Back to selection
Considerations
Covering the annual film industry awards races, with sharp commentary on the pictures, the players, the money and the spectacle. by Tyler Coates
Considerations: More Golden Globes Silly Season
Demi Moore in The Substance Every Tuesday Tyler Coates publishes his new Filmmaker newsletter, Considerations, devoted to the awards race. To receive it early and in your in-box, subscribe here.
We’re now five weeks away from the Jan. 17 Oscar noms, and the last few days have seen which campaigns are working—at least with critics and whoever is voting for the Golden Globes these days. And miraculously, no main frontrunner has emerged in the best picture race, although the sure things are making themselves known.
Over the last week, while publications began rolling out their year-end lists, critics in New York and Los Angeles voted to select their top films of the year. A few did well with voters on both coasts: All We Imagine as Light won best international film at both the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (although it is not eligible for the respective Oscar since India did not submit the film), while Nickel Boys DP Jomo Fray won best cinematography from both groups. Hard Truths’s Marianne Jean-Baptiste won the NYFCC award for best actress and the LAFCA award for best lead performance (the latter honor was shared with Anora’s Mikey Madison), while A Real Pain’s Kieran Culkin won NYFCC’s best supporting actor and LAFCA’s best supporting performance (the latter shared with Anora’s Yura Borisov). The critics aligned when it came to animated feature (Flow now appears to be The Wild Robot’s biggest competition) and documentary feature (No Other Land, which is still without U.S. distribution).
NYFCC picked The Brutalist for best picture, while LAFCA’s winner was Anora—both of which were named among the 10 best films by the American Film Institute, whose selections usually align with the 10 Oscar nominees. The remaining eight—A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, A Real Pain, Sing Singand Wicked—seem like a strong group we will likely see at the Oscars, although I will suggest that All We Imagine as Light or The Seed of the Sacred Fig could be the two strong international contenders that break into the Academy’s top films. (India submitting Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies instead of All We Imagine as Light could work in the latter’s favor in the best picture race; last year’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall scored the top nom despite France selecting The Taste of Things as its international submission.)
Meanwhile, there are the Golden Globes. I wrote last week about their dwindling importance following years of scandal and off-the-wall nominations. This year’s selections are no different. Yes, there are the expected films—nine out of the 10 AFI top films landed Globe noms for best picture; Challengers, September 5 and The Substance also made their way into the top 12, while Sing Sing was snubbed. Emilia Pérez also scored a record-breaking 10 nominations, which I’m sure has folks at Netflix feeling relieved after it was passed over by the critics’ groups. (Their other best picture contender—The Piano Lesson, which I think is a better film—was completely shut out at the Globes.)
Then there are the surprises. While Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s name was absent from the list, the group did extend best drama actress honors to The Last Showgirl’s Pamela Anderson, I’m Still Here’s Fernanda Torres and Lee’s Kate Winslet. Sebastian Stan also scored two noms for his roles in The Apprentice (a drama) and A Different Man (a comedy), while his Apprentice co-star Jeremy Strong earned a supporting actor nom. As I’ve said before, the Globes are useful as a campaign tool, particularly since the Jan. 5 ceremony will take place three days before Oscar voting begins on Jan. 8. The mere presence of The Substance’s Coralie Fargeat and All We Imagine as Light’s Payal Kapadia in the best director category could boost their chances and prevent another all-male director race at the Oscars. But do I think Gabriel LaBelle will follow up his Golden Globe nomination for best comedy actor in Saturday Night with an Oscar nom? Let’s be serious.
Speaking of a lack of seriousness, I cannot write about the Golden Globes without roasting the absolutely ridiculous “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement” award, which was introduced last year and eventually went to Barbie. This year’s eight nominees (why eight and not six? Does any of this even matter?) are Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Deadpool & Wolverine, Gladiator II, Inside Out 2, Twisters, Wicked and The Wild Robot. The category could be renamed “Best Sequel or Universal Pictures Release.” But two top-grossing sequels notably absent are Dune: Part Two and Moana 2. My instincts led me to believe that the latter’s record-breaking grosses came too late; voting for the Globes ended on Nov. 28, a day after Moana 2 hit theaters. But in reality, the film wasn’t even submitted to the category according to one Globe voter—and neither was Dune: Part Two. If the studios don’t care about this bogus prize, why should any of us?
