The Film Experience

by Nathaniel R

After a tumultuous few years for the Golden Globes, will we back on track this year? Or, rather, what kind of track will it be? The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is no more, really, at least not in the previous sense. The organization has been restructured and bought up by Penske Media (which also owns the big trade journals like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter) and the voter pool significantly expanded. But the big question is will it matter for viewers and celebrities after the past few years – the Globes were once a habitual must-attend/must-watch tradition but once you stop a tradition cold turkey can it return?

The nominations (the Barbenheimer phenomenon leads in the movie categories with 9 and 8 nods respectively) and more commentary are after the jump…

The nominations this year lean a little more international – but the Oscars have been going that way, too – but they simultaneously lean populist given a silly ‘box office’ category that has more nominees than the other categories. Will the celebrities turn out in droves like they used to? We shall see…

Best Motion Picture, Drama

“Anatomy of a Fall”
“Killers of the Flower Moon
“Maestro”
“Oppenheimer”
“Past Lives”
“The Zone of Interest”

This list went just as expected with the possible exception of The Zone of Interest which has been steadily making an improable case for itself since Cannes. The only other titles that might have showed up here (for a nice boost) that didn’t were All of Us Strangers and The Iron Claw.

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

“Air”
“American Fiction”
“Barbie”
“The Holdovers”
“May December”
“Poor Things”

And interesting combo though also just as expected with the notable exception of The Color Purple not placing. Musicals missing this lineup is always shocking. But the lineup itself is strong so we shan’t complain.

Best Motion Picture, Animated

“The Boy and the Heron”
“Elemental”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
“Suzume”
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
“Wish”

A very nice get for Suzume. And a tough break for Netflix which didn’t place with either of its big hopefuls Nimona or Chicken Run 2.

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

“Barbie”
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
“John Wick: Chapter 4”
“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1”
“Oppenheimer”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”

A silly silly idea just as it was when Oscar briefly considered a ‘popularity’ award. To quote Mad Men with righteous anger “that’s what the money is for!!!”

Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language

“Anatomy of a Fall”
“Fallen Leaves”
“Io Capitano”
“Past Lives”
“Society of the Snow”
“The Zone of Interest”

Anatomy of a Fall, Past Lives, and The Zone of Interest all show up in the main drama category, too, which in year’s past was not allowed. This is terrific news for Finland (“Fallen Leaves”), Italy (“Io Capitano”) and Spain (“Society of Snow”) since the International race is always overstuffed with strong contenders.

Surprise no show: No France (“The Taste of Things”) this year despite a strong choice for their submission.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Annette Bening, “Nyad”
Cailee Spaeny, “Priscilla”
Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”

Happy news for Bening, Spaeny, and Lee especially since they’re longer shots for the parallel Oscar category.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Barry Keoghan, “Saltburn”
Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”
Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

It’s a shame not to see Gael Garcia Bernal here for “Cassandro” since he’s running circles (and tumbling) around Leonardo DiCaprio, you know?

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Alma Pöysti, “Fallen Leaves”
Emma Stone, “Poor Things”
Fantasia Barrino, “The Color Purple”
Jennifer Lawrence, “No Hard Feelings”
Margot Robbie, “Barbie”
Natalie Portman, “May December”

Fun list with Pöysti being the only surprise. It might have been fun to see someone like Molly Gordon “Theater Camp” place but the comedy categories especially tend to go for big stars.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Nicolas Cage, “Dream Scenario”
Timothée Chalamet, “Wonka”
Matt Damon, “Air”
Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Beau Is Afraid”
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

If it weren’t the Globes (where celebrity is practically a requirement) would this list have looked any different? Or were there just not many contenders?

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”
Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”
Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
Julianne Moore, “May December”
Rosamund Pike, “Saltburn”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”

The Globes have always loved Jodie Foster so we shouldn’t be surprised to see her pop up. All six of these women are in good position moving into Oscar season but someone’s got to go as there can be only five. But it’s a shame not to see Penelope Cruz here who absolutely owns “Ferrari”. Other actresses who could have used the boost here were Rachel McAdams so heartfelt and charming in “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret”, Claire Foy nailing a tricky role in “All of Us Strangers” or America Ferrara for monologuing so beautifully in “Barbie”.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Willem Dafoe, “Poor Things”
Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”
Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
Charles Melton, “May December”
Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”

They said “frontrunners only!” The Globes have never embraced character actors in this category the way Oscar used to but it’s still a shame not to see someone like, oh, Holt McCallany “The Iron Claw” get a boost here.

Best Director, Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
Greta Gerwig, “Barbie”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Celine Song, “Past Lives”

It’s so heartening to see Celine Song still in the conversation.

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

Great Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, “Barbie”
Tony McNamara, “Poor Things”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Celine Song, “Past Lives”
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, “Anatomy of a Fall”

The Globes don’t different between Original and Adapted in screenplay so all of these screenplays could well see Oscar nominations soon.

