Golden Globe Nominees
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
The nominations for the Golden Globes were announced.
I’ve always looked at the Golden Globes as a kind of precursor for the Oscars, and I am only mildly interested in the Oscars. I always end up watching the Oscars, however except for the years for the Lord of the Rings, I haven’t been all that excited about any of them. I always care about one maybe two of the awards, and the rest is just filler. Obviously this year there is a lot of buzz around the Oscars and The Dark Knight, but if the Golden Globes are any indication we may not see as much Batman on Oscar night.
So let’s take a look at the one category most people will care about:
Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
You can find the rest of the nominations here…
Gallery of Images
Posted By:
25 Comments
Subscribe to Comments FeedLeave a Reply
Book of the Month
Y The Last Man Vol. 5In this final Deluxe Edition hardcover collecting Y #49-60, Yorick and Agent 355 prepare for their ultimate quest to reunite the last man with his lost love, while the person, people or thing behind the disaster that wiped out half of humanity is revealed. Then, Yorick Brown's long journey through an Earth populated only by women comes to its dramatic, unexpected conclusion.
I’m really surprised to see Tom Cruise nominated. Not to say he wasn’t good but… I just didn’t expect it at all.
Well Cruise had such a small role in the movie. It was fantastic, and he was amazing in every scene he had. Especially at the end of the movie, but yeah it is kind of surprising.
I’m surprised and yet not that surprised to see that The Dark Knight only got one nomination. Anyway, most of these nominations are a joke, especially for the TV categories.
I’m going for Robert DowneyJr. in Tropic Thunder. Better than Tony Stark in my opinion.
This is why I hate award shows. Most the time they wouldn’t know a good movie if it bit them on the ass. Maybe they don’t feel that Dark Knight deserves a lot of these awards. But it should at least get nominated for them.
People often get down on the movie watching audience for not knowing when to support a good movie. But in my opinion, the real travesty is with the award shows. If they’d stop trying to push art movies so hard, they would eventually see that movies like the Dark Knight deserve a lot more critical success than they ever get.
Here’s another thing I hate about awards shows…they rarely pick movies from throughout the year. ALL of the best picture nominees in the drama category are from December, and that’s only if you count the limited release date. Most people won’t get to see them until January at the earliest, if at all. What about movies from the rest of the year?
The comedy/musical category is a bit better, but I don’t think In Bruges is really a comedy, at least not in the same way as Burn After Reading or Mamma Mia. To me, it’s more of a drama with dark comedic elements. Even so, it definitely deserves to be nominated somewhere, and I’m glad Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson got nominated because they are both great in the film.
@Saberj- is it even possible for The Dark Knight to get more critically successful then it already is? I was actually really happy with these nominations. To me, the fact that James Franco is nominated for best actor should shut everyone up that says awards shows ignore non “art house” movies. And I was so happy to see In Bruges get so much love. I had a blast with that movie. It single handedly made me not hate Colin Ferrel anymore.
Yes, it’s entirely possible. The fact that it has done so well is in a completely different category than these award shows.
The fact that James Franco (And Heath Ledger) got nominated doesn’t override the fact that vast majority of the movies that they consider to be the “best of the best” are indy movies, artsy movies, etc. And that’s not to say that a lot of those movies don’t deserve the attention they get. But there is almost a bias against big Hollywood movies, because they already have success.
Ultimately, I will buy the reasoning that everyone has different tastes to a certain extent. But what bothers me is that for the James Franco’s and Heath Ledger’s of the group, there were about 5 other movies that got 4 or more nominations. It’s like one big inbred happy family. If a movie, or a show gets one nomination, chances are they are going to get nominated for every category that there is even the smallest argument that they should be up for it. And if it wasn’t for the fact that these movies are only eligible in the year of their release, then I have no doubt that they’d repeat year after year. Don’t believe me? Look no further than the television awards that go out.
I believe that they said True Blood was one of the only new shows that was nominated this year. Same thing has been going on for years. Yes, I understand that Will and Grace and Grey’s Anatomy are popular shows, and for people that enjoy that sort of genre, they are probably fantastic. But Christ, can’t we give other shows that are equally as good a chance to win as well?
