Category Archives: precursors

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Thoughts on the Golden Globes

When an awards show host is really bad, it’s reassuring to know that following the opening monologue you’re really not going to see much more of him.

poehler_fey

Last night’s Golden Globes had the opposite problem. Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler set the tone so perfectly in their opening — every joke was a slam dunk — that once they left the stage it was all downhill. Given the time constraints and all those pesky awards to give out, I’m not sure how exactly Fey and Poehler could have been integrated into the rest of the show, but their absence was sorely missed.

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Golden Globe nominations

This has been a pretty lackluster year at the movies, a point underscored by the fact that the Golden Globe nominations came out last week and I didn’t even know it. Further, nothing in this list stands out to me one way or the other.

I’m glad to see Robert Downey Jr. recognized for Tropic Thunder (as well as Tom Cruise in the same film). Having just seen Milk, I’m surprised it didn’t make the cut for Best Picture. Nice to see Kate Winslet nominated twice.

On the TV side, the absence of Friday Night Lights is so completely expected that it’s hard to summon any outrage anymore. It’s more of a surprise to see Lost left out, with House as the only network show in the lineup. I’m happy to see Mad Men with several nominations, and it should be the easy winner.

Full list of nominees follows…

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Golden Globes make things interesting


While the Golden Globes “ceremony” was pretty laughable (it consisted of Mary Hart and her cohorts reading the nominees and winners on a cheesy stage for all of 30 minutes) the results threw a bit of a wrench into the Oscar works.

The Globes really spread the wealth, handing out two wins apiece to a handful of films (Atonement, No Country For Old Men, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Sweeney Todd). The Best Picture winners were Atonement, getting a needed boost as its Oscar chances have been sagging recently, and Sweeney Todd, which has a fair chance at the Oscar.

Juno was “hurt” the most, losing not only the Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) category but in screenplay and Best Actress as well. However, the film is tearing up the box office, it’s the one light film in the mix and it should appeal more to the Academy membership than the foreign press, so I’m guessing its Oscar chances are still quite good.

The biggest shock of the night was Best Director going to Julian Schnabel over the Coen Brothers — again something that can be chalked up to the foreigners voting for one of their own. This bodes well for Schnabel’s chance at a Best Director Oscar nod and could mean the film itself has a chance.

The acting awards were more predictable, with Daniel Day Lewis, Julie Christie, Marion Cotillard, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett and Javier Bardem taking home trophies. My guess is at least three of those winners take home the Oscar as well.

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Writers and Directors Guild nominees


Over the past few days, the writers and directors have chimed in with their nominees for outstanding work in 2007. The director nominees often match up closely with the Oscars… the writers not so much.

One curious bit of information: A mistake by the writers guild led them to post the nominees in order of total votes, so the lists below reflect the descending degree of passion in the guilds for those titles. Good news for Diablo Cody and the Coen Brothers.

At this point, it looks like No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood are positioned very well for Best Picture nominations. Juno, too, is likely to show up there.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 22. I will solicit contest entries about a week before then.

ORIGINAL SCRENPLAY
Diablo Cody – Juno
Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton
Tamara Jenkins – The Savages
Judd Apatow – Knocked Up
Nancy Oliver – Lars and the Real Girl

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Coens – No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood
Ronald Harwood – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Sean Penn – Into The Wild
James Vanderbilt – Zodiac

DIRECTION
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood
The Coen Brothers – No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton
Sean Penn – Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly