A year ago, the Golden Globes were second only to the Oscars in prestige among the plethora of awards ceremonies; as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association reveals this year’s nominees, it’s not even clear whether anyone other than its own members will be able to see the winners announced, with the NBC network having cancelled its show.
Sir Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical Belfast and Jane Campion’s homoerotic western The Power of the Dog lead the field with seven nominations each, but is this Awards Season’s event one that film-makers will even want to be associated with?
In the run-up to 2021’s Covid-delayed event, the LA Times published an expose of the HFPA which resulted in most of the Hollywood machine turning its back on the organisation; accusations of bribery were already rife but the revelation that none of the 87 voting members of the association were of black African descent, against the backdrop of global anger at the police killing of the unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis, marked the final nail if not in the coffin, in the wardrobe door; the HFPA might not be dead, but it’s been shut away, out of site, for a year at least.
But to ensure that they are not forgotten completely – and the industry can’t say “we survived a year without the Globes, so why do we need them back in the future?” – they’ve tweaked their own rules to announce a set of nominations; usually, studios and producers submit their films and TV shows for consideration but this year, it seems that the reverse was the case. The HFPA says it “accommodated filmmakers/studios who requested their content to be considered only for specific categories,” but has not revealed whether any asked not to be included at all.
Part of the long-running controversy surrounded the way HFPA members had a reputation for nominating films and TV shows not for the quality of the productions but for the quality of the hospitality they provided at screenings, the trips they sent the voters on, the access provided to the stars or the gifts they offered. Consider at this point who it was who offered the hospitality, trips, access and gifts in the first place – and now we can move on; as part of the industry response, stars and studios – led by their publicists – have boycotted HFPA members, meaning that there could be some voters who won’t even have seen the productions they are meant to be comparing.
Another criticism from the industry has been that some of the HFPA members, while purportedly members of the foreign press based in California, turned out to do little journalism or to write for publications of little or no significance. But facing pressure to recruit more than twenty new members – including some from black African backgrounds – it turns out that the journalistic credentials of some of the new members were arguably less important than their ethnic background. The consequence of this is that critics of the HFPA have further strengthened their own armoury, given that those who accused the body of being stuffed with unqualified voters from the wrong variety of ethnic backgrounds have ended up with a larger group of differently unqualified voters from a differently proportioned – if more diverse – group of ethnic backgrounds, with black members now added to the Arabs, Latin Americans, south Asians and other ethnicities.
By pressing ahead with a set of nominees, the HFPA will have considered whether the industry will take the opinions of the new cohort any more seriously than they took the opinions of the original members – given that the nominated films in the past had at least been seen by most voting members – even if that was because the awards publicists had laid on a good buffet at the screening. This time around, it’s understood that some publicists actively refused to send screening links to potential voters. However, there are HFPA members who have chosen not to take part in this season’s selection process.
Ahead of revealing the nominations, the HFPA’s new president, Helen Hoehne from Germany, announced that it had “been a year of change and reflection. For eight months we worked tirelessly as an organisation to be better,” before being joined by the African American rapper Snoop Dogg to start reading the list.
While their films jostle for position in the dramatic film categories, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Jane Campion themselves will be up against each other in the directing and screenplay categories.
With Belfast ostensibly being a coming-of-age film about a young boy, Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan, who play his parents are nominated in the supporting categories; Dornan is up against his co-star Ciarán Hinds, who plays his father. The Power of the Dog’s Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst are nominated in the leading categories, with Kodi Smit-McPhee being up for a best supporting actor award.
The HFPA used to have a reputation for nominating big names to draw TV viewers to the ceremony – and enable members to party with the stars; while the situation is different, there are still plenty of big names on the list, with King Richard star Will Smith and The Tragedy of Macbeth’s Denzel Washington among three black men in the running for best actor in a drama.
The contest for the best actress in a drama is packed full of stars, with Oscar winners Olivia Colman, Nicole Kidman and Lady Gaga up against two-time Oscar-nominee Jessica Chastain and Spencer star Kristen Stewart. The competition for the best actress in a musical or comedy also includes three previous Oscar winners, Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence and Marion Cotillard. And stars don’t come much bigger than Lawrence’s Don’t Look Up co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s up for best actor in a musical or comedy.
While, unlike most years, nominated stars and studios have been less enthusiastic about acknowledging the HFPA’s honour, the Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen, which made Belfast, said “Having watched the local audience’s enthralled response to Belfast at the Belfast Film Festival, I am not in the slightest surprised that Sir Kenneth Branagh’s most personal film ever has picked up 7 nominations at the Golden Globes. We are very proud to have Ken as our Honorary President and we will be cheering him and all of the wonderful team behind Belfast throughout the awards season.”