Kudos for them getting a couple good choices in there. But it’s not like any of the “popular” choices have won anything. They’ve only been nominated. And they weren’t even nominated all that much. Nolan should have totally went up for Best Director. Dark Knight should have been up for Best Picture. You don’t think that those should win? Then so be it, it’s a matter of opinion. But if you want to tell me the movie wasn’t one of the 5 best movies this year? I call Bullcrap on that. If the only thing the award ceremony is going to give The Dark Knight credit for is the performance of an actor that has a sympathy vote, then that’s fine. He deserves it, no matter how it comes about. But that doesn’t make it right.
My favorite was the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movies were right up the alley of those that vote on those sorts of things. But the trilogy won very few awards up until the last movie. Then it cleaned up. Why? Because it’s “One big story”? What the hell is a TV series? Why don’t the same rules apply to that?
The fact is, there is a bias toward genre pieces, and pieces that have extreme success. And until they are willing to consider all movies equal, then I don’t even consider these awards to be relevant. I absolutely do not understand how so many people can care so much about an award show that slaps their viewers in the face and tells them that the movies they care about are irrelevant. Rarely are they even worth a mention.
I love a good indy movie. But they aren’t leagues above everything else, even when it comes to vision, inspiration, etc. Much like big releases, they all steal ideas from each other. You’ll see the same camera tricks being used amongst the art films. Even putting the low budget aside, you can tell instantly when you start into an independent film. And a lot of them are still good. But they are good because they are good, not because they are different. The only thing that this whole award process reminds me is how elitist the film industry can be, and how they can still act like snobs more often than not.
/rant
Name five “mainstream” movies that honestly deserved to be nominated for best picture
Tom Cruise? Really?
Did I say 5 mainstream movies needed to be nominated? I could careless how many got nominated. My point is, I find it hard to believe that ANY of those nominated was better than Dark Knight, much less all of them.
But, just to humor that discussion:
The Dark Knight, Wall-E, and take your pick of any of the following for the remaining three: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Kung Fu Panda, Bolt, Prince Caspian, Swing Vote.
I’m not saying they all belong in there. In fact, I haven’t seen most of the nominations, so I can’t say that. What I’m saying is there are not 5 better movies than The Dark Knight. There are movies so far ahead that it shouldn’t at least get nominated.
Wall E, Kung Fu Panda, The Dark Knight and Bolt are all nominated for Golden Globes. Obviously The Dark Knight isn’t nominated for the one you think it deserves, but from what I’ve heard Frost/Nixon is Ron Howard’s greatest film (which is saying a LOT) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an incredible mixture of visual effects, great acting and storytelling and Slumdog Millionare amazing. Does that mean they’re better than the Dark Knight? Maybe, and I’m making a point as a lover of film to see most if not all of these so that I can find out.
As for The Incredible Hulk, Prince Caspian and Swing Vote; Sorry dude. I respect your opinion but I wasn’t a huge fan of any of these and don’t think they deserve a nomination.
You asked for “best picture”, I gave you best picture nominations. You didn’t say “five movies that deserve nominations in any category”. And whether or not you agree wasn’t really the point, was it? There is always going to be movies you agree and disagree with. That’s fine. Opinions, and all that. The point was that they aren’t even getting to the point where opinions matter. They are throwing out a lot of good movies in the categories that matter before they even really consider them. Obviously, I don’t know that they threw out the movies without considering them. But history all but confirms that to be true. That style movie almost never gets nominated, and even more rarely actually wins.
The problem with these debates at this point is that there are a lot of movies that are nominated that aren’t even out yet. So it’s slightly difficult to say whether or not it’s a better choice or not. But my point in this case always was, and continues to be, that there are not 5 better movies than The Dark Knight this year. Of all time? I’ll buy that argument. But this year? Please.
Also, a couple other random points. The latest Ron Howard movie always get paraded as “his greatest film”. I’m interested in seeing Frost/Nixon (Again, interesting since I’m not a fan of politics), but that’s still true. I haven’t heard of one of his movies coming out that wasn’t trumpeted for topping every other movie to that point. The reason being that he makes solid movies that are all rather different. So you can always find someone willing to say they preferred one over the other.
Next point is that I also believe the Dark Knight deserved a nomination for Best Director. Even if you don’t like the movie, I find it hard to believe that you didn’t like the direction of the movie. But that category is always open to a lot more interpretation than the “Best of” categories are. So I’ll stick to championing the “Best Picture” cause.
