I’m fully aware there were some pretty heavy issues being discussed and dealt with during the Golden Globes this year and in Hollywood as a whole. I don’t think I’m the person to discuss these issues or mansplain things to anybody. Instead I’m going to address something far less serious: The Stiff Arm of Tommy Wiseau.
I don’t normally pay attention to the Golden Globes. To me they are the little brother of the Academy Awards so I don’t really pay much attention. However, I was curious about the opening monologue so I tuned in and kept it on a while. I was flipping channels when I tuned in again and I noticed something. Amidst all of the pageantry and speeches I noticed that Tommy Wiseau was present. I thought that was kind of neat since Disaster Artist was up for a few awards. Shortly after this they were up to the award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. James Franco had won. The stage was set.
James Franco and his brother went up on stage and he accepted the award and began delivering a speech. The first person he thanked was Tommy Wiseau, and in what I thought was a show of goodwill, he invited him up to the stage. The pair hugged each other and when they broke apart, Tommy Wiseau grabbed for the mic. Then this happened:
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That is James Franco stiff arming Tommy Wiseau away from the mic while saying “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa” with a chuckle. After not allowing Wiseau to speak after he invited him up to the stage, he then read a statement in Tommy Wiseau’s voice while he was standing right next to him. What could have been a fun moment during the show turned out to be an extremely awkward ordeal that left me scratching my head. Which leaves me wondering, what was the play here? What was the plan?
I am really perplexed by this scenario. James Franco obviously spent a lot of time with Tommy Wiseau. He must have known that Wiseau would have wanted to say something. Even if he talked with him before the show, it seems clear to me that Wiseau wouldn’t have necessarily listened anyway. I feel like Franco had two options here: have Wiseau stand up when addressing him in his speech and be recognized from his seat, or bring him up and allow him to say something. It seemed like he tried to have the best of both worlds and it ultimately backfired.
Then again, maybe Tommy Wiseau decided to walk up unannounced and Franco tried to save face by inviting him up since he was already on his way. I say this because he was already walking towards the stage before Franco asked him up, which was the shot we got on the broadcast. So, maybe I should just keep my stupid comments in my pocket.
The views expressed in this article are purely my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Lights, Camera, Average or any of the other hosts of the show. Thanks for reading my ramblings.
-Andy
Lights, Camera, Average! 