Awkwafina wins Golden Globe Award for 'The Farewell'

'The Farewell" star is the first woman of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe for lead actress in a comedy.



Nora Lum, better known by her stage name Awkwafina, made history at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for lead role in The Farewell.

The comedic rapper turned actress is the first woman of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe in the category.

The Farewell, written and directed by Lulu Wang, marks Awkwafina's dramatic lead debut. She stars as Billi, a Chinese American woman who travels back to China to say goodbye to her terminally grandmother -- whose family has chosen not to tell her that she's sick -- under the guise of a hastily planned wedding.

The Golden Globe marks Awkwafina's first nomination and first win at the annual awards ceremony, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Awkwafina nabs Golden Globe nomination for 'The Farewell'

But why is 'The Farewell' nominated for Best Foreign Language Film?



Nominations for the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning, and as many predicted, Lulu Wang's indie hit The Farewell picked up a couple of nods, including a Best Actress nom for Awkwafina.

Golden Globes: Full List of Nominations

The rapper-turned-actress, aka Nora Lum, scored a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for her role as Billi, a Chinese American New Yorker who travels to China when her family puts on a fake wedding to say their final goodbyes to her terminally ill grandmother.

The Farewell also picked up a nomination, somewhat inexplicably, for Best Foreign Language Film.

Director Lulu Wang did a Q&A for the one guy who showed up to see 'The Farewell' last night

"I wrote and directed this film... Please stay after for the Q&A."



Writer/director Lulu Wang's family drama The Farewell is one of the most critically and commercially successful films of the year, first debuting to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival, then scoring a magical summer box office run for a film of its modest indie stature. But the hype inevitably had to die down. That said, three months after opening in theaters, it's still playing on a handful of screens.

On Monday night, Wang apparently held a Q&A for the one moviegoer who showed up to the 10:15pm showing of The Farewell at the Angelika Film Center in New York City. Wang says she and her best friend wanted to see her deeply personal film "as real audience members" at a theater where they've seen countless film together. It so happens that there was one other person in attendance. So the director surprised him with a Q&A.

Here's Ms. Wang introducing the film. It is adorable:

Producers wanted to give 'The Farewell' a white boyfriend

What the bad alternate universe version of Lulu Wang's film might look like.



Writer/director Lulu Wang's feature The Farewell is based on real events from the filmmaker's own life, when her grandmother in China was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, but went on unaware after the family decided to shield her from the news. Instead, the family orchestrated a fake wedding so that loved ones could say goodbye.

The film has received rave reviews and opened to stellar box office numbers. But audiences might have seen an entirely different movie if some producers had their way. Wang shares that when she first started pitching the film in 2014, producers suggested a decidedly different take on the film's fake wedding premise.

"As I was pitching to producers, they were like, 'It's obvious -- if you’re going to make a wedding movie, then the main character has to be the bride,'" Wang tells The Washington Post. "And she doesn't get along with her boyfriend anymore. And he's American. He's a white guy. But somehow she convinces him, and they come and they force this wedding. And they end up falling in love again.'"

If you were wondering what the bad alternate universe version of The Farewell might look like.

More here: Lulu Wang nearly compromised with 'The Farewell.' Then she stayed true to her story.

See a different side of Awkwafina in 'The Farewell'

Writer/director Lulu Wang's moving family dramedy is "based on an actual lie."



Rapper and actress Awkwafina, aka Nora Lum, made a name for herself with funny-ass rhymes and scene-stealing performances in last summer's Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. Now she's ready to make you cry.

Like, a lot.

In The Farewell, Awkwafina plays Billi, a New Yorker who travels back to China when she learns that her grandmother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The problem: grandma has no idea that she's dying. Her family has decided not to tell her, fearing that the knowledge would accelerate her health's decline. (It's a Chinese thing.) Instead, under the guise of a cousin's wedding, the family gathers to say their final goodbye.

Here's the newly released trailer: