"Barbie" leads the Golden Globe Nominations
Monday, December 11, 2023 at 12:32PM 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
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“Anatomy of a Fall”
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“Killers of the Flower Moon
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“Maestro”
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“Oppenheimer”
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“Past Lives”
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“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
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“Air”
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“American Fiction”
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“Barbie”
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“The Holdovers”
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“May December”
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“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
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“The Boy and the Heron”
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“Elemental”
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“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
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“Suzume”
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“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
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“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
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“Barbie”
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“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
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“John Wick: Chapter 4”
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“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1”
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“Oppenheimer”
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“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
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“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”
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“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
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“Anatomy of a Fall”
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“Fallen Leaves”
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“Io Capitano”
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“Past Lives”
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“Society of the Snow”
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“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
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Annette Bening, “Nyad”
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Cailee Spaeny, “Priscilla”
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Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”
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Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
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Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
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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
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Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
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Barry Keoghan, “Saltburn”
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Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
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Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”
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Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
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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
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Alma Pöysti, “Fallen Leaves”
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Emma Stone, “Poor Things”
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Fantasia Barrino, “The Color Purple”
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Jennifer Lawrence, “No Hard Feelings”
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Margot Robbie, “Barbie”
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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
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Nicolas Cage, “Dream Scenario”
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Timothée Chalamet, “Wonka”
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Matt Damon, “Air”
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Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
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Joaquin Phoenix, “Beau Is Afraid”
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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
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Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”
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Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”
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Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
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Julianne Moore, “May December”
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Rosamund Pike, “Saltburn”
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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
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Willem Dafoe, “Poor Things”
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Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
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Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”
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Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
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Charles Melton, “May December”
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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
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Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
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Greta Gerwig, “Barbie”
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Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”
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Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
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Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
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Celine Song, “Past Lives”
It’s so heartening to see Celine Song still in the conversation.
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
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Great Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, “Barbie”
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Tony McNamara, “Poor Things”
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Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
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Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
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Celine Song, “Past Lives”
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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
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Jerskin Fendrix, “Poor Things”
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Ludwig Göransson, “Oppenheimer”
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Joe Hisaishi, “The Boy and the Heron”
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Mica Levi, “The Zone of Interest”
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Daniel Pemberton, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
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Robbie Robertson, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Best Original Song, Motion Picture
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“Addicted to Romance,” from “She Came to Me”
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“Dance the Night,” from “Barbie”
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“I’m Just Ken,” from “Barbie”
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“Peaches,” from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
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“Road to Freedom,” from “Rustin”
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“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
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“1923”
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“The Crown”
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“The Diplomat”
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“The Last of Us”
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“The Morning Show”
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“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
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“Abbott Elementary”
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“Barry”
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“The Bear”
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“Jury Duty”
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“Only Murders in the Building”
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“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
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“All the Light We Cannot See”
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“Beef”
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“Daisy Jones and the Six”
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“Fargo”
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“Fellow Travelers”
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“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
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Helen Mirren, “1923”
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Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
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Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
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Sarah Snook, “Succession”
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Imelda Staunton, “The Crown”
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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
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Brian Cox, “Succession”
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Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
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Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
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Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”
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Jeremy Strong, “Succession”
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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
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Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
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Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
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Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
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Elle Fanning, “The Great”
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Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”
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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
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Bill Hader, “Barry”
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Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
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Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
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Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
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Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
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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
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Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”
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Matthew Macfadyen, “Succession”
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James Marsden, “Jury Duty”
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
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Alan Ruck, “Succession”
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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
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Elizabeth Debicki, “The Crown”
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Abby Elliott, “The Bear”
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Christina Ricci, “Yellowjackets”
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J. Smith-Cameron, “Succession”
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Meryl Streep, “Only Murders in the Building”
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Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie
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Riley Keough, “Daisy Jones and the Six”
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Brie Larson, “Lessons in Chemistry”
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Elizabeth Olsen, “Love & Death”
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Juno Temple, “Fargo”
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Rachel Weisz, “Dead Ringers”
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Ali Wong, “Beef”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series of Motion Picture Made for Television
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Matt Bomer, “Fellow Travelers”
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Sam Claflin, “Daisy Jones and the Six”
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Jon Hamm, “Fargo”
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Woody Harrelson, “White House Plumbers”
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David Oyelowo, “Lawmen: Bass Reeves”
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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
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Ricky Gervais, “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon”
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Trevor Noah, “Trevor Noah: Where Was I?”
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Chris Rock, “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage”
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Amy Schumer, “Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact”
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Sarah Silverman, “Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love”
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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.
Reader Comments (26)
I think these were most pundits and bloggers predictions months ago which is so strange,like it's all a done deal before the noms are even announced,only Pike who they love and Keoghan surprised and Phoenix but for a different film,this year is becomng so media driven.
