Been a busy week for precursor announcements. Right on the heels of yesterday's SAG nominations, the Hollywood Foreign Press has dropped the list of contenders for this year's Golden Globe Awards.
Unsurprisingly, 12 Years a Slave leads the pack with seven nods, but it is also joined in that echelon by American Hustle. David O. Russell's much awaited ensemble piece scored nominations in all four acting categories for which it was eligible, and for four actors who have all been Oscar nominated in his last two films.
Full list of Motion Picture nominees (plus brief thoughts) after the cut. Then bring on Tina and Amy!
Best Motion Picture - Drama
"12 Years A Slave"
"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"Philomena"
"Rush"
Something of a coup for Philomena and Rush.
Best Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical
"American Hustle"
"Her"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
Good boost for The Wolf of Wall Street and Her after being shut out of the SAG Awards.
Best Director - Motion Picture
Alfonso Cuaron - "Gravity"
Paul Greengrass - "Captain Phillips"
Steve McQueen - "12 Years A Slave"
Alexander Payne - "Nebraska"
David O. Russell - "American Hustle"
This looks like a very possible Oscar lineup, although I think Russell may give way to someone else.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Chiwetel Ejifor - "12 Years A Slave"
Idris Elba - "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Tom Hanks - "Captain Phillips"
Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Robert Redford - "All is Lost"
The HFPA clearly liked Mandela, which shows up in two additional categories as well.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock - "Gravity"
Judi Dench - "Philomena"
Emma Thompson - "Saving Mr. Banks"
Kate Winslet - "Labor Day"
Interesting inclusion of Kate Winslet, and for a film that hasn't been getting a lot of ink yet.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical
Christian Bale - "American Hustle"
Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"
Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Oscar Isaac - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Joaquin Phoenix - "Her"
Dern may be the only one here who goes on to an Oscar nom.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical
Amy Adams - "American Hustle"
Julie Delpy - "Before Midnight"
Greta Gerwig - "Francis Ha"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "Enough Said"
Meryl Streep - "August: Osage County"
Will this be the only Best Actress lineup of the year that features both Julie Delpy and Greta Gerwig? Both deserve to be on the Oscar shortlist.
Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Barkhad Abdi - "Captain Phillips"
Daniel Bruhl - "Rush"
Bradley Cooper - "American Hustle"
Michael Fassbender - "12 Years A Slave"
Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Cooper replaces SAG nominee Gandolfini, but this race still feels really malleable.
Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion PictureSally Hawkins - "Blue Jasmine"
Jennifer Lawrence - "American Hustle"
Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"
Julia Roberts - "August: Osage County"
June Squibb - "Nebraska"
Hawkins squeezes out presumed lock Oprah, but I wouldn't read too much into it. Apparently his group wasn't crazy about The Butler. Meanwhile, Roberts continues to get away with category fraud.
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture"Her"
"Nebraska"
"Philomena"
"12 Years a Slave"
"American Hustle"
No idea who wins this one.
Best Animated Feature Film
"The Croods"
"Despicable Me 2"
"Frozen"
That's gotta sting for Pixar. I'm not the biggest fan of Monsters University but it was certainly better than Despicable Me 2. Clearly Frozen takes this.
Best Foreign Language Film
"Blue is the Warmest Color"
"The Great Beauty"
"The Hunt"
"The Past"
"The Wind Rises"
Blue is the Warmest Color was ineligible for Oscar's Foreign Film honour this year, and The Wind Rises was not submitted by Japan (although it's a force to be reckoned with in Animated Feature), but the other three from this lineup are certainly in the thick of the race. I was hoping the wonderful Wadjda would get a boost here, but no such luck.
Best Original Score - Motion Picture
"All is Lost"
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
"Gravity"
"The Book Thief"
"12 Years A Slave"
(Sigh) I'm gonna hafta go see The Book Thief, aren't I?
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Atlas - "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"
Let It Go - "Frozen"
Ordinary Love - "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Please Mr. Kennedy - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Sweeter than Fiction - "One Chance"
I wouldn't be surprised if only "Let It Go" survives to an Oscar nomination.
