On Sunday night, the beginning of the 2025 awards season commenced with the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards. Unsurprisingly, the show was filled with major cinematic achievements and disappointments, with snubs and exciting wins all at once.
Before the real show started, the red carpet began it’s whispers of what was to come for the evening. Ariana and Cynthia have officially strayed away from the pink and green, Zendaya is maybe engaged and flaunting the rock on her left hand, and Cesily Collette Taylor (young Nessa Rose in the 2024 Wicked adaptation) wowed the reporters. Emma Stone debuted a new pixie cut, most likely for another Lanthimos collaboration. Alongside the stars of the evening, the winners from the Timothée Chalamet and Glen Powell look-alike competitions joined their doppelgangers on the carpet.
Inside, the real party begins with host Nikki Glaser kicking off the evening with a quick Ozempic and “holding space” joke. While anything would be better than the sexist anti-Barbie jokes of Jo Koy from the 81st Globes, Glaser delivered an unproblematic (aside from one Diddy joke, always unnecessary) and relatively humorous hosting gig, which led most of the focus to be on the nominees and winners themselves.
Much to Film Twitter’s dismay, Emilia Peréz, the most nominated film of the evening began its winnings early with Zoe Saldaña, winning supporting female actor in a motion picture. The controversy that surrounds the film largely lies between Selena Gomez stans on Twitter defending her Spanish and the discourse around why exactly this film is being venerated by critics and within awards circles. It is a French movie, made by French filmmakers, shot in France, yet the songs are sung in Spanish and the film centers around the Mexican cartel, meant to take place in Mexico City. Alongside Saldaña’s win, the film took home awards for Best Motion Picture (Non-English), Best Original Song, and Best Comedy/ Musical Motion Picture.
Similar to the events of the 2024 Emmy Awards, FX’s Shōgun swept the television categories, with awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series, Best Actor in a Drama Television Series, Best Female Actor in a Television Series, as well as Best Drama Television Series. Baby Reindeer also followed their trend from the Emmys, winning the majority of the limited series awards for the night.
In light of exciting wins, it was a major night for prosthetics, with wins for lead actors Colin Farrell, Sebastian Stan and Demi Moore. Officially solidifying the interesting intersection of films that explore our relationship with our appearance, specifically within the realm of performing alongside the destructive beauty standards that surround us. Both Moore and Stan gave incredibly moving and powerful speeches. Moore, receiving the script for The Substance around the time she contemplated ending her acting efforts, closed her speech with, “In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough or pretty enough, or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough. I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know, you will never be enough. But you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.”
The Brutalist also received three awards, including Best Film Director, Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture, and Best Drama Motion Picture. Director Brady Corbet addressed the “odds that were stacked against it,” thanking every person who made the movie possible, from Kodak to the cast and crew, and those in his personal life. While the film may be one of the best of the year, many in the United States wouldn’t know, as the film is playing in select theaters, barely leaving New York or Los Angeles.
The major snub of the night was undoubtedly Anora. The film sat at the top of lists across the critics’ boards and was unofficially crowned universally the “film of the year”, still, the film was nominated for five different awards, losing to some shocking wins, such as Emilia Pérez for Best Comedy Motion Picture, and a win that positively shocked others, Conclave for Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture.
The Golden Globes are never a totally obvious road to the upcoming Oscars, however, with this ceremony being the one to kickstart the major awards season, cinema fans notice the potential pipeline from Golden Globe winner to future Oscar winner. “Hollywood’s Party of the Year,” as the show has called itself, certainly gave moments that will flood the timeline. Aside from the awards themselves, post ceremony the real after party is online, with fans thirsting over Andrew Garfield putting on his reading glasses on camera, writing think pieces about Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet (still), and wondering “Is Zendaya actually betrothed” and much much more. With the surprising and exciting wins of last night, on and off the carpet, it is evident that we are in for a very interesting awards season.
In an era of entertainment where the majority of Hollywood productions are sequels or remakes, audiences are starving for original and authentic stories. While independent In an era of entertainment where the majority of Hollywood productions are sequels or remakes, audiences are starving for original and authentic stories. While independent filmmakers have the stories, the lack of funding prevents their work from reaching a wider audience.
With all of social media’s vices, free marketing has been one of its greatest gifts to creatives. Writer/Director Gianna Cavarozzi and Lyanna Zammas used their social media skills to share their short film Glory and Gore on Tiktok, which follows an exclusive study group and the mischief that happens behind closed doors. After posting teasers and behind-the-scenes content, they quickly grew a following. Their comments flooded with comparisons to films such as Dead Poets Society and novels like The Secret History and If We Were Villians.
In the months leading up to the premiere, their follower count grew into the tens of thousands, all waiting in anticipation to see the mayhem and destruction these alluring scholars get into. Within hours after being uploaded to YouTube, fan edits of these characters were posted on TikTok.
I had the pleasure of chatting with the writer/director duo about the journey of Glory and Gore and how it evolved from a small student club project to finding a cult following on TikTok.
Ashley Murphy: How did Glory and Gore first come to be? Was it originally written as a feature, or did it grow from something smaller?
Co-Writer/Director Gianna Cavarozzi and Lyanna Zammas
Lyanna Zammas: I never know where to start with this; Gianna and I became friends the summer before college. We met on our school’s Instagram page for the Class of 2026. When we got to school, we were in the same first-year seminar course, Love and Neuroticism in Western Cultures. We did all the readings and film screenings together, and we really connected with a couple of things we read, Plato’s Symposium and Plato’s Republic (the classics) We were talking about those two books and dark academia novels such as “Secret History” and “If We Were Villians,” and we were thinking about them as a whole and our love for them. And she [Gianna] was like, “What if we write a TV show together?” “and I was like, no, I would write a manuscript.” And she said, “No, I want a TV show,” and then I was sold.
Gianna Cavarozzi: Lyanna and I were internet friends; we didn't know this before coming to college, but we found out in the dining hall while going through old DMs that we talked when we were 12 years old.
LZ: Even crazier, the last thing I posted on that old Instagram account was Lorde's lyrics for Glory and Gore.
GC: There is a secret first Glory and Gore that is being dubbed by our cast as Baby Glory and Gore. It was a 10-minute pilot; it had a small budget and really big ambitions. It’s out there somewhere on someone’s drive. After we filmed the pilot, we thought it could be something more, so we decided to turn it into a proof of concept. What’s really interesting about Glory and Gore as a proof of concept is that, at this point, we had somewhat of an audience (not as big as we have now). And we loved this story so much and the characters; we knew we wanted to tell a complete arc, a full story. So, instead of using the usual proof concept format, a part of a story, or the beginning of the story to prove you can make it into a feature film, Glory and Gore is the beginning, middle, and end, but nothing really in between. there are a lot of blank spaces, and that's kind of done intentionally just to the point to leave the audience somewhat unsatisfied and feel they want more of this and more of the characters and to expand on the world. That is the Glory and Gore you are viewing now, something we reformatted to be a proof of concept.
AM: One thing that really stood out to me was the cast. These boys truly encapsulated their characters. Did you seek out these specific actors or hold open calls?
GC: This was for a student club, so they have their own audition/casting process. Through the club, people auditioned, and since we go to such a small school, we knew we wanted some of these boys to be in it. Like Mateo Bailey ,who played Brooks, we reached out personally to play Brooks. We knew we wanted him for that role. Same thing with Jason Korn [who played Monroe] and Andrew Bova [who played Will]. Originally we wanted Jason to play Cassius; he came into the audition room and wanted to play Monroe. In that audition, we knew that was Monroe, and that was the best surprise of the casting process.
LZ: Also, we didn’t know Javier. He never did film acting, and Glory and Gore was his first time on screen. He does wonderfully on stage. He walked into the casting room, and I go, “Oh my god.” It was immediate he was Cassius, and if he wasn’t going to be, he had to be on the cast. Thank god he was Cassius; he brought so much to the role.
GC: Javi wasn’t going to audition; Jason made him audition.
LZ: They were in Little Women together at the time.
GC: For David Wright’s role, Elliot wasn’t in the original Glory and Gore. We wrote him in for the proof of concept because he was so necessary. We knew of David; he is such a talented actor, and we had a small audition process. We didn’t write Elliot for him, but we knew we wanted him for the role.
