E! Online
20 January 2002
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Kidman Knows, Crowe Comes Clean (Sort of) and Sex Gets Fun
by Joal Ryan

Here's a rundown of the 15 things we learned behind the scenes of the 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards at Merv Griffin's Beverly Hilton Hotel:

1. Nicole Kidman Is Psychic: The Aussie star was in the interview room holding her Globe (for Moulin Rouge) when Down Under mate Russell Crowe was named Best Drama Actor for A Beautiful Mind. She let out a howl. "We were having a cigarette backstage, and I told him he was going to win. And he said, 'You always say that.' I told him, 'I've only said it once, and you won. And I'm going to raise my batting average tonight.'"

2. Russell Crowe Really Loves Doing Interviews: Upon greeting the press, the shaggy Crowe mumbled, "I was kind of hoping you guys would be in bed by now." He may not have loved us, but he fielded all our softballs. His next movie? ("The next movie? We'll just have to see.") His reaction to Nicole Kidman's win? ("It gives me great pleasure to see Nicole Kidman acknowledged.") Thoughts on the Aussie invasion at the Globes? ("We may be a long way away [from Hollywood], but we've got all the modern technology; we try to keep up with you.") Feelings about Jennifer Connelly? ("Jennifer is a wonderful actress...and I think she's a wonderful person.") His requirements for a party? (More than two bottles of Jack Daniel's and a promise the host has spent the afternoon resting up for the big bash.)

3. Sarah Jessica Parker Can't Believe It: "I can't believe it. I can't believe it! I can't believe it!"--Sarah Jessica Parker. (For the record, the "it" Parker can't believe is that she won for Best TV Comedy Actress. Again.)

4. Baz Luhrmann Knows When to Shut Up: The Moulin Rouge director expounded on some rough days during the unconventional musical's production--the day his father died and the day Nicole Kidman broke her ribs. He seemed to be getting around to the day Kidman became Tom Cruise's ex ("...Nicole's life changed") when none other than the ex-Mrs. Cruise showed up. "Uh-oh," Luhrmann laughed. "I should never talk about that." And so he didn't.

5. People Really Like to Cheer for...Jennifer Garner, Robert Altman and Moulin Rouge: They got the biggest backstage reactions, at least. The Altman one, though, should come with an asterisk. We're pretty sure the collective squeal we heard following his Best Director win came from a team of publicists for USA Films, the distributor of Gosford Park.

6. Middle-aged British Actors in Little British Films Ain't Hot: Reporters couldn't come up with much to ask Jim Broadbent, the Best Supporting Actor movie winner for Iris, a film almost no one has seen. Someone mercifully resorted to the "so what's it like to win" standard. (For those of you who must know, Broadbent said, "It was surprising. I wasn't really expecting it.") Ummm...neither were we.

7. "Bad Boy" Charlie Sheen Actually Uses the Word Gal: "Denise is the sweetest, prettiest gal in the world. And I'm just the luckiest guy to have met her," said the aw-shucks Spin City star of his fiancée, Denise Richards. Furthering his down-home style, Sheen interrupted his press conference to ask how Pa Martin Sheen was doing in his bid for TV Drama Actor. (When told Dad had just lost to 24's Kiefer Sutherland, Sheen recovered nicely: "Kiefer won? Kiefer won?!...Well, good for him.")

8. False Humility Has No Place at Award Shows: A Beautiful Mind's Ron Howard (director) and Brian Grazer (producer) neatly deflected any notion that their film is now the clear frontrunner for the Oscars (even if it is), stressing that they aren't looking ahead. But Grazer was refreshingly forthright about his film's merits: "We could not have made this movie any better."

9. Inspiration Can Strike Some Really Weird Notes: Sting said he wrote the gushy "Until..." (his Globe-winning love song for Kate & Leopold) last fall, amid the anthrax attacks on the East Coast and the opening volleys of the war in Afghanistan; Baz Luhrmann said he was smitten with movie musicals when, as a youth, he saw Paint Your Wagon, featuring a singing Clint Eastwood.

10. No One Cares if Journalists (or Their Cars) Blow Up: At last November's security-conscious Emmy Awards (held in neighboring Century City), cars driven by media types were searched before being admitted to the parking lot. At the Golden Globes, reporters' cars were waved in by a lone attendant.

11. Harrison Ford Is Grateful: The Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement honoree told us he was "grateful for [his] range of films"; "grateful for the generosity that seems to have attended [his] career"; and just generally "really very grateful." When asked what he thought about a letter from California Governor Gray Davis published in his honor in the official Golden Globes program, Ford said he was--yes--"grateful for it." Ford, by the way, said he was ready to do a fourth Indiana Jones movie. "There's one left in me. I think the question is, is there one left in George [Lucas] and Steven [Spielberg]?" We were grateful he shared this with us.

12. You Can Kid with Steven Spielberg (Provided You're Tom Hanks): "Thank you, Junior...He started with me as a temp, and now look at him."--Tom Hanks, taking the mike from Spielberg following their collective victory for HBO's Band of Brothers.

13. Tom Hanks and Colin Hanks Don't Really Look All That Much Alike (Except Around the Eyes), Even if You See Them in Person Standing Right Next to Each Other: They just don't. Trust us, we stared.

14. If You're Trying to Get Someone's Attention, It Helps to Grovel--a Lot: "Mr. Spielberg, this is no doubt--this is the greatest thing I've ever seen on TV..."--A reporter prefacing a question to Steven Spielberg. "You look really adorable in that men's tuxedo."--A reporter prefacing a question to Sissy Spacek.

15. Everything People from Sex and the City Say Sounds Vaguely X-Rated: "Each year, I think, the show gets a bit deeper."--Cynthia Nixon, on character development. (We think.)