Best Original Score, Motion Picture

Jerskin Fendrix, “Poor Things”
Ludwig Göransson, “Oppenheimer”
Joe Hisaishi, “The Boy and the Heron”
Mica Levi, “The Zone of Interest”
Daniel Pemberton, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Robbie Robertson, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best Original Song, Motion Picture

“Addicted to Romance,” from “She Came to Me”
“Dance the Night,” from “Barbie”
“I’m Just Ken,” from “Barbie”
“Peaches,” from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
“Road to Freedom,” from “Rustin”
“What Was I Made For?,” from “Barbie”

The Globes have always had different taste than Oscar in the music categories but these are still nice campaign boosts. Note that all three of Barbie’s campaigned songs made it. At the Oscars only two can be nominated (even if all three lead in the voting) due to different rules.

TELEVISION PRIZES

Since the Globes are on a different timetable than the Emmys, their TV prizes are always a mix of the previous Emmy year (in this case the current Emmy year because of the delays in that ceremony which will now be held on January 24th, 2024) and the following year’s Emmy competition. In fact, it will be interesting to see what the Emmys do with their calendar not that they’ve been thrown off so much. Will they have two ceremonies in 2024 to get back to their usual calendar?

Best Television Series, Drama

“1923”
“The Crown”
“The Diplomat”
“The Last of Us”
“The Morning Show”
“Succession”

This race differs considerably from the current Emmys which include only The Crown, The Last of Us, and Succession. The other Emmy nominees are Better Call Saul, House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, and Yellowjackets. Different timetables account for some though not all of this.

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy

“Abbott Elementary”
“Barry”
“The Bear”
“Jury Duty”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“Ted Lasso”

The Emmys, which are even more crass about “everyone must be included” than the Globes have 8 nominations for this category so The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Wednesday were the two series that dropped off from that awards show to the Globes.

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television

“All the Light We Cannot See”
“Beef”
“Daisy Jones and the Six”
“Fargo”
“Fellow Travelers”
“Lessons in Chemistry”

Beef and Daisy Jones and the Six are the only repeats from the Emmy roster but several of these choices were too new to have scored at the Emmys like All the Light… and Fellow Travelers.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama

Helen Mirren, “1923”
Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
Sarah Snook, “Succession”
Imelda Staunton, “The Crown”
Emma Stone, “The Curse”

Ramsey, Russell, and Snook are also up for the Emmy (again, with the ceremony delayed til January 2024)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama

Brian Cox, “Succession”
Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”
Jeremy Strong, “Succession”
Dominic West, “The Crown”

Oldman and West are the newest additions here, with their seasons arriving after the Emmy eligibility window.

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

Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
Elle Fanning, “The Great”
Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”
Natasha Lyonne, “Poker Face”

Some variety here from the Emmy list due to timetables… at the Emmys Ayo Edebiri is nominated in the supporting category.

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

Bill Hader, “Barry”
Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

The Emmys skipped Steve Martin (including only Short) this year. But the rest of the list is the Emmy list.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Supporting Role

Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”
Matthew Macfadyen, “Succession”
James Marsden, “Jury Duty”
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
Alan Ruck, “Succession”
Alexander Skarsgård, “Succession”

The Emmys famously included only two shows in their supporting actor drama lineup (despite 8 slots) but the Globes combine drama and comedy so there’s little room for supporting players at all.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Supporting Role

Elizabeth Debicki, “The Crown”
Abby Elliott, “The Bear”
Christina Ricci, “Yellowjackets”
J. Smith-Cameron, “Succession”
Meryl Streep, “Only Murders in the Building”
Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie

Riley Keough, “Daisy Jones and the Six”
Brie Larson, “Lessons in Chemistry”
Elizabeth Olsen, “Love & Death”
Juno Temple, “Fargo”
Rachel Weisz, “Dead Ringers”
Ali Wong, “Beef”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series of Motion Picture Made for Television

Matt Bomer, “Fellow Travelers”
Sam Claflin, “Daisy Jones and the Six”
Jon Hamm, “Fargo”
Woody Harrelson, “White House Plumbers”
David Oyelowo, “Lawmen: Bass Reeves”
Steven Yeun, “Beef”

Wonderful to see Matt Bomer here given how perfect he is in his big star vehicle. May the Emmy follow.

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy or Television

Ricky Gervais, “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon”
Trevor Noah, “Trevor Noah: Where Was I?”
Chris Rock, “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage”
Amy Schumer, “Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact”
Sarah Silverman, “Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love”
Wanda Sykes, “Wanda Sykes: I Am an Entertainer”

Another brand new category. And not a bad idea for a category but they clearly didn’t think too hard on it only nominating the biggest names they could find. Celebrity is still almighty with the Globe voters.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE NOMINEES THIS YEAR? WILL YOU WATCH?