Everyone make sure you’re sitting down — because yet another tepidly amusing ceremony that’ll reduce a year in amazing films into a sports-like competition has just announced its nominees! And for the most part, they’re wholly unsurprising! (Though for many, certainly not undeserved!) Firmly in those seats? Okay.
This year’s arguably most critically beloved films — Moonlight and La La Land (both of which won some big awards at the Critics’ Choice Awards last night, though some — er, me — may argue that Moonlight should have won Best Picture over La La — before remembering, of course, that perhaps movies so good and stirring shouldn’t need the clunky approval of a statue, and what should be reflected on are the films and their impact/thought provocation — but, also, hell, it really should’ve won) — have gotten a lot of attention from the very small pool of nominators over at the Hollywood Foreign Press. And perhaps because the Golden Globes are famously subdivided into comedy/musical and drama categories, both could end up winning big. La La Land is nominated for seven awards, including Best Picture, Musical or Comedy, Best Actor/Actress awards for stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, and Best Director and Screenplay awards. Meanwhile, Moonlight earned six nominations including Best Picture, Drama, Best Director and Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali.
And now I will take a moment to indulge in talking about a couple exciting choices in the TV section, before attempting objectivity and regurgitating the whole list without commentary here. Arguably one of the best performances on TV this year — Thandie Newton’s show-stealing role as Maeve on Westworld — has been given a Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or TV Series nomination. This is particularly exciting, given that Westworld is still a relatively new phenomenon, and given that, perhaps with GoT as a trailblazer, these awards ceremonies no longer seem like genre snobs. (Though if that were fully true, Arrival would have gotten a Best Picture nomination.) Speaking of which, Winona Ryder received a nomination for Best Actress in a TV series, Drama, for mostly crying at Christmas lights in the (very wonderful) Stranger Things and Evan Rachel Wood is up for her multifaceted robo-anti-ingenue character on Westworld. AND three of the dramas nominated for Best Drama Series are indeed genre picks — Westworld, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things, while the two non-sci-fi shows nominated (This Is Us, The Crown) seem like they were thrown in for filler.
Beyond genre, Riz Ahmed is also nominated for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series for his transformational role in The Night Of, Matthew Rhys is nominated for Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama — which will give The Americans perhaps another chance to lose to lesser shows, as it seems wont to do at awards ceremonies — and Donald Glover is nominated for Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy for Atlanta (which is also nominated for best series in that category.)
And as far as choices that undermine the validity of the whole pageant go: Deadpool was nominated for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy.
And, without further ado, here’s that promised, commentary-free list, via Variety:
Best Motion Picture – Drama Hacksaw Ridge Hell Or High Water Lion Manchester By The Sea Moonlight
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy 20th Century Women Deadpool La La Land Florence Foster Jenkins Sing Street
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea Joel Edgerton – Loving Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington – Fences
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Amy Adams – Arrival Jessica Chastain – Miss Sloane Isabelle Huppert – Elle Ruth Negga – Loving Natalie Portman – Jackie
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Colin Farrell – The Lobster Ryan Gosling – La La Land Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins Jonah Hill – War Dogs Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Annette Bening – 20th Century Women Lily Collins – Rules Don’t Apply Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen Emma Stone – La La Land Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water Simon Helberg – Florence Foster Jenkins Dev Patel – Lion Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Nocturnal Animals
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Viola Davis – Fences Naomie Harris – Moonlight Nicole Kidman – Lion Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea
Best Director – Motion Picture Damien Chazelle – La La Land Tom Ford – Nocturnal Animals Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge Barry Jenkins – Moonlight Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Best Original Screenplay La La Land Nocturnal Animals Moonlight Manchester By The Sea Hell Or High Water
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language Divines – France Elle – France Neruda – Chile The Salesman – Iran/France Toni Erdmann – Germany
Best Motion Picture – Animated Kubo and the Two Strings Moana My Life As A Zucchini Sing Zootopia
Best Original Song – Motion Picture “Cant Stop The Feeling” – Trolls “City Of Stars” – La La Land “Faith” – Sing “Gold” – Gold “How Far I’ll Go” – Moana
Best Original Score – Motion Picture Nicholas Britell– Moonlight Justin Hurwitz – La La Land Johann Johannsson – Arrival Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka– Lion Hans Zimmer, Pharrel Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch – Hidden Figures
Best Television Series – Drama The Crown Game Of Thrones Stranger Things This Is Us Westworld
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy Atlanta Black-ish Mozart In The Jungle Transparent Veep
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama Rami Malek – Mr. Robot Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul Matthew Rhys – The Americans Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan Billy Bob Thornton – Goliath
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama Caitriona Balfe – Outlander Claire Foy – The Crown Keri Russell – The Americans Winona Ryder – Stranger Things Evan Rachel Wood – Westworld
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Anthony Anderson – Black-ish Gael García Bernal – Mozart in the Jungle Donald Glover – Atlanta Nick Nolte – Graves Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Rachel Bloom – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep Sarah Jessica Parker – Divorce Issa Rae – Insecure Gina Rodriguez – Jane the Virgin Tracee Ellis-Ross – Black-ish
Best Limited Series American Crime The Dresser The Night Manager The Night Of The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Riz Ahmed – The Night Of Bryan Cranston – All The Way Tom Hiddleston – The Night Manager John Turturro – The Night Of Courtney B Vance – The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Olivia Colman – The Night Manager Lena Headey – Game Of Thrones Chrissy Metz – This Is Us Mandy Moore – This Is Us Thandie Newton – Westworld
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Felicity Huffman – American Crime Riley Keough – The Girlfriend Experience Sarah Paulson – The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story Charlotte Rampling – London Spy Kerry Washington – Confirmation
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Sterling K Brown – The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager John Lithgow – The Crown Christian Slater – Mr. Robot John Travolta – The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story