Finally, I want again point out that I’m not saying any of these movies that were nominated are bad, or un-worthy. When I see them, I’ll let you know. But I guarantee that there is at least one movie on the “Best Picture” list that is of lesser quality of The Dark Knight. Which is nothing to be ashamed of. Ultimately the argument is that those types of movies rarely ever get a chance. And when they do, it almost looks like a fluke. Ultimately, I have no problem with the type of selections they make. Being unbiased is overrated. However, if you are going to claim to be the end all be all of movie awards, then for the love of God, show a little flexibility when it comes to the types of movies that get nominated. This goes for the Oscars and the Emmys as well.
Those excellent nominations for TV Drama, love all those shows and all are excellent, maybe True Blood is a surprise but after finally watching Mad Men, hell yeah. Dexter, House, and In Treatment (great show) all deserve nods imho.
Swing Vote? Seriously? :p
Good cast, solid movie. I would never expect it to be nominated for the movie of the year, but it was probably in my top 10 this year at least.
I do agree that Dark Knight deserves a nod for best picture. I wonder how much they really did consider DK for best pic, or how close it came to getting nominated?
Agree that it should be nominated for director too, but to be fair, I bet neither of us (or few of us here) have seen many of these artsy nods. I am really interested in Frost/Nixon though.
And although I agree Dark Knight is the best movie of the year, I’m sure a lot of people disagree with that, opinions and all. (damn those pesky opinions!)
From what I understand, The Golden Globes are kind of a joke in Hollywood. According to a lot of critics and whatnot, the GG voters are willing to sell their votes for nothing more than a gift basket regardless of whether or not they have actually seen the show or film. Here’s what some people have to say about it:
“Never mind that the [Golden Globe] is considered a joke, given the dubious credentials of the 90-odd foreign journalists who pick the winners.”
– Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“Respect? Not much, especially from other journalists, who have publicly called [the Golden Globes voters] moochers, boneheads and bottom-feeders.”
– Andy Seiler, USA Today
“[The Golden Globe voters are] freeloaders who would sell their votes for a vodka tonic and cross the Alps for a hot dog.”
– Film historian Aljean Harmetz
“[The Golden Globe voters are] essentially just bottom-feeders around the industry, who’ve somehow been inflated to this point where their judgment is supposed to be very, very important.”
– John Powers, L.A. Weekly
“[The Golden Globes represent a case of] let’s sell the public a lie.”
– Producer Michael Phillips
“The Globes have long been the entertainment industry’s dirty little secret. At the heart of the con is the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the tiny, cliquish group of foreign entertainment journalists – and I use each of those terms liberally – whose votes determine the winners.
The members of the association are not, generally speaking, film experts (like the people who judge the National Society of Film Critics awards) nor are they members of the creative community (like those who give out the Oscars). They’re not even representatives of prominent foreign publications, like Le Monde or the Guardian or Haaretz.
Only a handful are full-time journalists; the rest are freelancers for mostly obscure publications, and some are simply hanging on for the parties and movie stars. To maintain their status in the organization, they need only write four articles a year.”
— Sharon Waxman, The Los Angeles Times
So I guess we shouldn’t get that worked up over the globes. I really think The Dark Knight still has a good chance of scoring at least a nomination for Best Picture with the Academy Awards. They have a long history of rewarding box office juggernauts. I mean, Star Wars was nominated for Best Picture and, I mean, I love Star Wars fan, but A New Hope doesn’t deserve to be nominated for anything beyond special effects. There are flaws all over that movie in direction and especially acting. Now, granted it wasn’t nominated for either of those categories (well… come to think of it, was Sir Alec Guinness nominated for supporting actor?) but to me Best Picture signifies a combination of all the elements that coming together to make a phenomenal film. Star Wars doesn’t cut it.
And if there was ever proof that the Academy gets swept up in the hype of a release, just look at Titanic. It actually WON Best Picture… and in retrospect is kind of a cheesy mess. I mean, it’s beautiful, I’d never argue that, but anyone who still thinks that’s a good movie… its probably just nostalgia.
Point is, I’m still holding out hope for The Dark Knight at the Oscars.
Of course, with the looming actors strike, there’s a very good chance that the Oscars might be canceled this year or at least postponed. If passed, the strike is scheduled to begin a week before the nominations are announced.
@Mr. Pointy: Oh, I admitted to not seeing most of those picks. But honestly, I would be hard pressed to find 5 movies in the past 2 or 3 years that push The Dark Knight out of those spots. And that’s my non-fanboy side speaking. My fanboy side says that probably aren’t 5 movies all time that I would consider better.
