"Kill me," exclaimed Golden Globes' host Ricky Gervais before the final award ceremony at a gala almost as long as "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," which became the star of the night, taking home the award for Best Film in the comedy and musical category, Best Screenplay and the Best Supporting Actor to Brad Pitt. One thing is clear: the industry loves to look in the mirror.

Meanwhile, British director Sam Mendes' Shakespearean "1917," based on his grandfather's memories of World War I and shot in a single sequence, took home the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's (HFPA) awards for Best Drama and Best Director.

The long and very black night had two of the favorite films: "The Irishman" and "Stories of a Marriage," nominated in five and six categories, respectively. Although Noah Baumbach's drama of a divorce – which has already acquired the reputation of being a film that breaks relationships in crisis – took home only one award, that of Best Secondary for Laura Dern (taking the place of JLo); Martin Scorsese, much criticized for the "lifting" of his legendary mafia bosses, went home empty-handed. And he didn't do it in a very sporting way. His face as Quentin Tarantino came on stage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles to pick up the award for Best Screenplay would deserve a new category for "best dramatic director." And that's because he had already received Gervais' jokes about his height as soon as the ceremony began. 

However, both knew how to wade through the bitter surprises, especially Sam Mendes, who, showing off his English "charm," acknowledged on receiving the award that “there’s not one director in this room, not one director in the world, that is not in the shadow of Martin Scorsese.”

And there's Joaquin Phoenix. Although he starred as the demented loser of "Joker" in the most anti-system franchise of all, the chameleon Phoenix took the award for Best Dramatic Actor for one of the great roles of his career, snatching the place from the Spanish Antonio Banderas for "Pain and Glory," a film by Pedro Almodóvar that also missed getting a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, which went for the Korean "Parasites," in an epic duel between two great films that will have its second part in the Oscars. 

Phoenix, born in Puerto Rico, was the only Latino nominated for the award - Awkwafina knocked out Ana de Armas for Best Actress in a Comedy for "The Farewell" - while Renee Zellweger's decadent Judy Garland won the Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Actress when her career seemed to be adrift. 

"Sandra Bullock was in "Birdbox," the host concluded, "a film in which she pretended not to see anything. Just like working with Harvey Weinstein," Ricky Gervais.

Another loser was Netflix, who only won two awards, one of them for the actress Olivia Colman for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the series "The Crown." In contrast, HBO's "Succession" and Amazon's "Fleabag" were the favorite series. "Movies and theaters don't matter to anyone anymore, people just watch Netflix," Gervais said. A joke? A script twist towards failure?

There was no shortage of vindictive moments, such as speeches by Patricia Arquette - the Best Supporting Actress for "The Act" - and Michelle Williams - best miniseries actress for "Fosse/Verdon" - who criticized Trump's actions in Iran and encouraged women to vote according to their interests, as well as recalling the fires in Australia, which prevented Russell Crowe, winner of Showtime's "The Loudest Voice" miniseries, from attending the ceremony. 

Another personality very present at the event was Weinstein, whose trial begins today: "Sandra Bullock was acting in Birdbox," concluded the presenter, "a film in which she pretended not to see anything. Just like working with Harvey Weinstein."

It remains to be seen if on January 13, when the shortlist of Oscar finalists is unveiled, the surprises – pleasant or not – will continue.