The most nominated TV shows are Succession, The Morning Show and Ted Lasso. Interestingly, whether this is down to this being an unconventional year, there are considerably fewer British shows and actors in contention than is usual for the Globes – or indeed the industry as a whole.
The HFPA announced the Golden Globe nominations on the same day as the Critics Choice Awards, with Belfast topping their list on 11 nominations, alongside West Side Story. The Power of the Dog and Dune each have 10 nominations.
The Critics Choice Awards have moved into the Globes’ 9th January TV slot, all but ensuring that nominated celebrities will choose to attend the Critics Choice Awards instead.
The question will be how this all plays out a year from now. Will Hollywood welcome back a televised Golden Globes? Will the Critics Choice Awards give up their prime slot? Will the industry – and indeed fans – be satisfied with one fewer award ceremony on the road to the Oscars?
For now, here is the full list of the Golden Globe nominees across film and TV, drama and musicals or comedies:
Best motion picture – drama
- Belfast
- Coda
- Dune
- King Richard
- The Power of the Dog
Best motion picture – musical or comedy
- Cyrano
- Don’t Look Up
- Licorice Pizza
- Tick, Tick … Boom!
- West Side Story
Best actress in a motion picture – drama
- Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
- Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
- Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
- Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
- Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Best actor in a motion picture – drama
- Mahershala Ali, Swan Song
- Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
- Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
- Will Smith, King Richard
- Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Best actress in a motion picture – musical or comedy
- Marion Cotillard, Annette
- Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
- Jennifer Lawrence, Don’t Look Up
- Emma Stone, Cruella
- Rachel Zegler, West Side Story
Best actor in a motion picture – musical or comedy
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Don’t Look Up
- Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
- Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick … Boom!
- Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza
- Anthony Ramos, In the Heights
Best supporting actress in any motion picture
- Caitríona Balfe, Belfast
- Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
- Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
- Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
- Ruth Negga, Passing
Best supporting actor in any motion picture
- Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar
- Jamie Dornan, Belfast
- Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
- Troy Kotsur, CODA
- Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Best director – motion picture
- Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
- Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
- Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
- Denis Villeneuve, Dune
Best screenplay – motion picture
- Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
- Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
- Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
- Adam McKay, Don’t Look Up
- Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos
Best motion picture – animated
- Encanto, Walt Disney Pictures
- Fleem Neon
- Luca, Pixar
- My Sunny Maad
- Raya and the Last Dragon
Best motion picture – foreign language
- Compartment No. 6
- Drive My Car
- The Hand of God
- A Hero
- Parallel Mothers
Best original score – motion picture
- The French Dispatch, Alexandre Desplat
- Encanto, Germaine Franco
- The Power of the Dog, Jonny Greenwood
- Parallel Mothers, Alberto Iglesias
- Dune, Hans Zimmer
Best original song – motion picture
- Be Alive from King Richard, by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Dixson
- Dos Orugitas from Encanto, by Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Down to Joy from Belfast, by Van Morrison
- Here I Am (Singing My Way Home) from Respect, by Jamie Alexander Hartman, Jennifer Hudson and Carole King
- No Time to Die from No Time to Die, by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Best TV series – drama
- Lupin
- The Morning Show
- Post
- Squid Game
- Succession
Best actress in a drama series
- Uzo Aduba, In Treatment
- Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
- Christine Baranski, The Good Fight
- Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
- Mj Rodriguez, Pose
Best actor in a drama series
- Brian Cox, Succession
- Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
- Billy Porter, Pose
- Jeremy Strong, Succession
- Omar Sy, Lupin
Best TV series – musical or comedy
- The Great
- Hacks
- Only Murders in the Building
- Reservation Dogs
- Ted Lasso
Best actress in a TV series – musical or comedy
- Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
- Elle Fanning, The Great
- Issa Rae, Insecure
- Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
- Jean Smart, Hacks
Best actor in a TV series – musical or comedy
- Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
- Nicholas Hoult, The Great
- Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
- Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
- Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Best limited series or TV movie
- Dopesick
- Impeachment: American Crime Story
- Maid
- Mare of Easttown
- The Underground Railroad
Best actress in a limited series or TV movie
- Jessica Chastain, Scenes From a Marriage
- Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha
- Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision
- Margaret Qualley, Maid
- Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown
Best actor in a limited series or TV movie
- Paul Bettany, WandaVision
- Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage
- Michael Keaton, Dopesick
- Ewan McGregor, Halston
- Tahar Rahim, The Serpent
Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie
- Jennifer Coolidge, White Lotus
- Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick
- Andie MacDowell, Maid
- Sarah Snook, Succession
- Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie
- Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
- Kieran Culkin, Succession
- Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
- Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
- Oh Yeong-su, Squid Game