@TheDoctor: Star Wars may not look like much now, but I’m not going to judge it for what it was over 20 years ago. Granted, the acting was cheesy at times, and there were holes. But the same could be said for a lot of movies back then. Especially movies that had a budget as low as Star Wars did. Any movie that can go from absolutely nothing to a box office sensation has my respect, and should at least be considered for awards like that. Hell, I have absolutely no interest in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, but even I was impressed with what it pulled off.
The only one of the best picture dramas that most of us *might* have been able to see by now is Slumdog Millionaire. It has been to several film festivals this year, and it started a limited release in early November. Benjamin Button isn’t out until Christmas. Frost/Nixon started limited release on Dec 5, and it will go wide on Christmas Day. Revolutionary Road is in select theaters Dec 26th, wide in January. The Reader started its limited release on Dec 10th, wide release in January.
So, like I said above, it would be very hard/impossible for most people to see any of these by now.
Right, but that doesn’t really address my point that I seriously doubt there are 5 movies out this year that top Dark Knight. And if there were, and they just all happened to be released in December…well wouldn’t that be a mighty big coincidence?
I’m not trying to address your point. I actually agree with you. “Addressing your point” would be kind of counterproductive. I was trying to add to it. :D
This is just the same old story of all the “Oscar bait” movies coming out at the end of the year to get attention. Every year, some of them deserve the attention, but a much larger number of those kind of movies absolutely don’t.
The Dark Knight was hands down the best film this year that I’ve seen. Like you, I really doubt there are five films better than it this year. It has great direction and great performances. However, the thing that hit me the most when I rewatched it the other day is how amazing the score is. They did some innovative stuff with the score, and I’m glad the academy pulled its head out of its ass long enough to reinstate The Dark Knight score’s eligibility for the Academy awards. In a perfect world, it will get the nomination and win by a landslide. We’ll see if that actually happens.
Wall E was better than the Dark Knight. There, I said it. And all of the films that are nominated for best picture have been released in theaters with the exception of Benjamin Button but even that film has been screened for critics. @ The Doctor- Yeah, the pedigree of the Globes have always been in question but I’ve always liked how they acknowledge comedies and comedic performances. And I think we all need to stop putting Dark Knight on this pedestal. Did I love it? Hell yeah. Saw it three times in the theaters, gonna buy the DVD today and I’ll see it again in theaters come January. But that doesn’t mean I can’t fathom the very concept of a movie being better than it. And for the record, Ron Howard’s last film was Da Vinci code, which is hands down his worst.
Don’t let Dark Knight become like Final Fantasy XIII. It’s not the end-all be all of films. It’s just brilliant. There will be other brilliant films.
And brilliant films should be rewarded.
I’m also not necessarily disagreeing with the fact that Dark Knight was a great film and probably should’ve gotten a nod. I loved it, but having said that, haven’t seen any of the other nominees.
And I also have a big problem releasing a movie late just in the nick of time to qualify for a nomination. So I’m not disagreeing with that point either. It still doesn’t mean these movies that are released late aren’t good movies and don’t deserve to be nominated.
And it doesn’t make it right, but let’s face it, a movie based on a comic probably is going to more likely snubbed. It’s sad and makes me not like critics, people in the foreign press in this case, but that’s just the way it is. Hopefully the Academy will do different and give it a nod for best picture. If Star Wars, ET, Lord of the Rings and Titnaic can get a nod, maybe there’s hope for Dark Knight (crosses fingers).
As far as 5 movies of all time better than Dark Knight, for me, it’s just too soon to tell how well Dark Knight will hold up. Can’t wait for repeated viewings on Blu Ray though, to find out. But so far (I’ve seen it twice in theaters) I’d put, at least, Goodfellas ahead of Dark Knight, but that’s all I can think of right now :)
Frost/Nixon
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
These are the nominees for best picture that I have seen, and apart from Mamma Mia! (and maybe Happy Go Lucky, but I did like both these movies a lot), I’d say there all better than TDK, I loved the film but it has flaws, and lacks one thing I find to be one of the most important things a film should have, replay value, I know many of you went to see it over and over again and loved it eachtime but for me, the second time I came out of the cinema I was highly disapointed, I noticed so many flaws, it felt like it was going on for ages and the film was way to depressing and downbeat for me to enjoy for the second time and I thought the score was terrible. Saying that I did go out and buy it on Blu-Ray so I must have liked it but it is not in the top films I saw this year, hell it’s not even my favourite comic book movie of the year, that would be Hellboy II.