Commentary on the 70th Golden Globe Awards Nominees

This morning, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) revealed the nominations for the 70th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television-making in 2012. The 70th Golden Globes will be telecast on NBC live on Sunday, January 13, 2013, and will be co-hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. For the purposes of this blog, we will be focusing on the Motion Picture categories of the nominations list. See bottom for the list of nominees.

The Golden Globe nominations, despite popular belief, do not officially start "Awards Season"; there have been several critic's awards handed out over the past couple weeks. These awards have included the Los Angeles Film Critic's Society, the Boston Society of Film Critics, and the American Film Institute's Top 10 Films of 2012. The big winners in these awards have been Zero Dark Thirty (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress- Jessica Chastain), and Lincoln (Best Actor- Daniel Day-Lewis, Best Supporting Actress- Sally Field). Argo, Les Miserables, Silver Linings Playbook, and Amour have also been strong contenders.

For the Golden Globes, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln is the big winner, with 7 nominations, including Best Motion Picture- Drama, Best Director- Steven Spielberg, and Best Actor- Daniel Day-Lewis. Argo and Django Unchained both have 5 nominations a piece, and both are up for Best Motion Picture-Drama and Best Director (for Ben Affleck and Quentin Tarantino, respectively).

The HFPA splits the Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress category into two different categories: Drama and Comedy or Musical. In the Drama category, Life of Pi and Zero Dark Thirty also bid for Best Picture. No huge surprises here, but Life of Pi has been surprisingly missing from the awards race until now. Life of Pi is also up for Best Director- Ang Lee, and Best Original Score- Mychael Danna. If Zero Dark Thirty keeps up the momentum it has gained over the past couple of weeks, it is likely to take Best Picture and Best Director- Kathryn Bigelow at a minimum.

Notable Best Actor-Drama nominees include popular choices Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln, John Hawkes for The Sessions, and Joaquin Phoenix for The Master. Denzel Washington is up for Flight, but despite numerous nominations for the film, his lack of wins does not suggest a promising future. The only "odd man out" in the Best Actor category is Richard Gere, up for his role in Arbitrage. Though critics liked the movie, Gere has remained notably absent from the awards race so far; his nomination here is likely because of the split between Drama and Musical/Comedy, replacing Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper in the five-man lineup.

There's no real surprise in the Best Actress-Drama category, which includes Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone, and Helen Miren for Hitchcock. Rachel Weisz's performance in The Deep Blue Sea was a huge surprise when it won several early critic's awards, and people have now recognized her role as a distinct possibility in the Oscar race. Rounding out the Best Actress-Drama is Naomi Watts for The Impossible.

Like usual, the Comedy or Musical nominations are an odd mix of bizarre films that are nominated for the sole purpose of getting their stars to show up on the telecast. Only two films stand a chance at winning any Golden Globes (or any awards for that matter)- Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook. Both are up for Best Picture- Comedy or Musical, and Best Actor- Comedy or Musical (Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables, and Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook). Silver Linings is also up for Best Actress- Comedy or Musical for Jennifer Lawrence (who is also a strong contender for an Oscar) and Best Screenplay for David O. Russell.

Other Comedy or Musical nominees include last summer's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which remains the only other film besides Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook that has gained any recognition during Awards Season in the Comedy or Musical category. Moonrise Kingdom and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen also garnered a few nominations, as did awards-darling Meryl Streep for Hope Springs.

For Best Supporting Actor, favorites Alan Arkin for Argo, Philip Seymour Hoffmann for The Master, and Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln not surprisingly made the nomination list. They are joined by Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz, each up for their roles in Django Unchained. This category has been wide open in terms of winners, so any one of these five men have a chance to walk away with a Golden Globe.

In the category of Best Supporting Actress, Amy Adams for The Master, Sally Field for Lincoln, Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables, and Helen Hunt for The Sessions made the cut. The biggest shock in this group is Nicole Kidman for her part in the relatively unknown film The Paperboy. But, don't expect Kidman to take the gold based on shock-value alone; Anne Hathaway, after a hugely successful year and a belt-it-out performance in Les Miserables, is a near certainty for a win. Hathaway's only real competition is Sally Field in Lincoln, who has won several early critic's awards.

Unlike previous years, there's no real front-runner for Best Animated Feature. Brave, Frankenweenie, and Wreck-It Ralph are all Disney movies, and stand out more than Rise of the Guardians and Hotel Transylvania. If I had to guess, Wreck-It Ralph will take the prize, based on popular and critical praise for the film.

Overall, the biggest surprise in this year's Golden Globe nominations is Django Unchained, which entered late into the race, but is now making a huge impact on the nominations. Quentin Tarantino, considered to be one the greatest directors of the modern age, has yet to win more than Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes; the multiple nominations for Django Unchained could indicate his time may finally be at hand.

The nominations for the 70th Golden Globe Awards follow the majority of popular nominees this Awards Season. The few surprises probably won't make much of a difference in the overall race, with the exception of maybe Django Unchained and Life of Pi. 2012 was one of the best movie years in recent memory, and the amount of strong nominees and films should make for an interesting and nail-biting Awards Season.





The 70th Golden Globes Nominations for Motion Pictures

Best Motion Picture-Drama
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Actor- Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Actress- Drama
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Helen Miren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best Actor- Comedy or Musical
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on the Hudson

Best Actress- Comedy or Musical
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Phillip Seymour Hoffmann, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Best Screenplay
Argo
Django Unchained
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour
A Royal Affair
The Intouchables
Rust and Bone
Kon-Tiki

Best Animated Feature Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Original Score
Anna Karenina
Argo
Cloud Atlas
Life of Pi
Lincoln

Best Original Song
"For You" performed by Keith Urban, Act of Valor
"Not Running Anymore", performed by Bon Jovi, Stand Up Guys
"Safe and Sound", performed by Taylor Swift, The Hunger Games
"Skyfall", performed by Adele, Skyfall
"Suddenly", performed by Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables