Golden Globe Award Nominations

[Damien]

Shirley MacLaine's nomination is her 17th(!). Plus she also the Cecil B. DeMille award and Female Newcomer of the Year in 1955 (co-winner with Kim Novak).

[MovieWes]

My thoughts...

We now know at least two of the nominees right now: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire. I also feel safe in saying that Frost/Nixon will make it too. There are now two spots up for grabs, and the movies fighting for them are (in alphabetical order) The Dark Knight, Doubt, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, and Milk.

Not good at all for Milk or The Dark Knight. They now need to make a big showing with the guilds in order to have a good shot. They're not finished, but they've certainly taken a huge blow. Milk is in a better position right now to get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, based solely on its win with the NYFCC (and it could still win some more critics awards), but I think that Christopher Nolan, even if his film isn't nominated, can still get a Best Director nomination.

Not too good for Doubt either. I think it's finished as far as Best Picture is concerned. It'll be relegated to the acting categories. The Reader is in a much better position to take its spot, but both could be ousted by Milk and The Dark Knight.

Or even Revolutionary Road, which is now back in the race. I still don't think this one is going to carry over to the Oscars, and if it does I don't think Sam Mendes will. Its fate will now be decided by the guilds.

Great for Frost/Nixon. It seems like this year's The Queen at this point. Frank Langella is also looking more and more like this year's Helen Mirren as well.

I agree with OscarGuy that this might just be the Oscar line-up for Best Supporting Actress. I'm not feeling it for Taraji P. Henson.

Tom Cruise won't carry over to the Oscars, but he was really funny in Tropic Thunder. He and Robert Downey, Jr. both stole the show and I'm actually glad to see them both nominated here. That said, I think that the only nominees that are solidly in the Best Supporting Actor race are Heath Ledger and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Downey, Jr. is currently in third place, but he could easily be left off the final Oscar line-up. While I can see him making the list on a lot of voters' Oscar ballots, I can't really see him getting very many first place votes. At least not enough for me to call him a lock for a nomination right now.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Please God, if you're really out there, please please please do not let Miley Cyrus become an Oscar nominee. That would be such an embarrassment.



Edited By MovieWes on 1229017041

[criddic3]

Hmm, Brad Pitt is the sort of tabloid glam superstar the Globes always want at the party. They even nominated him for the execrable Legends of the Fall. I fully expect him to be left off the Oscar list for Richard Jenkins or Clint, however Benjamin Button goes down - and if it doesn't connect with audiences it may end up an also-ran, with nods for Taraji Henson and a few techs only.

I loved Legends of the Fall. It was beautifully done, with some good performances. The ending was slightly goofy, with Hopkins' stroke and all, but for the most part I thought it was often powerful. At the time it was my favorite film of the year. If I could re-do the year, I would pick Ed Wood, but I still fondly remember Legends of the Fall.

People around here don't much like Edward Zwick or Ron Howard as directors, but I have enjoyed a number of their films. However, I don't expect much from Defiance.

[Big Magilla]

Hmm, Brad Pitt is the sort of tabloid glam superstar the Globes always want at the party. They even nominated him for the execrable Legends of the Fall. I fully expect him to be left off the Oscar list for Richard Jenkins or Clint, however Benjamin Button goes down - and if it doesn't connect with audiences it may end up an also-ran, with nods for Taraji Henson and a few techs only.

Although Taraji P. Henson was an early favorite based on a few snippets of the film, those who've seen the whole thing say her role is really small and she doesn't do much beyond what we've seen in previews.

[rain Bard]

What are the chances of "Changeling" or "happy Go Lucky" being released on DVD before the Oscars?

I'd guess "high" and "moderate" respectively.

[Big Magilla]

I'm also wondering if all the talk of Will Smith is just a lot of hype, or is he a possibility?

Pure hype. Early word is the film stinks.

[Big Magilla]

I agree with Tee that the Comedy nods were classier than I expected, and I have yet to see so many of the actual nominees that I don't honestly know what to make of the upsets.

We've complained in the past that the precursors honor the same films year after year making the Oscars almost an after-thought. Not so this year. The fact that they're all going in different directions make the Oscars suspenseful once again.

Now on to the SAG nominations a week from today.

[rudeboy]

Hmm, Brad Pitt is the sort of tabloid glam superstar the Globes always want at the party. They even nominated him for the execrable Legends of the Fall. I fully expect him to be left off the Oscar list for Richard Jenkins or Clint, however Benjamin Button goes down - and if it doesn't connect with audiences it may end up an also-ran, with nods for Taraji Henson and a few techs only.

[criddic3]

I think Benjamin Button is a bit better off than that, since Brad Pitt did get nominated along with its screenplay and director. They probably just took a break from nominating Cate Blanchett. I thought Pitt was good enough in last year's Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford to be included, but he was left out. The Globes managed to nominate him for Babel the previous year, but not the Academy. Maybe this will be the year for him.

I'm also wondering if all the talk of Will Smith is just a lot of hype, or is he a possibility?

[rolotomasi99]

The only films unquestionably in the race appear to be Button and Slumdog -- though even both those failed to get acting nominations indicating a juggernaut. It's as if the Foreign Press was saying, we don't understand this year any better than you -- we'll just throw stuff at the wall.

that best sums it up.

[Mister Tee]

HFPA's motto for '08: "We squeezed in so many stars, we can screw The Dark Knight!" (And Eastwood!)

Like Eric, I laughed and laughed as I heard these read off. You thought you were starting to know something about this year's Oscar race? You don't know nothing:

Thought Milk was solidly in the running for best picture? Not here. (Though, remember, Capote and Crash were left out three years ago)

Thought The Dark Knight would play in the big leagues with no problem? After NY yesterday and these, the proposition's alot more iffy.

Thought Revolutionary Road was dead in the water? Someone disagrees. (By the way, Kris Tapley said yesterday he'd been in contact with several in the Foreign Press, and they said the group greatly disliked Mendes' film. Apparently, Tapley has inherited Judith Millers's sources)

Speaking of which, the Beckinsale/Farmiga boomlet failed to replicate here, so we have no way of knowing if those fell into the "let's salute our old colleague" at BFCA.

You could almost create a credible set of nominees out of those omitted this morning: Eastwood and Jenkins for drama actor, Melissa Leo and Blanchett drama actress, Brolin, Franco (Milk division) and Shannon supporting actor, DeWitt and Henson supporting actress, van Sant, Nolan and Aronosfsky for directing, and of course Milk or Dark Knight (or Doubt -- four acting nods, and no film?) for the top prize.

The only films unquestionably in the race appear to be Button and Slumdog -- though even both those failed to get acting nominations indicating a juggernaut. It's as if the Foreign Press was saying, we don't understand this year any better than you -- we'll just throw stuff at the wall.

I do have to say that, given the utter dreck eligible in the musical/comedy category this year, they managed to come up with a slate that doesn't insult the intelligence too badly.

Poor Ralph Fiennes -- two nominations (one for TV) mean he probably has to show up, without a prayer in either category.

And do they truly expect Eastwood to attend for his two music nominations, when he was left out for his aggressively-campaigned acting role? Of course, knowing this group, he might win one of those nominations.

[OscarGuy]

Cinemanolis is correct. The Globe rules prohibited Iwo Jima from being placed in the Drama category, a rule which they revoked shortly after the storm brewed over the decision.

[Eric]

Biggest gainers

Revolutionary Road - 4 noms
The Reader - 4 noms
Frost/Nixon - 5 noms (even for score!)
Doubt - 5 noms

Thanks for putting in one concise spot the reason these nominations are so depressing.

[Cinemanolis]

i cannot say i am not a little shocked at the golden globes snubbing MILK, but you have to remember this is the group who thought BOBBY was a better film than LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (based on their best picture nominations). luckily, the academy made the correct decision on that one. i do remember many here saying LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA had no chance after it was snubbed by the globes. luckily they get it wrong from time to time.

If i am not mistaken 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was not eligible forthe Best Picture (Drama) category at the Globes since it was in japanese. I think it was nominated in the Best Foreign Film category

[OscarGuy]

My comments:

Dark Knight didn't make it in with the populist-skewing Golden Globes, but Frost/Nixon did. I'd say those who thought the film's chances were weak have underestimated it. As for Dark Knight, I don't think this necessarily seals its Best Picture chances, but it certainly doesn't help since it has yet to carry a Picture win at the guilds and has only been regularly cited for Heath Ledger who, expectedly, got a nomination.

Revolutionary Road finally made an appearance, and a big one, earning several nominations and returning to the hunt as was expected by most of us.

The Bolt fixation might carry through to the Oscars and with Oscar winner Eminem and Oscar winners Three Six Mafia, we shouldn't at all be surprised to hear: Oscar nominee Miley Cyrus.

Whomever said Clint would win an Acting award should have expected that the group that nominated him for Original Score and Original Song would also have cited him for Actor. Yet, he isn't there. Clint's serious vehicles haven't always been Globe friendly, but his chances slim slightly. If he can manage a SAG nod, I'd say his chances are good. If he fails there, then his chances may have been a fluke all along.

Cate Blanchett was not nominated for Actress, yet Kristen Scott Thomas was. Both are still competitive and much of our predictions may have to wait until the SAG nods are announced.

Cruise's nomination should have been expected, but I still didn't think it would happen. I think he's funnier than he's ever been in Tropic Thunder, but a nomination is a bit of a stretch. The same goes for Downey Jr whose performance is solid, but not earth shattering. If there's one category that the Globes leave in a total toss-up state, it's Supporting Actor.

I could actually see the Supporting Actress lineup mirrored at the Oscars. Henson couldn't manage a nomination for the top-nominated Button, so her chances have slimmed greatly. She'll need a SAG nomination to truly compete.

Replace I've Loved You So Long in Foreign Film with The Class and I could actually see that being the Oscar lineup.

Score's a bit amorphous and I don't expect Defiance or Changeling to filter through. The others are strong possibilities, but am I the only one who doesn't think the score to Frost/Nixon added anything to the film? Hell, I don't even remember there being one, so if it's nominated, it will be on name recognition or based on a single-source listening (such as screener album) of it, not a film-based valuation.

The Globes have been falling down in the Original Song category, so I expect only Down to Earth, I Thought I Lost You and The Wrestler to carry over, but Once in a Lifetime could as well. Let's see what the final contenders list from the Academy looks like when it's released today or tomorrow (It was announced on December 12 last year, so today should be the day it gets released if the Academy continues it's near-exact duplication of last year's announcement slate).