LZ: We had two people in mind, and we only asked those two people, and they both ended up in the film. The other one was Luke Joyce, Winston, the goofy little character, the club’s TA.
AM: It’s rare to see such a contrast between the cast and crew; all men on screen and women nearly made up the entire crew. How do you think a story about corruption and masculinity is told in a different light through a feminine lens?
From top to bottom: Nikki Yar (2nd AC), Gianna Cavarozzi (co-writer/director), Lyanna Zammas (co-writer/director), and Katie Pak (2nd AC)
LZ: Trying to think about what sets us apart is looking at these spaces. Let me be more specific– looking at this Symposium, I mean, it's so Meta on so many levels because looking at the Symposium, which is, you know, the angle that we set the situation for the story, all these men are in this prestigious academic forum to discuss philosophy and ide, and that is the opposite of what they’re doing. Women were excluded; they weren’t invited for ideas they were invited to be the entertainment. Even thinking about our film school and how many women make up the crew. Thinking about how we came up with the idea in her [Gianna] dorm room. Women weren’t allowed to go to school for a long time, and it is really true that you need a room of your own to come up with these ideas. To have the space to talk about these things, that if a woman were present for these things, none of this would happen. All this debauchery, terror, and one bad apple turning the bunch wouldn’t be possible in our mind. It gives a distinct feel that these men were directed and supported by all these women; this story could only be told in that setting because we aren’t glorifying this behavior. Any investment in these characters is a success; it’s so rewarding to see because, as terrible as they are, they are human just the same. I think, more often than not, characters tend to fall flat or glorified when they are told from that certain perspective. I tend to think of Fight Club,and how people watch that movie and take it in all the wrong ways. I hope we made it so people can be attached to these characters but view them with a critical eye.
GC: A lot of people question us, “How is this the female gaze?” It's because women made it.
LZ: I’m a gender studies minor, and that’s what I want to pursue in the future; I always think about the fact, and it started as a joke, but I think ultimately it's important; people were like, why would you have just a male cast with a female crew? Why wouldn’t you have women in this story? That’s the whole point.
GC: I’ll add to that, especially with this story and having a female character present; besides the point of would this happen if a female character was present, it’s just the problem of this is a story of corruption and impact of masculinity. Me personally, as a writer/director, I never feel the need to show and perpetuate violence against women onscreen. I think this is a story that can be told without perpetuating that narrative and without showing women being sexualized or brutalized onscreen. I don’t think it is necessary for a story to comment on or critique masculinity.
AM: The locations were absolutely stunning, radiating old money, elitist university. What was the process of being permitted to film at these locations?
GC: We had two other amazing producers, Nikki Emma and Dailey Newcomb, who were mainly in charge of locations. They would text locations, and we would just say yes or no.
LZ: We filmed in some creepy locations. You think it's private universities? No. One of those is a university. We were in a terrifying temple; there was cult propaganda everywhere. The film is based in the 90s, and everything looks like it was from the 70s, so it worked.
GC: The only location that we kept from Baby Glory and Gore was the symposium room, which by far was our favorite location. We loved that room; we loved the school that let us use it, and they were very kind. Technically, that room is not one they film in; you're not supposed to film that room. They rent out their college for students to film in, but not that room. They allowed us to use it twice, which was very kind and awesome.
LZ: The second time around, when we were filming at a high school, we made a little name for ourselves on social media. The students were still hanging out there after class, and they were stopping our actors to take photos. It was very sweet.
GC: It was really cute; they said, “We know you, you were here.”
AM: The marketing for this film over the last year has been stellar. Growing a strong fanbase leading up to the film, nearly 65k on TikTok and 44k on Instagram. Only two weeks after release, dozens of fan edits on TikTok and fanfiction are in the works on A03. How does it feel to have such a loyal fanbase to these characters you’ve created?
GC: It doesn’t feel real. We haven’t fully processed things. Since the release, it’s been a lot all at once, so much attention that we aren’t used to. Especially for a project that wasn’t really an impediment for this big of an audience, we never knew that many people were going to watch it when we initially wrote it. It’s really cool, and we’re really grateful,l but we haven’t fully processed and this is actually happening with our characters. Like with the fanfiction and the edits, I’m watching it thinking it's so cool, then realize it’s mine.
