Award season is moving into full swing now following the announcements of the Golden Globes 2016 Nominations – with the ceremony on January 10, 2016.
Best Picture – Drama
Nominees: CAROL, THE REVENANT, ROOM, SPOTLIGHT, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
The first four films on that list were to be expected. Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara is most likely to take home the award for Best Picture – Drama, unless it meets a small upset from critically-acclaimed dramas ‘Room’ and ‘Spotlight’.
What I’m massively surprised and delighted about is the inclusion of Mad Max: Fury Road. People have been genuinely campaigning for it to contend for Best Picture at the Oscars, and this nomination is its first step to doing that – a great selection by The Golden Globes that shows that they’re in tune with what audiences think.
It’s also surprising not to see films like Steve Jobs and Bridge Of Spies on this list. They’re not stunning, and there are only five spaces, but normally, awards ceremonies like to honour the great men who made the films, so Steven Spielberg and Danny Boyle had a big chance in this category, but not today.
Best Picture – Comedy or Musical
Nominees: THE BIG SHORT, JOY, THE MARTIAN, SPY, TRAINWRECK
Normally, the category of Best Picture – Comedy or Musical is a bit of a random affair, seeing as films like the dire Into The Woods were nominated last year, but this year, it seems that The Golden Globes have gone mad for mainstream laughter.
Although it features the more Oscar-worthy comedy-dramas of The Big Short and Joy, it’s brilliant to see popcorn comedies Spy and Trainwreck nominated, because despite both films’ extremely foul-mouthed nature, the jury have surprised everyone by putting these two fantastic comedies on the shortlist.
It’s a bit odd to see The Martian in the Comedy category, because although it is undoubtedly full of big laughs, comedic value wasn’t what the film was going for at first. Still, it’s another big-budget mainstream film that’s managed to whittle its way in amongst the Oscar contenders, which is great to see.
Best Actor – Drama
Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant, Bryan Cranston – Trumbo, Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs, Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl, Will Smith – Concussion
It seems that Leo is riding a huge wave towards maybe finally getting his hand on a Best Actor Oscar. His performance in The Revenant has been hailed by so many, and it looks like he should take this category with ease.
Competition may stem from Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs and Bryan Cranston for Trumbo, but neither film has received the critical acclaim of The Revenant, whilst Will Smith in the relatively little-known ‘Concussion’ and Eddie Redmayne in the poorly-reviewed ‘The Danish Girl’ don’t stand a chance.
Best Actress – Drama
Nominees: Cate Blanchett – Carol, Rooney Mara – Carol, Brie Larson – Room, Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn, Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
We’ve never seen anything like this. The race for Best Actress this year is going to be the most hotly-contested ever, and it begins here, with a titanic four or five-way scrap for the prize between a group of fantastic actresses.
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are nominated for Carol, in which they are both excellent, and have the air of more traditional Oscar winners, whilst relative underdog Saoirse Ronan, who was perfect in the romantic drama Brooklyn, has a great chance to win the category too.
And beyond that, Brie Larson’s stunningly dark and gritty performance in Room is looking like it will be a major contender, and despite The Danish Girl’s poor reviews, Alicia Vikander, in her breakout year, is still a real possibility to cause a major upset.
Watch this space, because this is now the most exciting race of awards season.
Best Actor – Comedy or Musical
Nominees: Christian Bale – The Big Short, Steve Carell – The Big Short, Matt Damon – The Martian, Al Pacino – Danny Collins, Mark Ruffalo – Infinitely Polar Bear
This is a seriously weak category. Although we’ve had some great comedic performances this year, they’re nothing in comparison to the dramatic turns, so don’t expect to see any of these guys nominated in the leading actor categories come the Oscars.
It’s not an easy one to predict, but Matt Damon should take home the prize for his role in The Martian, because it’s a return to form for Ridley Scott that the Globes will want to honour in some way or other.
Meanwhile, comedy-drama The Big Short has two nominations for Christian Bale and Steve Carell, who could take the award, but isn’t as likely as Damon.
