Reaction to Golden Globe Nominations

 The reason the Academy Awards have so much more prestige is because the nominees come from peers working in that category.  Not so with the Golden Globes, which  represent nothing about the overall quality of a work in question but the discreat opinions of the Hollywood Foreign Press. 

But I'll watch anyway.

Anyway, here are my initial thoughts:

1.  Category Confusion.

Everyone raised a few eyebrows a few years ago when the little seen The Tourist, starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, was nominated.  But what really confused people was that this action/drama/mystery was nominated in a comedy.  Granted, there are the genre-bending "dramedies," but that doesn't explain how The Martian is categorized as a comedy.  The only thing I can think of is that the Foreign Press maxed out the drama pics they liked and wanted to nominate The Martian anyway.  Now, The Martian deserves a nomination of some kind... but comedy?

2.  Cultural Statements

Four of the most nominated movies are ones that are trying to make some kind of cultural statement:

a. Carol - Gay rights

b. The Danish Girl - Transgender rights

c.  The Big Short - Corporate greed

d. Spotlight - Church scandal and corruption.

Now, I have not seen any of these films, so I cannot attest one way or another as to their quality, but I don't think it would be a stretch to imagine that the Foreign Press are choosing partly based on ideological grounds.

3.  Biopic Bait

All of the nominated actors in Best Drama are playing real people.  I remember Film Theorist had a method of increasing your chances of winning an Oscar.  If this is any indication, they are right.

4.  Mainstream is Out
The only big audience hit of the television nominees is Empire.  Yes, the others have some audience, but nothing like that show.  I know that many of the nominated movies are still early in their release, but only The Martian is in the top 10 box office of 2015.  Again, that doesn't mean that the rest of the movies are of low quality.  But it once again indicates that these awards are not reflective of popular thought but are trying to guide popular thought.

5.  Snubs
So far there have not been a lot of truly great movies to come out.  But overlooking the amazing work of Inside/Out is a big slap in the face to PIXAR.  In terms of television, Parks and Recreation was overlooked in its final season, as was the immensely popular The Big Bang Theory.  And all comic book related properties have been snubbed, including critical darlings like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Walking Dead.  Also, how could the NOT nominate Jonathon Banks for the best performance of his career in Better Call Saul?

6.  Plesant Surprises.
I have only become aware of Alicia Vikander this year and I was blown away by her skill.  She has 2 nominations and I believe she is a real up and comer.  Also, Rachel Bloom was nominated for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.  The show itself is a bit of a mess, but Bloom is outsanding in the role and I am glad she got a nomination.  Also as a Stallone fan, I'm glad he got an acting nod for Creed.

7.  Rooting.
The movie I'm pulling for most is Mad Max: Fury Road.  Of the movies I have seen on the list, it is the best, the most purely cinematic, visceral of them all.  And it would be great to get the venerable George Miller an award for his contribution to movies.

You can see the full list of nominees below.  (via Variety.com)

Thoughts?

FILM

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Best Motion Picture, Comedy 
The Big Short
Joy
The Martian
Spy
Trainwreck

Best Director – Motion Picture
Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
George Miller, Mad Max
Ridley Scott, The Martian

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy 
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Melissa McCarthy, Spy
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
Maggie Smith, Lady in the Van
Lily Tomlin, Grandma

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Jane Fonda, Youth
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Will Smith, Concussion

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Steve Carell, The Big Short
Matt Damon, The Martian
Al Pacino, Danny Collins
Mark Ruffalo, Infinitely Polar Bear

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Emma Donoghue, Room
Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer, Spotlight
Charles Randolph, Adam McKay, The Big Short
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

Best Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Original Song
“Love Me Like You Do” 50 Shades of Grey
“One Kind of Love” Love and Mercy
“See You Again” Furious 7
“Simple Song No. 3” Youth
“Writing’s on the Wall” Spectre

Best Original Score
Carter Burwell, Carol
Alexandre Desplat, The Danish Girl
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs
Ryuichi Sakamoto Alva Noto, The Revenant

Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language 
The Brand New Testament
The Club
The Fencer
Mustang
Son of Saul

TELEVISION

Best TV Series, Drama

Empire
Game of Thrones
Mr. Robot
Narcos
Outlander

Best TV Series, Comedy
Casual
Mozart in the Jungle
Orange Is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Veep

Best TV Movie or Limited-Series
American Crime
American Horror Story: Hotel
Fargo
Flesh and Bone
Wolf Hall

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Wagner Moura, Narcos
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama 
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Eva Green, Penny Dreadful
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy 
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Gael Garcia Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle
Rob Lowe, The Grinder
Patrick Stewart, Blunt Talk
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex Girlfriend
Jamie Lee Curtis, Scream Queens
Julia Louis Dreyfus, Veep
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Lilly Tomlin, Grace & Frankie

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited-Series, or TV Movie
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Regina King, American Crime
Judith Light, Transparent
Maura Tierney, The Affair

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited-Series or TV Movie
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Tobias Menzies, Outlander
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot

Best Actor in a Limited-Series or TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Oscar Isaac, Show Me a Hero
David Oyelowo, Nightingale
Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Patrick Wilson, Fargo

Best Actress in a Limited-Series or TV Movie
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Lady Gaga, American Horror Story: Hotel
Sarah Hay, Flesh & Bone
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Queen Latifah, Bessie