They are desperate to write Oppenbarbie at every opportunity they get or whatever it's called,makes good print and everyones heard of them,it really is now about the money and the hype.
Perfect for You Tubers and the like to grab onto,it was a lot more interesting predicting 20 odd yrs ago when you didn't have a lot to go on,you just crossed your fingers and hoped.
None of the smaller films really got a chance,with stars and studio campaigning budgets way ahead of the small films with good performances,i've never known it be so boring.
Who decides if Bening,Lee and Spaney are not frontrunners,critics,bloggers,media.
This "6 nominees for everything!" is new .. and lame. Gotta make sure they capture every possible Oscar nominee instead of standing on their own.
Justice for Jonny Bailey, Noah Ricketts, Lewis Pullman and Aja Naomi King!
More in sadness than in anger: Film awards might be out of time to fix themselves. Each year a mix of new policies, categories, processes and decisions alienates them further and further from what made them work for decades. A year will not pass without some controversial new thing.
There seems to be no interest in resisting the pressures (economic, political, cultural) exerted on them—always by people who seem to hate awards in the first place.
The right approach was always fan service to people who love and respect these traditions for what they are. They missed the boat on that.
MAY DECEMBER is a comedy? LOLOLOL.
@Paranoid Android: I mean, can you blame them for not standing on their own? Look what they were put through over the last couple of years. Despite being more inclusive of female and POC nominees for Best Director than the Oscars, the Globes were labeled racist and sexist by people that never bothered to look at the Globes’ history more than like 2 years back. Remember how the Globes awarded a female Best Director like…literally 25 years before the Oscars ever did? Remember how they nominated Ava Duvernay and Regina King for Best Director and the Oscars didn’t? Lots of examples of how the Oscars are less diverse than the Globes but nobody is cancelling the Oscars.
I love these and especially that the last minute films (Color Purple, Boys in the Boat, Ferrari) really missing out. Feels a little less like "let's reward all the OSCARS films that are just coming out" than usual.
SO PUMPED that May December is really crushing it with awards so far, and very deservedly. At this point, I will be disappointed if Julianne and Charles Melton make it in, but Natalie doesn't.
Also, this is really a big year for Emma Stone! I haven't seen Poor Things (and I know I can be found in comments here a couple months ago already saying I didn't expect it to do well), but all signs point to her being incredible, and her work on The Curse simultaneously is some of the best acting I have seen on TV in forever. She is unmatched for her generation, isn't she?
Although he has been awarded for his musical/comedy routine in The Martian, Matt Damon seems like the Diane Warren of the HFPA.
Too bad Julia Louis-Dreyfus couldn’t make it in over let’s say the horrible Jennifer Lawrence…
Tony L -- i actually love JLaw in her movie but Dreyfuss would have been a smart nominee given the parameters of the category.
Nathaniel R - thank you for that, and I apologize for my comment. Sometimes I get a little fiery and negative with my opinions/likes/dislikes/etc haha ;)
Congrats on those who where nominated. Also after this I am going to change my Oscar nomination predictions mostly Best Animated Feature by adding Suzume and Elemental there. Also Nathaniel R I would keep an eye on Suzume seeing how the film had a showing at the Academy Award Museum that could get it a chance at a nomination.
Pike! Really hope this helps her campaign.
Otherwise, I'm simply thankful to see some names we aren't seeing other places, like Poysti, Keoghan, Cage, and Phoenix. It's dull how often we see the same names again and again.
I'm not a fan of this new box office category at all. That is just stupid award while stand-up is just another form of art that isn't for everyone. It's always one step forward yet five steps back when it comes to the Golden Globes. They're so boring to watch.
probably recency bias but Matt Bomer oh my GOODNESS what a moment. I have to wonder, if he wasn't openly gay so early in his career, would he not have become a major Movie Star Leading man?
this may not be popular opinion, but i think despite a few quibbles, these film nominations are pretty great. good attention to some smaller films, more subtle performances, and a few nice surprises. these might end up being much better than our eventual Oscar nominees.
Man, it's really a mess!
6 noms per category. Why?
A stupid Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, whir 8 nominees. Why?
3 international movies in Best Picture - Drama. Why?
The terrible "Barbie" is the most nominated movie. Why?
Man, so many "whys"!
I'm happy for "Oppenheimer", "Maestro", "May December", Bening and Foster Chalamet ("Wonka snubbed in Best Movie - Comedy or Muscal - is a real shock!) , Scott (but where's Mescal, Bell and Foy?), Gladstone and De Niro, Keoghan e Pike in "Saltburn" and obviously Gosling and his "kenergy", the only good thing in that movie.
In TV, happy for "Succession" (except for Braun being snubbed), "Only Murders in the Building”, "The Bear" and my dear Debicki as Diana in "The Crown".
And that's all I have to say about that.
