Just an hour or so ago the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announce their nominations for the 71st annual Golden Globes, celebrating the year of 2013 in film and television. I have always loved the Golden Globes not because I take them seriously but because they put on an incredibly fun telecast, with stars dressed to the nines and booze flowing heavily at the tables. In the past the HFPA has been all about celebrating celebrity and having as many big stars attend their ceremony as possible. Perhaps this year is a bit different. Their proclivities still remain clear: celebrating European entities where possible (more on that later), making their own rules, and the aforementioned star factor. Yet looking at this year’s crop of nominees, even if some of it is still silly (by definition alone separating films between Drama and Comedy makes certain publicity teams have to make calls about which category to submit into), it still reads a bit more serious than in years past. Remember, this is the organization that nominated The Tourist and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen for their Best Picture Comedy/Musical category.
They have also selected their television nominees, and these are as robust and strange as ever, clearly favoring the new and the young. The HFPA relishes the opportunity to be the first organization to nominate a particular show or actor.
The nominees are…
FILM
Best motion picture, drama
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush
Best Actor in a motion picture, drama
Chiwetel Ejiofor,,12 years a Slave
Idris Elba, Mandela
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All is Lost
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Best Actress in a motion picture, drama
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Kate Winslet, Labor Day
Best Director – motion picture
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Jeff Pope Steve Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell and Eric Singer Warren, American Hustle
Best motion picture, musical or comedy
American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street
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Best Actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said
Meryl Streep, August Osage County
Best Actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo Dicaprio, Wolf of Wall Street
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix, Her
Best Animated Feature film
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Best Foreign Language Film
Blue Is The Warmest Color (France)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Past (Iran)
The Wind Rises (Japan)
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Best supporting Actress in a motion picture
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Best supporting Actor in a motion picture
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
All Is Lost – Alex Ebert
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Alex Heffes
Gravity – Steven Price
The Book Thief – John Williams
12 Years a Slave – Hans Zimmer
Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Atlas,” The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
“Let It Go,” Frozen
“Ordinary Love,” Mandella
“Please Mr. Kennedy,” Inside Llewyn Davis
“Sweeter Than Fiction” One Chance
Analysis:
The big question is, of course, how does this affect the Oscar race? The short answer? Not at all. Historically, although many of the same films and individuals end up being nominated for both the Golden Globe and the Oscar, there is no direct correlation in the same way that there would be with the Guilds. These are not peers or a prestigious academy selecting these nominees but a group of foreign journalists who decide to put on a big show. That being said, the long answer is a tad more complicated. I surmise that by simply receiving a Golden Globe nomination, particularly if it seemed that you were leaving the conversation a little bit or a film was close to being forgotten, it puts your name back on people’s lips. The Golden Globes may not be taken seriously by pundits or film fans, but the Hollywood inner circles (publicists, studios, etc.) take them very seriously and any ink for your film or star is a very good thing. On the flip side, as I discussed earlier, the HFPA has their own likes and dislikes just in the same way that the Academy tends to favor certain types of films and actors with certain narratives. So how does this all shake out?
The Best Picture, drama category is rather fascinating and it features two surprising nominations: Philomena and Rush. Both are quality films that few were predicting, but looking back their European influence and flavor points to them being in the HFPA’s wheelhouse. The films that I expected to take their places, Saving Mr. Banks and Lee Daniels’ The Butler (completely shut out here) are American stories. I still expect Saving Mr. Banks to show up to play at the Oscars (particularly because they love stories that celebrate Hollywood), but the nominations are still weeks away.
A few of the other big surprises include: Idris Elba (which I predicted last night, but was admittedly a lark at the time), the lack of Martin Scorsese in Best Director (the HFPA have favored him in the past), the lack of Monsters University in the animated category (a silly choice, if you ask me), and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises receiving a nomination for best foreign film but not best animated film. The foreign category here works very differently than the Oscars; any film not in English is eligible, whereas the Oscars only have one film per country submitted as their entry. Many of the foreign nominees here will not even be eligible for the Oscars. The biggest concern here is for Scorsese. As I mentioned yesterday with my SAG piece The Wolf of Wall Street hit late in the game, but the HFPA clearly saw the film and opted to nominate other directors. This category sticks harder in terms of potential Oscar prospects, but the rumor mill suggested that the HFPA wasn’t in love with the shocking excess of The Wolf of Wall Street (the lack of a screenplay nomination suggests this as well, although the Globes do not separate into original and adapted as others do) so we’ll see how this all plays out. Her continues to make a strong showing and can perhaps snag a Best Picture nomination when all is said and done. At this point I’d argue that it is the front runner for Original Screenplay.
