Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesImagine it is February 28, 2016. The 88th Annual Academy Awards. Brie Larson has taken home an Oscar for her searing performance in Room. The hauntingly depressing Amy has won Best Documentary. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu nabbed the highest honor for directors. And then, suddenly, the mood changes.
It's time to announce the winner for Best Actor; that prize that Leonardo DiCaprio has been coveting from afar for years, close enough to be able to taste victory, yet each time finding it maddeningly, ever-so-slightly, out of his grasp. This part is history, of course, and our man finally did it. The Dolby Theater erupted in thunderous applause and the audience jumped to their feet so quickly that members could have sworn it created a breeze.
And there, in the midst of it all, among the cheering and the clapping and the confetti—of course there was confetti—was Kate Winslet with a look on her face that said it all: The truest and purest form of Hollywood friendship, two red carpet BFFs who were enjoying that finest, most delicious kind of recognition.
And now here we are in 2017.
It's been a garbage dump of a year. In fact, it could be said that the moment between Kate and Leo was the last time we collectively felt happiness. But that's the beauty of award season: Every January we are offered the opportunity to start fresh. To be moved by new films, to discover new talent and to find even more reasons we wish were a celebrity. Society couldn't have needed a glamorous, exciting and heartwarming start to award season more this time around, and the Golden Globes delivered in a big way.
They gave us a brand new Kate and Leo.
Faced with the prospect of a Golden Globes without their very special kind of platonic love affair, and without any action from either DiCaprio or Winslet at all, none other than Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling stepped up to the plate. And here at E! News, we have every reason to believe that they are, in fact, Hollywood's new favorite pair.
The similarities between the two non-couple-couples run deep. Just like Winslet, Stone had been in several acclaimed films before she took on her role in Crazy, Stupid Love (Easy A and Superbad among them), but it was the aptly-named rom-com that was truly her first big blockbuster and really put her on the map, star-wise. Viewers fell in love with her quirky sense of humor and, just as importantly, her electric chemistry with onscreen love interest Gosling. (Sound familiar, Rose-and-Jack stans?)
This flick was the first time we were introduced to just how much Emma and Ryan embodied #CoupleGoals, and every time they've been repeat costars since then fans harken back to this breakthrough performance. Kate and Leo had their reunion in 2008's Revolutionary Road, and GoStone (we're working on the name, okay?) were able to share screen time again in Gangster Squad before the now-infamous La La Land.
If you saw both Crazy, Stupid Love and La La Land and didn't find yourself experiencing a flood of nostalgic feelings, then you're probably dead inside. The Damien Chazelle-directed musical was magical for many reasons (the sweeping visuals of Los Angeles, the ode to creative dreamers everywhere, the tap dancing), but chief among those traits was that tingly little feeling the audience got inside knowing that Emma and Ryan were back together and everything was, almost, right in the world again.
The similarities don't stop there, of course. Both sets of BFFs are constantly talking about and praising each other in the media. True to their individual personalities, Emma and Ryan tend to take things to a bit more of a humorous place. Like the time that Emma told E! News that Ryan should probably get a restraining order against her, on account of the number of times they've worked together. Or when Ryan told us that he and Emma are able to help each other so much when they work together because they know each other so well.
And then there was last night. Oh, last night. It was a dream come true for Emma, Ryan, and anyone who feels even a tiny bit of hope from their friendship.
It all started when they won their awards and, well, one doesn't need much more proof than the above photo. If a picture can say 1,000 words, then they would all be the heart-eye Emoji. Seriously, the admiration and sense of pride these two have for each other is off the charts.
The love affair-slash-good-old-fashioned-rib-fest continued at the E! after party, when, during a break from congratulating each other on their accomplishments, Emma just couldn't resist an opportunity to take a stab at Ryan's alleged Spanx-wearing.
But the best news of all? This is only the very beginning of award season. That means we have at least three more shows in which to ogle this friendship. Suddenly 2017 is looking a lot brighter.