DK,
Perfect words. Completely agree. You nailed it.
These were so much better than what I was dreading. Alma Pöysti, in particular, is such a brilliant and atypical choice.
It should also be noted that these movies were submitted into their categories by their studios, distributors, etc. MAY DECEMBER was submitted as a comedy - which it is - so it wasn't the voters' fault in that regard.
This might be hopelessly naive of me, but…is it possible that in many (though not all!) cases, it just happens that this year, the films being selected for enormous praise are really the best of the bunch? Seeing that the typically erudite Sight & Sound list had Barbie and Oppenheimer tied in fifth and Killers of the Flower Moon at #1, I just have this feeling that this year, the awards movement happened to coalesce behind worthy people much more than it typically does. I truly love so many of the consensus picks this year—Past Lives, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, May December, The Holdovers… In another year, I could see these all being passed up. As too quiet or too popular or too foreign or too weird. I don’t know—I just love these nominees! Extra special love for Keoghan and Pike. I’d have snuck Saltburn into some more categories if I had my druthers, but I’m so pleased that they both made it in.
I suppose I wouldn’t be an internet commenter if I didn’t have at least one negative thing to say, so I’ll add that the new “box office” category is super dumb. 😀
I hope Alma Pöysti's nomination will lead more people to see Fallen Leaves. It is a lovely working-class romance!
Jim McCarthy - I agree. I do feel that the reforms of awards bodies have resulted in some slow but steady improvements. Remember when the Oscar winners would be bland films like A Beautiful Mind or The King's Speech? I'm not a huge fan of EEAAO, but I admire its artistic daring, and if Oppenheimer wins this year, I'll feel the same way.
The Color of Purple must be extremely underwhelming for it to miss in the top category. Typically, if your a musical that has at least one watchable element a nomination is assured. The Globes famously nominated Nine, The Prom, and Burlesque.
I'm most happy to see Jennifer Lawrence nominated. She gave a fun star turn that felt tailor-made for the globes. It's also great to see Past Lives do so well. With Iron Claw going unrewarded here, I suspect Past Lives will get a very strong campaign from A24. It's also great to see Bening here.
I, too, think Gael Garcia Bernal should be here. I'd love to see him pick up a few critics prizes or shock with a SAG nod. He's great, and he has given strong performances for years.
The supporting actor and actress noms feel a little boring. Typically they have a fun person, who's running 10th in the race, thrown in (like Jane Fonda for Youth, Emily Blunt for Prada, etc.).
On the TV side, it's great to see Dominic West nominated. Thought the full season isn't out, he was great in the first 4 Diana-centric episodes, and I think his Charles has been compelling. He gets the character right, even if he is too attractive for the role.
It's great to see Matt Bomer nominated for a worthy, and challenging role that he nailed. I wish they hadn't reverted to lumping all the supporting performances together again, because I think that left his co-stars Jonathan Bailey and Jelani Aldin out in the cold.
One thing to note on the TV side, is that much like the Emmys, there are fewer shows represented. With there being so much TV, it feels like the Globes are overlooking indvidual performers.
I think the Gary Oldman nomination is great. He's having a lot of fun in one of TVs most consistent shows. But, it would have been nice to see someone like Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Mark Paul Gosselar (Found), or Idris Elba (Hijack) make it in on their own.
Lastly, this is a huge boost to May December. It's very easy seeing the globes leaving something like this out or only honoring Natalie for it. It's a tricky film, so it's great to see it doing so well. I'm already seeing Netflix campaign ads for it.
The only thing comedic about May-December was the goofy score (and Natalie Portman writhing in ecstasy behind the fish tank). Otherwise, a serious drama about several extremely inappropriate sexual relationships.
Paranoid Android - I know right. I only ever read uber positive comments about this movie, but the tone took me out of the movie. I just felt "ick" the whole time, which perhaps was intentional, but I didn't enjoy the experience!
Then I found out it was submitted as a comedy at the Globes and no one seems to have an issue with that, lol. I mean yeah, I guess the tone is kind of campy, satirical, but it still felt like a drama to me. I just checked Wikipedia and it does NOT say comedy-drama or satire lol, it says "drama."
Maybe I'm just a hater cuz I didn't see the humor in the situation, and the campiness of it felt crass to me... Rather, the humor didn't work for me. It just wasn't funny. So the tone threw me off. Cuz I'm watching confused as they play this silly music...
I guess it's commentary on the media's silly obsession / lack of empathy for extremely dark situations/abused people??? Idfk. LoL.
Regardless, thanks for making me feel not alone! lol. And helping make sense of my feelings on this movie!
(I think Charles Melton would be a worthy nominee though.)
That's not too surprising to all of us, Barbie deserves that result and that's what everyone wants, I really like your content, it's really perfect. wordle game