71st Annual Golden Globes – Film Category Nomination Reactions
After the recent announcement of the Golden Globe nominations, I’ve come to the following conclusion: this is a weak year for award movies, especially when compared to last year’s line up. Don’t get me wrong – there are some great films, but as I look at this list, I find myself underwhelmed. With the Golden Globes, I always have to stress this point: They don’t matter. It’s a chance for the Hollywood Foreign Press to feel important, and for celebrities to get drunk and not care. If last year’s ceremony didn’t depict that in a nutshell, I don’t know what other evidence you’re looking for. It’s a chance for Sean Combs to reminisce on stage with the composer of All Is Lost. It’s a chance for Jacqueline Bisset to spout off who knows what as she makes her acceptance speech. Yikes. I still have nightmares about that one.
The Golden Globes do get a lot of notoriety though, so we got to break down the nominees, the snubs, and all the other hoopla that surrounds any award show. Break out the champagne and snarky commentary – it’s the Golden Globes!
On Motion Picture – Drama:
Nominees: BOYHOOD, FOXCATCHER, THE IMITATION GAME, SELMA, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
I’m perfectly calm. I’m not going to flip out about Whiplash, alright. Everybody relax. It’s not a Golden Globes friendly movie. When the Oscars come around, we’ll see what’s what. At this point though, I’m throwing in the towel on Whiplash winning Best Picture. I’m hoping it just gets nominated to give the film more attention.
Moving along from that though, nothing here surprised me, except the exclusion of Gone Girl. I guess I was wrong about that one in my early Oscar analysis. I’m happy to see Foxcatcher get in, and it’s clear at this point that Boyhood is the movie to beat. I’m holding my breath on Selma right now as I haven’t seen it, but the fact it didn’t get any SAG nominations is telling. As for The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything, both will be this year’s Gravity for me: solid movies, but absurdly overrated when compared to everything else.
RIP Interstellar award chances. It’s over.
On Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical:
Nominees: INTO THE WOODS, BIRDMAN, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, ST. VINCENT, PRIDE
This is why I hate the separation of comedy and drama when it comes to the Golden Globes. Gee, I wonder if Birdman will win? I haven’t seen Inherent Vice yet, but that seems like a surprising omission in this category. The only two movies that will have relevance here when it comes to Oscar time will be Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
On Best Actor – Drama:
Nominees: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), David Oyelowo (Selma), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
This category is complete and utter garbage, and will easily be my biggest point of contention and source of bitching all awards season. The fact that Steve Carell is in the Best Actor category is wrong. He’s not the Lead Actor! Foxcatcher is not about him! It’s about Channing Tatum’s character, Mark Schultz. This isn’t even a question. It changes the entire complexion of two races (Best Actor/Best Supporting Actor). It’s also upsetting, because Tatum gave one hell of a performance, but because Carell was so monumental, Tatum gets shafted so the studio can guarantee nominations for both Carell and Mark Ruffalo. I’m also pissed that Miles Teller is getting no recognition whatsoever for Whiplash. As far as everything else goes, Jake Gyllenhaal deserves it, I haven’t seen Selma yet, and Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch are overrated, but I’ll save those rants come Oscar time. Even though he shouldn’t be in this category, Carell deserves to win this, but I get the feeling Redmayne will take it. This category pisses me off. I don’t want to talk about it anymore, leave me alone.
On Best Actress – Drama:
Nominees: Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Jennifer Aniston (Cake)
This is all fine. Granted I haven’t seen three of these films yet (Still Alice, Cake, Wild), but sometimes you just know. They all look like staggering performances. I had Pike pegged as the clear front-runner, but Julianne Moore seems to be making some real headway. It’s still too early to get a read on this one.
On Best Actor – Comedy or Musical:
Nominees: Michael Keaton (Birdman), Bill Murray (St. Vincent), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes), Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)
Michael Keaton won, but nevertheless, some big names on this list. I’m guessing Keaton will be the only one to focus on come Oscar time, but I’m glad to see Fiennes get some love. While I wasn’t over the moon about The Grand Budapest Hotel, I thought he was fantastic.
On Best Actress – Comedy or Musical:
Nominees: Julianne Moore (Maps to the Stars), Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Emily Blunt (Into the Woods), Helen Mirren (The Hundred Foot Journey), Quvenzhane Wallis (Annie)
Again, I hate the separation of drama and comedy. It’s nice to see Emily Blunt get some recognition, but none of these performances will get Oscar consideration.
On Best Supporting Actor:
Nominees: Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Robert Duvall (The Judge), Edward Norton (Birdman), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
This is a great category. I have absolutely no issues whatsoever with any of these names. I’m glad to see the Globes came to their senses on J.K. Simmons, and did not ignore Whiplash here. This will be a fun category to study come Oscar time, EVEN THOUGH IT SHOULD HAVE STEVE CARELL IN IT.
On Best Supporting Actress:
Nominees: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Meryl Streep (Into the Woods), Emma Stone (Birdman)
I haven’t seen A Most Violent Year yet, but I’m glad Jessica Chastain is being recognized for something. She had an extraordinary year that is going completely unnoticed. I haven’t seen Into the Woods yet, but I’m going out on a limb in saying that Meryl Streep probably delivers. While I’m not in love with The Imitation Game, I thought Keira Knightley was the best part of that film. This should be a good battle between Emma Stone and Patricia Arquette, who were both outstanding.
On Best Director:
Nominees: Ava DuVernay (Selma), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman), David Fincher (Gone Girl), Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
It warms my heart to see Wes Anderson on this list over guys like James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) and Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game). Again, I’m holding my breath when it comes to anything involving Selma right now, but otherwise, I can’t complain too much here. It will be interesting to see if Fincher can compete with Linklater and Inarritu with his movie not even being nominated, but I still think he’s a threat to win this award come Oscar time. But at this point, you have to say it’s Linklater’s to lose.
