Golden Globes 2020: Nominees react to being on President Obama's favorites list: 'Glad to know that it wasn't fake news'
Sure, a Golden Globe is nice, but it’s nothing compared to landing on President Barack Obama’s list of the TV and movies he enjoyed in the past year, at least that’s what people from nominated films and shows told Yahoo Entertainment on Sunday as they filed into the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the unofficial start of awards season.
Fleabag star Bret Gelman revealed that, for him, finding out the Phoebe Waller-Bridge comedy he appears on is one of Obama’s favorites was mind-blowing.
“My eyes rolled back in my head and I passed out, and then I immediately upon awakening started blotting and crying,” Gelman said.
Producer Sarah Hammond confirmed that the reaction from the entire Fleabag gang was dramatic.
“We flipped out when we saw it,” Hammond said. “So, obviously, the whole Fleabag team were all in, like, a text message conversation with one another and we were sending it to each other going, ‘Oh my God.’ It’s like the greatest honor ever.”
The Irishman producer Jane Rosenthal said it was “nice to know that a president reads and watches and listens, so that was actually very exciting,” referencing Obama’s similar book lists. “[We were] glad to know that it wasn’t fake news.” She added that she doesn’t think President Donald Trump reads.
The team from The Farewell was beyond excited that Obama named their films as one of his favorites of 2019.
“I think that’s probably the best list to be on of all time,” writer and director Lulu Wang said. “I mean, nothing else can top that.”
Wang pointed out that Wendy’s — yes, the burger chain — also named The Farewell the best movie of the year.
Inside the 2020 Golden Globes, The Farewell won another honor, when Awkwafina won best actress in a musical or comedy movie, becoming the first woman of Asian descent to win in the category.
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