We polled Team Experience on the Golden Globe nominations this morning. Here is part one in which we dispense quick thoughts about the most head scratching nominations and the 'I know they di't' dismissals (I know we're not supposed to call them snubs anymore but the word is such convenient shorthand).
WHAT'S THE SNUB THAT MAKES YOU THE CRAZIEST?
Manuel: Mica Levi's Jackie score. Okay, when you think about it for two seconds the snub makes sense. The HFPA isn't known for its off-kilter choices but I was really hoping they'd warm up to Larraín's histrionic film and Levi's score seemed like a way to do so even if they ignored it in the top categories.
Murtada: Michael Shannon in Nocturnal Animals. If they loved it so much why not its best element? I bet though Shannon is relieved he doesn't have to attend the ceremony.
Jose: No Janelle Monae anywhere!
Eric: No nod for The Lobster in Picture or Screenplay? It's the most original idea of the year, executed better than arguably any of the nominees in either category.
Nathaniel: Am extremely displeased to not see Denis Villeneuve in the Best Director category though I guess I was expecting it given that I thought Arrival would miss Best Picture with the HFPA. Villeneuve has done such heavy lifting with such remarkable form for two years straight (Sicario and Arrival). But the HFPA is so erratic. Remember when they gave us the most beautiful Best Director lineup of the year in 2014 which the Oscars and the DGA then peed on with far worse shortlists? It's unlikely Best Director can be dumbed down from here so the only way is up :knocksonwood:
Dancin' Dan: No Sing Street in Best Original Song. The year's most adorable movie got in for Best Comedy/Musical but misses here, when all the songs are better than most of the songs nominated?!? NO, I say. NO.
and a mini-medley of corset ripping from Love & Friendship fans...
Tim Love & Friendship in all categories, but especially Actress in a Comedy. There's a sharpness to Beckinsale's performance that goes well beyond "say shitty things in a funny way", and includes some of the best character work of the year, irrespective of genre or gender.
Margaret: Kate Beckinsale for Love and Friendship. The movie is a masterfully crafted delight that deserves to be recognized in the Best Picture category, but Beckinsale's virtuosic star turn is the most egregious omission. She is to Love and Friendship what Denzel is to Fences: she's the soul and wit of the movie, every character and plot advance is fully in her orbit and she steamrolls all before her with deft line readings and sheer force of charisma. Lady Susan Vernon would dispense with her competition with one nod of her enormous feathered hat-- Lily Collins wouldn't stand a chance.
Bill: No love for Love & Friendship, at all. This is a comedy, and a good one at that. Deadpool needs no love from any group of film lovers. No one will remember this film in four years time. The most egregious case of serious, smug marketing pressure winning the day we've seen in quite some time.
Joe: I'm sure I won't be alone, but: Kate Beckinsale! For Pete's sake! We don't get that many chances to throw her a nomination. But no, we had to include Lily god damn Collins.
BIGGEST "WHAT THE F***?" INCLUSION?
[Editors Note: We're also doing themes here apparently with two distinct targets of ire]
Lynn: Deadpool gets a nod for comedy/musical while The Lobster and Hail Caesar get shafted?
Jose: Deadpool keeps sticking out like a sore thumb. Reynolds wears a mask all throughout, how is that acting and not voiceover? What does this man know about Hollywood that he keeps popping up places?
Tim: So many, but Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool (and the film for Best Comedy) is particularly annoying. Superficial sarcasm is not the same as deft comic timing.
DEADPOOL is to 2016 what SHREK was to 2001. You'll all be embarrassed about the prizes later.
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) December 12, 2016
Nick: Nocturnal Animals is gross, desperate, largely inept nonsense. All three of its nominations are howlers, but Ford's for directing most of all. Also, I am SO DONE with category fraud discussions, but the "Dev Patel as Supporting Actor" thing is cray.
John: The inclusion of Nocturnal Animals is unsurprising but so frustrating. It features career-worst performances from some cast members and, what's worse, is a cruel, inept film hell-bent on punishing women for questioning the masculinity of its main character. It's awful and hateful and I'm flabbergasted by the reception. It's the worst film I've seen all year, followed by the laughable mess of Rules Don't Apply, but that's a whole other answer.
Murtada: Double noms for Tom Ford. Those fragrance gifts must have been magic.
Joe: I appreciate his charms more than 99% of the general population, but even I am scratching my head at that Aaron Taylor-Johnson nomination. Supporting Actor could be shaping up to be just as all-over-the-place as last year.
Bill: The Jonah Hill nomination is very confusing. Out of other comedies that performed well this year, either at the box office or with better reviews, wouldn't Russell Crowe or double-dosed Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys), Josh Brolin (Hail, Caesar!), or, heck, even Kevin Hart for either Central Intelligence or Ride Along 2 make more sense? (Dwayne Johnson did grab a Comedy Actor nomination at the Critics' Choice for Central Intelligence, it should be noted.) Or better yet, put Captain Fantastic where it belongs, as a (condescending, insufferable, epitome of bad "quirky") comedy, give Mortensen a nomination, and then have room for deserved nomination for Tom Hanks for yet another box office and critical success, Sully. Just saying.
Margaret: Though I am way behind on the season's movies, I have already seen more than enough movies to make a top-ten list that wipes the floor with the best of 2015. Truly, then, there is no reason to validate Mel Gibson's play for a comeback. Hatefulness and misogyny and antisemitism have already crawled much too far out of the swamp into our cultural narrative-- must we buy it a first class seat?
Manuel: Simon Helberg Florence Foster Jenkins. I mean, they do love familiar faces and Meryl will be the belle of the ball on January, but this is just absurd. Such a mannered performance that boiled down to ::widens eyes, sweats::
Nathaniel: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS ONE IS NOT A COMPLAINT. Octavia Spencer is wonderful in Hidden Figures. But I'll admit that that was a head scratcher in that awards groups are just refusing to settle on 'who's in fifth?' in Best Supporting Actress. Greta Gerwig should be higher than fifth but she's apparently not (sigh). It's quite a nailbiter after Davis-Harris-Kidman-Williams. Who is it going to be: Gerwig? Monae? Gladstone? Spencer? Shannon? They've all been mentioned by awards groups. SAG could be telling on Tuesday or further confuse the issue.
How about you dear readers? How would you answer these two questions?