Nominations for the 81st Golden Globes were announced yesterday, rewarding the best in film and television and adding two new categories, Cinematic and Box Office Achievement and Best Stand-Up Comedy on Television. Each category also features an additional nominee, with six performers, films, or series recognized in every race. Leading the charge on the film side are Barbie with nine bids and Oppenheimer with eight, while Succession dominated with nine television nominations, a new record.
Much of the list is fairly expected, though it’s great to see that a 2021 rule change permitting foreign language films to be nominated for the top Best Picture categories resulted in the Best Motion Picture – Drama race matching up 50% with the Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language category, with both honoring Anatomy of a Fall, Past Lives, and The Zone of Interest.
There are still a few head-scratching inclusions and omissions worth taking a look at, whether or not they’ll affect the upcoming Oscar race or have any impact on this upcoming summer’s Emmy season.
Surprise: Alma Pöysti
Foreign actresses getting nominated isn’t all that rare, but it’s usually either because they’re well-known and have long been acclaimed, like Isabelle Huppert, or a star of a well-regarded film, like this year’s Sandra Hüller, who fits both bills. But neither applies to Pöysti, the lead in Finland’s nominated Fallen Leaves. It’s an all-too-rare case of a terrific actress giving a genuinely great performance that miraculously got noticed.
Snub: The Color Purple
It’s an unusual year in that half of the current Oscar Best Picture frontrunners are considered comedies or musicals. Six slots in the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category at the Globes should have been enough to hold them all. But the boost that both May December and Air got came at the expense of one of this year’s most anticipated adaptations, The Color Purple, which scored bids for stars Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks but fell short in the top category.
Surprise: Celine Song
When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, Past Lives was warmly received, but some had doubted its awards potential. With an impressive five nominations, including for Best Motion Picture – Drama, the film also found praise for its writer-director Song, who not only counts this as her feature directorial debut but is now just the tenth woman to ever be nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Director.
Snub: Harrison Ford
Ford already notched the top slot on our list of Emmy Nominations Snubs and Surprises from July, and the four-time Globe nominee and 2001 Cecil B. DeMille recipient didn’t have any more luck with a more familiar group of voters. His Shrinking costar Jason Segel did, however, get nominated and, to add insult to injury, 1923 also scored bids for Best Television Series – Drama and his costar Helen Mirren, leaving him out in the cold for both TV roles.
Surprise: Joaquin Phoenix
Phoenix being announced as a nominee in itself isn’t a surprise, since he has six previous nominations and two wins, for Walk the Line and Joker. But if he was going to be recognized for anything this year, the obvious choice felt like the epic Napoleon, from Globe-friendly director Ridley Scott. Instead, Phoenix snuck in for his turn in Beau is Afraid, a far less conventional film from horror master Ari Aster.
Snub: Nicholas Braun
While he wasn’t necessarily expected to make the very crowded catch-all television supporting actor category, which draws from drama series, comedy series, limited series, anthology series, and TV movies, three-time Emmy nominee Braun’s absence is notable because of who did make the cut. Succession bested all previous series with a whopping eight acting nominations, all of whom were nominated alongside Braun at the Emmys this past summer. At the Globes, Cousin Greg was passed over in favor of costars Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, and Alexander Skarsgård.
Surprise: Abby Elliott
The comedy that’s coming for Abbott’s trophy, The Bear, demolished last year’s performance with a startling showing in all four acting categories. While last year’s winner Jeremy Allen White, newly-promoted Ayo Edebiri, and supporting actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach all seemed likely, recognizing Elliott, who takes on a much more prominent role in season two, is an extremely confident endorsement of what’s very likely Globe voters’ favorite television.
Snub: Abbott Elementary
Well-reviewed shows tend to only increase in popularity as they catch on more, though the Globes historically love new fare. While last year’s defending champion for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, Abbott Elementary, and star Quinta Brunson will both have an opportunity to repeat their wins, supporting actor Tyler James Williams, who won last year’s prize, and his costars Janelle James and Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph were all shut out. It’s a strange dismissal considering the enthusiasm and love heaped upon the show for its first year.
Surprise: Emma Stone
It was a given that Stone, who had six previous Globe nominations, four in the comedy/musical actress category alone, would add a seventh career bid this year for her performance in the film Poor Things. But far less expected was an additional citation for the new Showtime series The Curse, which has received solid reviews but wasn’t seen as a strong contender and likely received a helpful bump from Stone’s banner year with her latest reteaming with director Yorgos Lanthimos.
Snub: Melanie Lynskey
Another Showtime series has had a decent awards run at the Emmys, earning back-to-back Best Drama Series bids for its first two seasons. While Yellowjackets did earn its first Globe nomination this year, it was for supporting actress Christina Ricci, who is indeed great and creepy as sociopathic plane crash survivor Misty, not lead actress Melanie Lynskey, who grounds the series with her complicated and layered portrayal of fellow survivor Shauna.
Peruse all the nominees here.