English Entertainment
Ugly Betty bags two Globes in its first season
Mumbai : The stars rained down on the 64th Annual Golden
Globe awards as Hollywood turned out in full force to cheer the best in television and motion pictures held at the Bevery Hilton Hotel. Glittering in diamonds and driving the media frenzy were actors like Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Hugh Grant Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hanks, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dustin Hoffman, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Hilary Swank, Reese Witherspoon and Renee Zellweger amongst others. Over 50 Hollywood presenters were selected by the HFA and Golden Globe including Leonardo Di Caprio nominated for Blood Diamond and The Departed and Meryl Streep a 6 time Golden Globe winner who won the best actress in a comedy for her role of a wicked fashion editor in The Devil Wears Prada.
While Hollywood star power takes centre stage at the ceremony the Golden Globe awards is also a time for the best in television entertainment to be honored.And the top honours went to ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy for best television series (drama).
Kyra Sedgwick won the best actress award in a television series (drama) for her role in TNT’s Closer while Hugh Laurie took home the Golden Globe for the best actor performance in Fox’s House in the same category.
Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives both highly watched series on ABC were pitted against each other in the best televisions series musical or comedy. Ugly Betty originally a hit Spanish-language telenovela brought to the United States and shown on ABC, won for best musical or comedy series and its star, America Ferrera, was best actress in a comedy. NBC’s 30 Rock won Alec Baldwin a globe for his performance as the best actor in a comedy.And HBO ensured itself a hatrick of awards with its mini series. Helen Mirren as best actress, Jeremy Irons as best supporting actor and the best mini series was bagged by Elizabeth I.
Helen Mirren has had an exceptionally brilliant run as she was a triple nominee for Monday’s Golden Globe for The Queen and Elizabeth I as well as the television film Prime Suspect: The Final Act.She won best actress awards for playing two Queen Elizabeths: one for the television mini-series Elizabeth I and the second for portraying Elizabeth II in the film The Queen. BBC with its mini series Gideon’s Daughter won Bill Nighy the best actor and Emily Blunt the best supporting actress in a mini series awards.
Tom Hanks presented actor Warren Beatty with this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment field. The Cecil B. DeMille award winners are chosen by the HFPA board of directors and presented each year.
The Disney-Pixar film Cars won best animated feature in the debut category for animation at the Globes.
The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards is telecast across 150 countries worldwide and is one of the few awards ceremonies to span both television and motion picture achievements.
Each year HFPA members interview more than 250 actors, directors, writers and producers, as well as reporting from film sets and seeing more than 300 films.
Hollywood stars have a special reason to be seen at the Golden Globes.The awards, which are voted on by nearly 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are a major stop on the road to the 25 February Academy Awards because winners here often go on to compete for Oscars — the film industry’s top awards.
The top honours in motion picture category were picked up by Babel for best motion picture drama while Martin Scorsese won the best director for his film The Departed giving it a shot in the arm for the Oscars as well.The Academy award has deluded the director despite repeated nominations.
Dream Girls picked up a host of awards including awards for Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy. The comedy Borat won Sacha Cohen a best actor in a motion picture comedy and could throw up some surprises even at the Oscars.
The Oscar nominations will be announced on the evening of 23 January and the awards will be given out at the star studded event on 25 February.
English Entertainment
ZEE5 UK partners Narrative Entertainment to add UK channels
Six FAST channels added as platform sharpens hybrid play in Britain
LONDON: ZEE5 UK struck a first-of-its-kind deal with Narrative Entertainment, bringing mainstream UK television channels onto an Indian streaming platform as it pushes to deepen its footprint in a crowded, mature market.
The partnership adds six of Narrative’s FAST channels to the service, including Great! Movies, Great! Romance, Great! Mystery and kids brands POP, Tiny Pop and POP UP, widening ZEE5 UK’s appeal across genres and age groups.
The move reflects a clear shift in strategy. ZEE5 UK is betting on a hybrid model that blends on-demand content with curated, always-on channels to drive discovery and increase time spent on the platform.
“This partnership represents a meaningful evolution in how we serve audiences in mature markets like the UK, where viewers are defined by habits, convenience and choice rather than geography or language alone,” said Parul Goel, territory head, Europe, Zee Entertainment. “By bringing trusted mainstream UK channels together with our premium originals, movies and kids’ content, we are building a more consumer-centric platform that simplifies viewing while increasing depth and relevance.”
Fateha Begum, commercial director, Narrative Entertainment, said the tie-up would fuel growth for both sides. “Our portfolio of quality programming, with such wide and enduring appeal, is a perfect complement to ZEE5 UK. This is a strong partnership that will support growth for both parties, and we share Zee Entertainment’s vision of an increasingly partnership-led future for the industry.”
ZEE5’s global library spans over 4,000 films and more than 500 originals, with over 130 new titles added annually. The addition of Narrative’s channels strengthens its kids offering and introduces genre-led linear experiences alongside its on-demand catalogue.
The deal also gives Narrative access to ZEE5 UK’s fast-growing user base, extending reach without diluting brand identity, while reinforcing ZEE5 UK’s network of more than 40 live channels.
As streaming wars intensify, ZEE5 UK is widening its playbook, blending content, convenience and partnerships in a bid to win screen time in one of the world’s toughest markets.
