The Golden Globes Nominations - Making Sense of Snubs And Surprises

We are dealing with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association here, so things get lost in translation.

The Hollywood awards derby officially gets kicked off today as the announcement party was held this morning for the 76th Golden Globes Awards. While frequently looked at with serious side-eye from many in the industry at the same time the GGs cannot be simply bypassed.

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Intentionally held early in the awards schedule The Globes became positioned as an influencer in the Academy Awards, as the ceremony is held just ahead of the nominations for The Oscars. This has resulted in studios using this early entrant as a key effort to get traction with voters for their projects. So while many disregard the HFPA as something of a joke its award has become a useful marketing tool.

The requisite parlor game in these efforts is to always assess who got screwed, and who defied expectations (meaning, whose studio massaged the foreign journalists best.) So with that built-in barometer import here is a rundown of those shut out, and the benefactors. (The nominees are listed after.)

 

THE SNUBBED

“Black Panther” has been all the rage in Hollywood for most of the year, helping to assuage all the charges of racial bias in recent years. The movie managed a rare Best Motion Picture selection for a comic book film, however director Ryan Coogler was not recognized, nor were any of the actors.

“First Man”, the space drama surrounding Neil Armstrong and the first moon landing has suffered greatly since its debut on the film festival circuit. Once believed to be an Oscar lock, or at least a contender, the controversy over the lack of the flag planting on the moon proved bad PR, and bad box office. The film was locked out of all major categories, netting only a nomination for Best Score.

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The Best Actress category is a choked affair this year (Glenn Close seems a favorite, in a likely career reward award for “The Wife”) so there were some left out. Natalie Portman was thought possible for “Vox Luxe”, opening this weekend. Globe Favorite Viola Davis was looked at for “Widows”, and Toni Collette for “Hereditary”. All three ladies were bypassed here.

Sam Elliot was largely expected to earn notice for his turn in the wildly loved “A Star Is Born”, but Supporting Actor is another flush category this year.

The period film “The Favourite” got five nominations, for Best Picture, and three acting performances, so it is a slight surprise that director Yorgos Lanthimos was left off the category.

On the television side of things it is mildly shocking that last year’s winning “The Handmaid’s Tale” was not even included in the Best Series category. Elizabeth Moss is included as Actress however.

The Netflix female wrestling series “GLOW” has earned critical raves, but even as Alison Brie scored a Best Actress nomination the series was overlooked for the second straight year.

Many thought Sterling K. Brown was a lock in the Best Actor in a Drama category for “This Is Us”, considering he was here the past two years, and is coming off an Emmy win. But then “Us” was also not included in the Drama category.

 

THE SURPRISES

While not exactly shocking, the Adam McKay dramatic bio-pic centered on Dick Cheney, “Vice”, earned the most nominations with six. “A Star Is Born” was the expected darling, but the HFPA loves to send messages and this virtue signaling is precisely what they adore.

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“BlackKklansman” was expected to get some notice, and it nabbed nominations in major slots: Best Drama, Best Actor, and Spike Lee was recognized as Best Director.

In the same category an eyebrow may have raised when Peter Farrelly was named for “Green Book”. The film has drawn expected critical praise, but given Farrelly is better known for bawdy comedies like “Dumb, And Dumber”, and “There’s Something About Mary” this was notable.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer of the Broadway smash “Hamilton”, and the animated hit “Moana”, did not do the music for Disney’s live action remake of “Mary Poppins Returns”, but he was nominated for acting.

The TNT series “The Alienist” was not necessarily expected to get much love, but it earned a Best Limited Series nod for TV, and Daniel Bruhl got chosen as lead actor.

Rosamund Pike was a slight head-turner when she managed to get notice in the packed Best Actress lineup playing the journalist in “A Private War”.