Also, Al Pacino is nominated for Danny Collins, and Mark Ruffalo for Infinitely Polar Bear (which I’ve never even heard of). These two are just space-fillers, and have no chance of winning the category.
Best Actress – Comedy or Musical
Nominees: Jennifer Lawrence – Joy, Melissa McCarthy – Spy, Amy Schumer – Trainwreck, Maggie Smith – The Lady In The Van, Lily Tomlin – Grandma
In theory, this should be a very easy win for Jennifer Lawrence. She might not make it into the Best Actress Oscar category given the competition, but she should take this award for her performance in David O. Russell’s ‘Joy’.
That said, Lily Tomlin’s performance in Grandma has been gradually gaining more and more recognition, and maybe by the time of January, it will have exploded to be a potential frontrunner, if it turns out to be that good.
Meanwhile, it’s nice to see Melissa McCarthy and Amy Schumer nominated for their great performances in Spy and Trainwreck respectively, but they’re also unlikely to take the award for the less dramatically impressive performances.
And Maggie Smith in The Lady In The Van? Unless the Globes want to honour the great actress by causing a major upset, this is almost an impossibility.
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees: Idris Elba – Beasts Of No Nation, Paul Dano – Love & Mercy, Mark Rylance – Bridge Of Spies, Michael Shannon – 99 Homes, Sylvester Stallone – Creed
This is a huge shock. We expected Michael Keaton to ease to victory in this category for his performance in Spotlight, but somehow, he’s not even been nominated.
That leaves us with five actors who are all going to scrap for the win. Idris Elba, Mark Rylance and Paul Dano all star in films with moderate Oscar buzz, and so might have the upper hand here in that regard.
That said, Sylvester Stallone’s return as Rocky Balboa in Creed has been just as highly acclaimed as the film itself, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take the award.
Michael Shannon stars in the smaller film 99 Homes, which has been garnering praise, but surely not enough to earn him a Golden Globe win…
Best Supporting Actress
Nominees: Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina, Helen Mirren – Trumbo, Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight, Jane Fonda – Youth, Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
This should be Jennifer Jason Leigh’s category. Tarantino’s eighth film isn’t looking to live up to his classics, but the performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh has garnered a lot of praise regardless.
That said, Alicia Vikander has been on a roll this year, and a nomination for an artsy sci-fi released last February is really impressive, so it must have something special in the eyes of the Golden Globes – so don’t be surprised if she does come from behind to snatch that trophy.
Jane Fonda has also been acclaimed for her turn in Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘Youth’, although it may not have much general appeal to fit with the Golden Globes’ more representative verdicts, so it’s possible that this performance might just be overlooked.
And with Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet, their performances have been praised, but it’s nowhere near enough to get them close to an award win, so don’t expect to see the two great actresses taking it home this year.
Best Director
Nominees: George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road, Todd Haynes – Carol, Alejandro G. Iñarritu – The Revenant, Tom McCarthy – Spotlight, Ridley Scott – The Martian
To be honest, you can never tell who will win Best Director. I’d expect Iñarritu to be the frontrunner, considering he lost out to Boyhood director Richard Linklater last year during its tussle with Birdman, so maybe the Globes will offer him something this year.
But Todd Haynes, Tom McCarthy, Ridley Scott and George Miller are all masterful directors, and each of them has done a stunning piece of work this year to be nominated.
For sheer shock value, I’d love to see George Miller take the award for creating one of the greatest action movies ever made, but if I were to put my money on it – I’d go with Iñarritu for this one, but I really don’t know.
Other Categories
Best Screenplay: The Big Short, The Hateful Eight, Room, Spotlight, Steve Jobs
Best Animated Film: Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, Shaun The Sheep Movie, The Peanuts Movie, Anomalisa
Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul, Mustang, The Club, The Fencer, The Brand New Testament
Best Original Score: Carol, The Danish Girl, The Revenant, The Hateful Eight, Steve Jobs
