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Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press. Just to pick up on what Hugh Laurie said: You and all of us in this room really belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it: Hollywood, foreigners and the press.

But who are we, and what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places. I was born and raised and educated in the public schools of New Jersey. Viola was born in a sharecropper’s cabin in South Carolina, came up in Central Falls, Rhode Island; Sarah Paulson was born in Florida, raised by a single mom in Brooklyn. Sarah Jessica Parker was one of seven or eight kids in Ohio. Amy Adams was born in Vicenza, Italy. And Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. Where are their birth certificates? And the beautiful Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, raised in London — no, in Ireland I do believe, and she’s here nominated for playing a girl in small-town Virginia.

Ryan Gosling, like all of the nicest people, is Canadian, and Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, and is here playing an Indian raised in Tasmania. So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. And if we kick them all out you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.

They gave me three seconds to say this, so: An actor’s only job is to enter the lives of people who are different from us, and let you feel what that feels like. And there were many, many, many powerful performances this year that did exactly that. Breathtaking, compassionate work.

But there was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good; there was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh, and show their teeth. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can’t get it out of my head, because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life. And this instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kinda gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose. O.K., go on with it.

O.K., this brings me to the press. We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call him on the carpet for every outrage. That’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in the Constitution. So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists, because we’re gonna need them going forward, and they’ll need us to safeguard the truth.

One more thing: Once, when I was standing around on the set one day, whining about something — you know we were gonna work through supper or the long hours or whatever, Tommy Lee Jones said to me, “Isn’t it such a privilege, Meryl, just to be an actor?” Yeah, it is, and we have to remind each other of the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy. We should all be proud of the work Hollywood honors here tonight.

As my friend, the dear departed Princess Leia, said to me once, take your broken heart, make it into art.

Is the collection of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation. Technology can be the knowledge of techniques, processes, etc. or it can be embedded in machines, computers, devices and factories, which can be operated by individuals without detailed knowledge of the workings of such things.

The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fire and the later Neolithic Revolution increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans to travel in and control their environment. Developments in historic times, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. The steady progress of military technology has brought weapons of ever-increasing destructive power, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

Talk to him about the one thing since childhood that he is very proud of

Everybody has ups and downs in their life. Facing difficulties is a compulsion for every living being. Although the number of difficulties or the challenges will vary from person to person, it could be something as qualifying a simple test or securing a seat in their desired university. It could be getting a job at their dream company or getting a promotion. Whatever it may be, asking him about it, it will make him feel proud and instantly happy. His proudest moment is something that will be very close to his heart and it would mean the world to him that you cared enough to ask him about it.

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Ask him about his deepest secret

This is always a very interesting topic to talk about, because who doesn’t like to know about a person’s deepest secret. You will get him to reveal all the things he would normally never tell anybody. It could be an embarrassing story, a childhood tragedy, etc. Whatever it may be both of you will end up knowing the other person at a very deep level and might even end up having some laughs. This will give him a chance to get some things off his chest and sharing it with the person he trusts the most will also give him the confidence that his secrets are safe with you.

You could take turns, go back and forth so that both of you can get to share your secrets. It is a proven fact that sharing embarrassing stories brings people closer, and you offering to go first will help him make it easier to open up.

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Concerts

Concerts are places where everyone enjoys themselves. The music, cheering of the crowd and the vibrant lights can be very exciting and fun. Concerts may not be the best place to talk and bond, but having fun together definitely the best way to create beautiful memories with each other. It can bring you two closer by breaking the walls of formality and unwanted decency.

People tend to be more of themselves when they are having fun or is happy. Thus this would be a way to see the fun, never-seen-before side of your friend.

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Restaurants

Lunch or dinner dates are the best way for people to get to know each other. Here two people can sit and talk about each other, what their interests or hobbies or their views on relationships or anything that is interesting for the both of you. Talking over food can help you bond well with the other person. It also helps us understand the other’s preferences and perspectives.

They choice of restaurant can totally depend on your taste but quiet places are more recommended as this can help you to focus on your date more.

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Coffee Shops

Almost every time pick-up lines involve getting coffee or drinks. Drinks aside, talking over coffee is the easiest way to know a person. The coffee can be stimulating and helps us to be very involved in the chatting and focus on what he is saying. This can be a very casual encounter where superficial stuff is discussed but it is a start. Coffee shops are one of the best places to talk.

Most coffee shops provide the perfect ambience for connecting with people. It definitely feels nice to sit and chat with someone with a cup of coffee in your hand and the urge to know him more.

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