to dogs. (para 5)
5. A two-word phrasal verb meaning to succeed in winning or gaining something from an opponent. (para 7)
6. A noun meaning a complete change in a situation. (para 10)
7. An adjective meaning attractive and interesting in an exciting and unusual way. (para 10)
8. A two-word expression meaning to try to make a situation better after you have done something wrong. (para 11)

5 Two-word expressions

Match the words in the left-hand column with those in the right-hand column to make two-word
expressions from the text.

1. press a. kid
2. awards b. competition
3. red c. achievement
4. strong d. speech
5. acceptance e. carpet
6. feelgood f. conference
7. lifetime g. movie
8. comeback h. ceremony

6 Expressions with prepositions

Complete the phrases from the text using prepositions.

1. pay tribute _______ 5. in favour _______

2. capitalize _______ 6. deprive someone _______

3. enthusiasm _______ 7. _______ the spotlight

4. in the midst _______ 8. work _______ a film

7 Discussion

Do you think awards ceremonies like the Oscars and Golden Globes are important or a waste of time? Give
your reasons.
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NEWS LESSONS / Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards / Advanced
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Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards
Level 3 Advanced

KEY
1 Key words 4 Find the word

1. bizarre 1. supporting actress (actor)

2. rejuvenated 2. pay tribute to
3. animated 3. frontrunner
4. sombre 4. canine
5. posthumous 5. beat off
6. glitz 6. turnaround
7. sequel 7. glamorous
8. downside 8. make amends
9. feelgood
10. score 5 Two-word expressions

1. f
2 What do you know? 2. h
3. e
1. F 4. b
2. F 5. d
3. F 6. g
4. T 7. c
5. F 8. a
6. T
6 Expressions with prepositions

3 Comprehension check 1. to
2. on
1. b 3. for
2. c 4. of
3. b 5. of
4. c 6. of
7. in
8. on
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NEWS LESSONS / Brits have the Midas touch at Golden Globe awards / Advanced
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