The supporting categories (not separated into drama/comedy like the others) have a few surprising notes that go in direct opposition of how the HFPA usually operates. Instead of nominating Oprah, Jonah Hill, and Tom Hanks (already nominated for Captain Phillips, regardless), all big stars, they went for more under the radar choices: Sally Hawkins, Barkhad Abdi, and Daniel Brühl. To my mind these 3 all gave strong performances, but I would not be surprised to see them ultimately miss out on Oscar nominations. Only time will tell.
Otherwise, many of the expected nominees came to pass. Both 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle put in very strong showings. One could argue that American Hustle is not a comedy, as is the case with almost every film in that category (at least Inside Llewyn Davis has a legitimate argument as a musical), but submitting in that category was clearly a smart move as it racked up a robust 7 nominations. I’d wager that it is full steam ahead for this film right to Oscar night.
I can nary make heads or tails of the score and song nominations. Original song, in particular, always has some strange populist choices from the Globes, but I think it is clear Let it Go from Frozen is the one to beat.
On a personal note, it thrills me to see Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy, and Oscar Isaac recognized here, and they all benefit from the category separation. That being said their Oscar prospects are next to none.
Remember, the Oscars will not announce their nominations for more than a month. Time can change many things. Isn’t awards season truly bizarre?
TELEVISION
Best TV series, drama
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
The Good Wife
House of Cards
Masters of Sex
Best Actress in a TV series, drama
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Best Actor in a TV series, drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
James Spader, The Blacklist
Best TV Series, Comedy
The Big Bang Theory
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Girls
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Lena Dunham, Girls
Julia Louis Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Best Actor, TV Series Comedy
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Michael J. Fox, The Michael J. Fox SHow
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Best TV Miniseries or Movie
American Horror Story: Coven
Behind the Candelabra
Dancing on the Edge
Top of the Lake
White Queen
Best Actress in a mini-series or TV movie
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
Rebecca Ferguson, The White Queen
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake
Best Actor in a mini-series or TV movie
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge
Idris Elba, Luther
Al Pacino, Phil Spector
Best Supporting Actress in a series, mini-series, or TV movie
Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge
Janet McTeer, The White Queen
Hayden Panattiere , Nashville
Monica Potter, Parenthood
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Best Supporting Actor in a series, mini-series or TV movie
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Rob Lowe, Behind the Candelabra
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Corey Stoll, House of Cards
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
Analysis:
These are some pretty ridiculous nominations, right? They’re also pretty cool. Many, myself included, were hoping that Tatiana Maslany and Monica Potter would receive Emmy nominations this year. Leave it to the HFPA to honor their great work. These nominees also clearly prove that the Globes love to honor shiny, brand new things: James Spader, Michael J. Fox, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Masters of Sex, etc. These shows haven’t even completed a full first season and they have received nominations here. Cool? Perhaps. A sing of things to come? We’ll see.
The Globes were not afraid to show their love to Netflix, with House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Arrested Development all receiving nominations. This is a cool new world we live in, and the definition of television is ever changing.
Also of note is the way the HFPA handle their supporting television nominations, making for some very weird categories with some truly oddball matchups. In what world is Janet McTeer’s work in The White Queen equatable or comparable to Sofia Vergara’s broad comedy on Modern Family? Not one I live on.
Finally, perhaps my favorite bit here is the love for The Good Wife. This show has had a stellar 2013, and it pleases me that the HFPA recognized and honored this. By the same token, Homeland and Mad Men were completely shut out. Not everybody can be invited to the ball.
What are your thoughts? How do you think this will affect the Oscar race? Are there any films or tv shows you wish were nominated? Chime in below.
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