One of the most compelling parts of any awards show is watching famous people do their best gracious loser face. Some pull off the smile-and-clap with perfect poise; others accidentally let you see their true feelings in their eyes or the forced, unnatural curve their mouth tries to make.
With awards ceremonies being pushed into the virtual realm, it’s not always possible to witness these moments at their fullest. The Zoom camera pans to the person speaking – invariably not the losers – and when it cuts back they’ve had time to fix their reaction. Sometimes, though, we still get a glimpse of some brilliant losing responses.
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At tonight’s (February 28) virtual Golden Globes, David Fincher gave us 2021’s biggest mood so far. There was nothing bitter or hurt about his reaction, we must stress – he was the picture of grace and class – but that didn’t stop it from being one of the best moments of the event. Nominated for his film Mank, the movie-maker was in some hotly contested categories – he was up for Best Director, while the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay.
When the latter category came around, the trophy ultimately ended up going to Aaron Sorkin for The Trial Of The Chicago 7. As applause broke out in the other Zoom windows, Fincher lifted a shot glass into the frame and knocked back its contents, a smile firmly on his face. Some viewers speculated it was in memory of his father Jack Fincher, who penned Mank. It’s possible but, if so, the director was knocking back more than one shot in his honour.
david fincher doing shots everytime he loses is a big mood pic.twitter.com/ClvT1TUAXf
— cat. (@lordeonfilm) March 1, 2021
BREAKING: David Fincher will direct the Another Round sequel. pic.twitter.com/Y3aXmz8xO1
— Leomelette du fromage – see you down the road (@LeoooPrn) March 1, 2021
Sometime later, when it came time to find out who had won Best Director, Fincher and his glass made another appearance. This time he lost out to Chloé Zhao for Nomadland, but became a winner online for his booze-necking response (was it vodka? Gin? Rum? Tequila? David, please let us know so we can follow precisely in your footsteps).
Not only was the acclaimed director having a cheeky tipple one of the highlights of the night, but it also offered us inspiration for how to cope with the rest of the pandemic. Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown gets delayed? Channel Fincher’s energy and get on the shots. Run out of things to binge and considering hate-watching Emily In Paris again? Fill that glass right up. Turned on Zoom only to listen to five different people be told they’re on mute in a meeting that could have been kept to an email? Best swap the shot glass for a bottle, to be honest.
So thank you, David Fincher, for our new way of dealing with all our losses. Commiserations on your Golden Globes defeats – hopefully they won’t be manifesting as a hangover in the morning.