What’s the expression for something you both like and dislike about yourself? I have this persistent tendency towards optimism. It’s surprising because I’m also a frequently cranky and a know-it-all, but weird annoying positivity shows up at the weirdest times.
Right now I feel like I should be tired of Big Little Lies. Tired of seeing all the women together, and done with knowing that while they were all going to get nominations (except Zoe Kravitz – I’ll get there in a second) Nicole Kidman was going to win.
But somehow I’m still not mad at it. There’s something about this production that has made me as lovey-dovey as everyone in it. Like, the title I chose wasn’t an accident – Nicole Kidman won the Golden Globe for all of the performers. They knew that would be the case, because she’s the one who had the material. That’s all fine and good. Laura Dern’s win matters and is celebrated by all of them too, but Nicole’s is the ‘important’ one, you know?
That might not be so unusual on its own. You can usually tell which is the breakout performance on any production. But…
They all seem to love this show, and this experience, so much. (Except, perhaps, for You Know Who.) Alexander Skarsgård won, for a one-season role, and called it ‘the greatest experience of my career’. The greatest experience of his career! What happened on the making of this show?
I keep looking at all of them for a hint of insincerity or being over it, but it’s not there! And like – there are shows where Zoe Kravitz would not be included in all of this press. Her character is a part of the group, but as an actor, she would have been there much less than the other four and might not have had the chance to bond with them, and that would make sense. But she’s included in everything and I would bet everything I have that she has a substantial story coming up in season 2.
Then they won for Best Limited Series, and, after saying the show has been ‘a joy’, as he passes the mic to Reese, David E. Kelley refers to her and Nicole as ‘ferocious producers’ (and Zoe shouts YES!). At which point my eyes burst open without warning:
You have to be ferocious to be a producer. You have to constantly be fighting and defending and insisting on why your project needs to be the one to be made. But ‘ferocious’ is not a word that’s usually positively associated with women. They get called ‘aggressive’ and ‘difficult’ and ‘ambitious’ – even when they’re already known and proven. To me, the use of that word and the cheers that followed, and no snarky comments about ball-busters that would have been commonplace even a few years ago, were one of the biggest indicators that maybe things are able to change.
But it starts with a fairytale ensemble like this one. Seriously, what was in the catering on this show? When’s the last time there was an all-out love in like this?
In keeping with the theme of the night, most of the women were wearing dresses in styles they would have worn anyway – which makes Laura Dern’s Armani that much more incredible. It’s going to be an iconic dress for her, going forward.
But Amy wrote to us last night asking for a shout-out to Zoe Kravitz’s earrings – in a night of gorgeous green stones, I agree that these were the most gorgeous. Dangerous, though, because they make you think maybe you could rock a haircut like hers too. I mean, maybe you could. I could not.