 

THE NOMINEES

Best Motion Picture – Drama

“Black Panther”

“BlacKkKlansman”

“Bohemian Rhapsody”

“If Beale Street Could Talk”

“A Star Is Born”

 

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Glenn Close (“The Wife”)

Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”)

Nicole Kidman (“Destroyer”)

Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)

Rosamund Pike (“A Private War”)

 

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”)

Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”)

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Lucas Hedges (“Boy Erased”)

Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”)

John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”)

 

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

“Crazy Rich Asians”

“The Favourite”

“Green Book”

“Mary Poppins Returns”

“Vice”

 

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Emily Blunt (“Mary Poppins Returns”)

Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”)

Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”)

Charlize Theron (“Tully”)

Constance Wu (“Crazy Rich Asians”)

 

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Christian Bale (“Vice”)

Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Mary Poppins Returns”)

Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”)

Robert Redford (“The Old Man & the Gun”)

John C. Reilly (“Stan & Ollie”)

 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Amy Adams (“Vice”)

Claire Foy (“First Man”)

Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)

Emma Stone (“The Favourite”)

Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”)

 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”)

Timothee Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”)

Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”)

Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)

Sam Rockwell (“Vice”)

 

Best Motion Picture – Animated

“Incredibles 2”

“Isle of Dogs”

“Mirai”

“Ralph Breaks the Internet”

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

 

Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language

“Capernaum”

“Girl”

“Never Look Away”

“Roma”

“Shoplifters”

 

Best Director – Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”)

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Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”)

Peter Farrelly (“Green Book”)

Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”)

Adam McKay (“Vice”)

 

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”)

Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (“The Favourite”)

Barry Jenkins (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)

Adam McKay (“Vice”)

Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie (“Green Book”)

 

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Marco Beltrami (“A Quiet Place”)

Alexandre Desplat (“Isle of Dogs”)

Ludwig Göransson (“Black Panther”)

Justin Hurwitz (“First Man”)

Marc Shaiman (“Mary Poppins Returns”)

 

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

“All the Stars” (“Black Panther”)

“Girl in the Movies” (“Dumplin’”)

“Requiem For a Private War” (“A Private War”)

“Revelation’ (“Boy Erased”)

“Shallow” (“A Star Is Born”)

 

Best Television Series – Drama

“The Americans”

“Bodyguard”

“Homecoming”

“Killing Eve”

“Pose”

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

Caitriona Balfe (“Outlander”)

Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)

Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)

Julia Roberts (“Homecoming”)

Keri Russell (“The Americans”)

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)

Stephan James (“Homecoming”)

Richard Madden (“Bodyguard”)

Billy Porter (“Pose”)

Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)

 

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

“Barry” (HBO)

“The Good Place” (NBC)

“Kidding” (Showtime)

“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)

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“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Kristen Bell (“The Good Place”)

Candice Bergen (“Murphy Brown”)

Alison Brie (“Glow”)

Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)

Debra Messing (“Will & Grace”)

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Sacha Baron Cohen (“Who Is America?”)

Jim Carrey (“Kidding”)

Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)

Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)

Bill Hader (“Barry”)

 

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

“The Alienist” (TNT)

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)

“Escape at Dannemora” (Showtime)

“Sharp Objects” (HBO)

“A Very English Scandal” (Amazon)

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Amy Adams (“Sharp Objects”)

Patricia Arquette (“Escape at Dannemora”)

Connie Britton (“Dirty John”)

Laura Dern (“The Tale”)

Regina King (“Seven Seconds”)

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Antonio Banderas (“Genius: Picasso”)

Daniel Bruhl (“The Alienist”)

Darren Criss (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)

Benedict Cumberbatch (“Patrick Melrose”)

Hugh Grant (“A Very English Scandal”)

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

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Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)

Patricia Clarkson (“Sharp Objects”)

Penelope Cruz (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)

Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)

Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)

Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)

Edgar Ramirez (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)

Ben Whishaw (“A Very English Scandal”)

Henry Winkler (“Barry”)

 

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for more entertainment, social, and bad film content follow me on Twitter @MartiniShark

 

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