LZ: We grew up being those kids; Gianna was an editor, and we both wrote stories about other stories that we were passionate about. That was something we knew when we were pitching to the club’s organization. We knew there was a unique space to market this film. That was always the plan; we never envisioned it working to the degree it has. To see people invest in and care enough about something that we came up with that drives them to write and create. It’s equally as gratifying that just as many people on this crew and cast were just as deviated and passionate about this project, which was the first thing we were grateful for to see this many people come together and work this hard.
AM: What is in store next for the boys of Symposium Club?
LZ: There are worlds for these boys that didn’t make it onto the screen, and we haven’t been able to work through ourselves with the time crunch, budget, and resources. We would love to dive back head-first into this world and have every intention to do so. I know the future holds something more in some type of revision.
GC: No matter what, we are rewriting to be in feature or miniseries format. We are currently in the process. People have grown to love this world; we really love it, and I think no matter what, we are going to expand on it no matter where that lands us.
Let’s be real—holiday movies are more than just seasonal entertainment. They’re comfort food for the soul, as much a part of the holidays as hot cocoa and arguing over whether Die Hard counts as a Christmas movie (it does). From the cozy feels of It’s a Wonderful Life to the slapstick chaos of Home Alone, classic holiday films have defined how we celebrate this time of year. But they’ve also done something bigger—they’ve influenced everything from your favorite rom-coms to the latest Netflix holiday rom-dramedy.
Nostalgia: The Secret Sauce in Modern Holiday Movies
If you’ve ever watched a modern holiday movie and thought, “Hey, this feels familiar,” it’s because most of them are riding the coattails of the classics. Take Elf (2003). Will Ferrell in yellow tights may be a fever dream, but the story’s heart—the belief in magic and goodness—feels like it was ripped straight out of Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
Then there’s The Polar Express (2004). Sure, Tom Hanks voicing everybody was a choice, but at its core, the movie is basically It’s a Wonderful Life on a train: Believe in yourself, appreciate the little things, yada yada. And let’s not forget Love Actually (2003), which took the interconnected storylines of hope and heartbreak from It’s a Wonderful Life and added awkward dance moves and British charm.
Remakes: Holiday Hits or Misses?
Remakes are like Secret Santa gifts—you either get something amazing or something that makes you question your friendships. Take the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. It nailed the holiday vibes and swapped the mailroom drama for corporate shenanigans, making it both nostalgic and relatable.
But not all remakes hit the mark. The Grinch has been rebooted more times than your Wi-Fi, and it’s… complicated. Jim Carrey’s live-action take in 2000 is over-the-top and kind of amazing in a “Can I unsee this?” way. The 2018 animated version? Cute, sure, but it left many fans longing for the OG 1966 TV special.
And let’s talk about Disney’s 2009 A Christmas Carol. It’s visually stunning but also, like, why is it so serious? The motion-capture animation is more unsettling than festive, and the heartwarming magic of earlier versions gets buried under all the spooky effects.
Why Classic Holiday Movies Still Rule
Beyond inspiring new films, the classics have shaped how we see the holidays. Ever notice how your mental image of Christmas includes snowy streets, twinkling lights, and big family dinners? Thank classics like White Christmas (1954) and A Christmas Story (1983) for that.
But, yeah, not every classic has aged well. For example, Holiday Inn (1942), includes a cringe-worthy blackface scene that feels wildly out of place in what’s supposed to be a feel-good movie. That said, today’s holiday films are stepping up to tell more diverse and inclusive stories. Netflix’s Let It Snow (2019), with its multicultural cast and queer love story, is proof that holiday magic can—and should—reflect everyone’s experiences.
The Future of Holiday Movies: Keeping the Magic Alive
Even as the classics remain a staple, new holiday films are finding fresh ways to keep the spirit alive. Klaus (2019) gives us an entirely original Santa origin story, while Spirited (2022) pokes fun at how many times A Christmas Carol has been remade—while still pulling off a surprisingly heartfelt holiday message.
So, the next time you sit down with a bowl of popcorn and a questionable amount of eggnog to watch a holiday movie, take a closer look. Whether it’s a modern rom-com or a Netflix original, chances are it owes a little something to the classics that came before. Because while holiday movies might change with the times, the magic they bring will always stay the same.
