This morning the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) debuted their nominees for the 2019 Golden Globe Awards. These annual awards (which will be given out on Sunday, January 6th, 2019 on NBC) often serve as a precursor for the Academy Awards. The voting body, which also determines the nominees, is comprised of journalists who are non-U.S. based representing about 55 different countries. Now that we’ve had some time to review the nominations, there are a few interesting takeaways!
RELATED: Black Panther Nominated For Best Picture: The Nominees For The 2019 Golden Globes Announced
Movies with Multiple Nominations
Obviously, there is no direct correlation between films that land nominations in multiple categories, but it obviously increases their chances to walk home with at least one statuette in hand. I often recommend individuals who are behind on watching movies for the year to use the number of nominations as a nice way to create a prioritized list of what to check out. Here are the standings:
- Six (6) nominations: Vice
- Five (5) nominations: The Favourite, Green Book, A Star is Born
- Four (4) nominations: BlacKkKlansman, Mary Poppins Returns
- Three (3): Black Panther, If Beale Street Could Talk, Roma
An important note is that Roma (which the WAFCA named as the best film of 2018) is ineligible to be nominated for Best Drama given its inclusion in the Best Foreign Film category. Vice pulled a bit of a surprise in getting a nomination for Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush in the Best Supporting Actor category, which appears to have shutout A Star is Born’s Sam Elliott, whom many critics expected to see on the list. There’s an argument to be made that in most of the categories where it has been nominated, Vice is very good, but not the best. For example, while Amy Adams does great work as Lynne Cheney, best odds on a Best Supporting Actress win probable fall to Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz who both did amazing work in The Favourite. To summary, while Vice received the most nominations, I expect either The Favourite or A Star is Born to take home the most wins.
Omissions
In my estimation, the most intriguing omission isn’t in a “major” category, but rather Best Song. With four nominations in other categories, the fact that nothing from Mary Poppins Returns received a nod here is curious, considering the musical nature of the feature. In terms of films on the whole that did not receive a lot of attention, First Man only received two nods which is probably a disappointment to the production team who went into awards season with a lot of buzz considering that their previous effort, La La Land, was darling with voters two years ago with seven nominations. Fans of the merc-with-a-mouth are probably sad to see no love for Deadpool 2 (this is not a snub, I might add). On a personal note, I believe that The Hate U Give should have been given far more attention in the drama categories (especially since Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Drama), and Blockers in the comedic categories. The latter did not have the social buzz that The Hangover did back in 2009 (which won the top Golden Globe for that year), but the script and performances are on par with its spiritual predecessor.
But the biggest omission—no female director nominees. Did we already forget Natalie Portman’s speech from last year? Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Josie Rourke (Mary, Queen of Scots), Debra Granik (Leave No Trace), Josephine Decker (Madeline’s Madeline), Kay Cannon (Blockers, again), Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here) and Desiree Akhavan (The Miseducation of Cameron Post) all could have easily been on this list. Bad form.
Surprise Additions
While there was greater probability this year than in previous cycles, seeing Black Panther get some attention is noteworthy given the historical view of comic-book films by many (certainly not all) as an inferior genre. Granted, the nominations are a bit a polarized with Best Drama and then Best Song and Best Score. Willem Dafoe is a fun entry for the Best Actor in a Drama category given his turn as Vincent Van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate, a nod that will hopefully drive more attention to the film which is quirky and interesting. Unfortunately, he’s probably a longshot to win given that Cooper doesn’t have to complete against Bale, the latter of which landed in the comedy category. Crazy Rich Asians also got a lot of love with three nominations, which is nice to see for a universally appreciated film that sported a rather diverse cast.
That’s it for my major reactions and takeaways! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the nominees and who you think will win on January 6th! Just comment below!
Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page.
FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
