Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Rian Johnson follows up on the classic murder mystery Knives Out with Glass Onion, with a star-studded cast including Daniel Craig, Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.
In my virtual interview with Rian Johnson on December 1, he admitted that he couldn’t be happier with his cast: “Every single person in this movie is a star. Everyone has carried their own film before, but they showed up ready to be an ensemble, ready to work together and support each other. And truly, working with such an ensemble is like a theater troupe. My job was easy, I didn’t need to be juggling all these things, everyone came to play the game, which is very fun!”
After the theatrical success of his previous movie there was no lack of interest for a sequel, from the studio as well as from the audience who were looking forward to a new investigation by private detective Benoit Blanc.
If the title of the first movie was taken from the 2001 Radiohead song “Knives Out” then the title of its sequel came from the 1968 The Beatles song.
This time the setting of the story has a lot to do with the fact that the script was written by Rian Johnson in 2020 in the middle of lockdown, when a lot of people were sitting at home and wishing to be on a Greek island instead. This is where the billionaire, Miles Bron (Edward Norton), who previously ousted his ex-girlfriend as CEO of their technology company by claiming to be its sole founder, invites five friends to his mansion named the “Glass Onion”. Using a sophisticated murder mystery game as an excuse for announcing a launching of a highly contradicting hydrogen-based alternative fuel, Miles however, is forced to witness the destruction of his plan. In fact, the destruction of his plan started from the moment when he suddenly found among his guests Benoit Blanc himself.   
Talking about Daniel Craig who embodied the famous detective, Rian Johnson pointed out: “He’s one of the best actors today. I’ve seen Craig on the stage, his other movies, I know the range he has as an actor, that’s why I thought he could do something special. He is a great combination of a strong actor and a movie star, these are two different things but for him, it’s the full package.”
The cameo appearance in the movie became the last role for another great actress, Angela Lansbury who was emblematic of the murder mystery by playing the leading character in the television series Murder, She Wrote. Johnson confessed: “I wish it wasn’t her last role, but I’m so happy she’s in. I never thought we would get her for that little scene. It’s just one little fun moment, but the fact she is in means so much to me. I got a few minutes with her telling her what her work means to me.”
The film received two nominations at the 80^th Golden Globes Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Daniel Craig.