Reactions to a Predictable Set of Nominees
By Rob Stevens and Joe Boden
15th December 2009

So the Golden Globe nominations are out, and though they’d like to think they’re a good indication of where those Oscars are going, they kind of aren’t. But they are the first of the big precursor ceremonies, and despite their attraction to big names, it is interesting to go through who they’ve picked out as possible Oscar winners. This year though, as we shall see, they’ve mostly played it pretty safe. Me and Joe decided to do a running appraisal of the list, which you can see below.

Best Motion Picture -- Drama
Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Precious, Up in the Air.

Rob A pretty safe set of nominations there, no surprise to see Avatar. Nice to see Hurt Locker even though it… er... bombed...in America. But no Lovely Bones?

Joe Well, it's an interesting list to say the least, with the mixture of your usual awards baiting films (Precious, Up in the Air), a pair of Summer blockbusters even if one masks itself as something more and one was released in winter, and the other’s a mixture between the two. I've only seen two of them so far, but I'm kind of underwhelmed by them really. The Hurt Lucker was okay, and although I missed it at the cinema I don't think the big screen would really transcend my opinions, and I think the hype surrounding Inglorious is ridiculous. Avatar is no surprise... I mean, it's Cameron and it's epic. Precious is a pretty obvious choice too, as is Up in the Air, but I'm sure those two will be the pick of the bunch. As for the Lovely Bones, the source material is awful, and although the buzz is somewhat positive I think the five they've gone for are the 'safer' choices. Maybe with the Oscar ten rule it'll stand a chance to make the cut. I'm more disappointed, but not
shocked, that 35 Shots of Rum, the White Ribbon, Antichrist, and - probably the most likely on the list - Up haven't made the grade.

Rob Most of those don't really stand a chance at the globes, and most have been nominated elsewhere.  Re The Lovely Bones, I just think this might be a bit of a death-nail in terms of its Oscar chances. I haven't read the book but was quietly looking forward to the film.

Joe Me too. The trailer looks kind of Heavenly Creatures esque in its merging of fantasy and reality, and Jackson hasn't let me down yet, but the novel is just so, damn, bad. And even if those four don't stand a chance, they are still the four best of the year, but I see your point. I'll restrict the rest of my rants to films that actually had a chance of being nominated :P.

Rob To be honest, its probably for the best, critiquing what these things actually pick is a whole other column.

Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
(500) Days of Summer, The Hangover, It's Complicated, Julie & Julia, Nine

Joe WHY IS ANTICHRIST NOT NOMINATED? But Seriously…

Rob Well, out of those, Nine is the only one likely to make the Oscar Ten, so I assume it'll win here. I didn't really like 500 Days, The Hangover is the populist hit that’s in to make the numbers up and I haven't seen either of the other two.

Joe Two Meryl Streep films aren't really that much of a surprise, but Nine is pretty much a banker here. Not only is it Rob Marshall, but it's Daniel Day-Lewis, and there is little chance - I think, and I'm going out on a limb here - that anything else will beat it. The Hangover was awful, and if they want to start nominating 'populist hits' they should go the whole hog and put Twilight and Transformers 2 in the Best Picture category and change their names to the MTV Movie Awards. I didn't see (500) Days, but the buzz it's been getting doesn't surprise me. I did, however, see Julie & Julia, which was utter bollocks...

Rob I dunno if there is any reason it hasn't been nominated, but it strikes me that In The Loop is a big miss there.

Joe Yeah I agree. I actually didn't see it so I guess I'll keep my mouth shut, but it's one of the few comedys this year that I am actually looking forward to seeing.

Rob Ch-ch-check it out.

Best Foreign Language Film
Barria, Broken Embraces, A Prophet, The White Ribbon, The Maid

Rob I’ve seen fewer of these that I would like to admit

Joe It's a good list, actually. I'm a little disappointed that 35 Shots of Rum, which is probably my favorite Foreign Language film of the year, missed out, but I'm guessing they operate the similar one film nomination from each country rule? A Prophet is very good too, but it doesn't quite have the same genius as 35 Shots. The White Ribbon is a predictable choice, it has a well known director and won at Cannes after all, but it's a worthy one too. The only other one I've seen is Broken Embraces, which probably doesn't deserve to be here, but I'm always happy to see Pedro Almodovar get a nomination.

Rob I managed to miss Broken Embraces, but I think Almodovar has a bit of a cult status at these things that means he was quite an easy pick. But yeah The White Ribbon would be quite a worthy pick, I think.

Joe 35 Shots of Rum is better, but I'd agree that the White Ribbon is the best from that list (that I've seen). Anyway, next one.

Pixar's "Up", predictably nominated in the Animated Feature category.

Best Animated Feature Film
Coraline, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Princess and the Frog, Up

Rob I'm really pleased Cloudy made the cut - it seemed to go under the radar a bit, but it was hilarious

Joe Adam, too, will be very happy that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is present. I didn't see that. In fact, I've only seen Fantastic Mr Fox and Up from this list, and I'd say that the latter is the better out of those two excellent films. I'm kind of surprised that Ponyo didn't make the cut...

Rob Coraline I enjoyed, Fantastic Mr Fox much less so, Princess and the Frog isn't out here yet but I am quite from shocked at its included. Up was great as well, especially the opening.

Joe BUT WHAT OF PONYO?!

Rob I haven't seen it yet, but I imagine I'd easily replace Fantastic Mr Fox with it. What is interesting actually, is the mix of styles in there - you have Stop Motion, traditional drawing, 3D Computer Graphics, all that is missing is an anime I guess.

Joe Yeah, that's a good point. It's nice to see that over the usual contrived disney/pixar domination, so it should make for an interesting year.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria; Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side; Helen Mirren, The Last Station; Carey Mulligan, An Education; Gabourey Sadibe, Precious

Rob I hope Carey Mulligan wins, She was great in that film

Joe I have seen only two of these, and as much as I hate to say it, I think Mulligan is the better of those two. The other I've seen is Emily Blunt, who was okay, but I think that Mulligan was just 'good' too, even if she was one of the better aspects of a film I disliked

Rob She was the absolute soul of that film, I think. It'd be great if she won.

Joe Yeah, I agree that it would be a break with the awards norm, and any British win is a good win. However, I'll reserve judgment until I see the other three performances. I was kind of hoping that Charlotte Gainsbourg stood an outside chance thanks to her win at Cannes, but no such luck I guess.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart; George Clooney, Up in the Air; Colin Firth, A Single Man; Morgan Freeman, Invictus; Tobey Maguire, Brothers

Rob: So yeah, surprising to see Morgan Freeman in here...

Joe I sense your sarcasm. Most of those where outside – or obvious - possibilities. I didn't expect to see Tobey Maguire in the list, but it's hardly completely out of the blue. I actually haven't seen a single one of these films, so I guess I won't say anything, other than that it's expected to see these five, most notably two of the most favoured men in American Awards history

Rob If Clooney gets nominated won't be only his third or fourth nomination or something? There seems to be an odd myth that the Academy loves him. Assuming that is who you meant. Otherwise I'm pretty disappointed Christian McKay gets no mention for his Orson Welles.

Joe Well, yeah. I think the Academy does love him. I don't think he's really put in a truly incredible awards-worthy performance in his entire career, with Good Night and Good Luck being worthy of a directors nod, sure. Syrianna and Michael Clayton are both okay performances, but Oscar nomination worthy? Get outta here! I am quite excited to see Up in the Air, but I'll wait to see if it's more hype than anything else. I thought McKay was almost a shoe in with all of this late buzz. Waltz, too. But still, I can't say that I fell off my chair when I found out those noms.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal; Marion Cotillard, Nine; Meryl Streep, It's Complicated; Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia; Julia Roberts, Duplicity

Rob A good year for Sandra Bullock - she's in the Drama and Comedy sections. Also, it seems the Globes couldn't be bothered to figure out which of Streep's the Academy would go for, and just went for both.

Joe Meryl Streep makes me sick. I mean, the Deer Hunter and Sophie's Choice, yeah, whatever, but she lives off hype nowadays and this double nomination is an absolute joke. She's one of the worst things about a horrible film in Julie and Julia, and It's Complicated looks no better. The Bullock nomination is also a bit of a ridiculous choice. I can't say it's been a great year for comedy but the Proposal? Seriously? It looks like Cotillard might get the nod here, if Roberts doesn't make a late surge, and I'm beginning to think that Cotillard may be a potential nominee for the Oscar too. I mean, she won two years ago (and deservedly so), so she has the pedigree, and this nomination only amplifies her Oscar buzz.

Rob I'm not like, a fan of The Proposal or anything, but Sandra was quite funny in it.

Joe But quite funny shouldn't equal a Golden Globe nom though, really, should it? It's a poor film at best, and Bullock pretty much lives off her undoubted charisma in it.

Rob A quite funny performance nominated in a best actress in a comedy section isn't too much of a shock is all I'm saying.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
Matt Damon, The Informant!; Daniel Day Lewis, Nine; Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes; Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer;
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Rob Sherlock Holmes is a bit of a surprise considering the negative buzz, but I guess it shows the goodwill toward Robert Downey Jr. And again, if Me and Orson Welles was adjudged light enough to be here, Chrisian McKay is a big miss

Joe Yeah. I'm happy to see Downey Jr get a nomination, but I can't say the film looks anything better than awful. Daniel Day Lewis is a shoe-in. Matt Damon was also a likely suspect. Is A Serious Man really a comedy, though? I guess it is in the darkest of ways, and Stuhlbarg is indeed brilliant in it. He's the only one I've seen so far, actually, but I'm already willing to say he's a worthy winner.

Rob I'm finding it hard to imagine anyone but Daniel Day-Lewis will win here. I'm actually excited about Nine - It has a great cast, interesting subject matter, I liked Chicago. Don't really see how I'll lose.

Joe  I completely agree. I'm sure he'll be brilliant in Nine, too. He rarely picks roles that will be below perfection. Chicago was shit though.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Mo-Nique, Precious; Julianne Moore, A Single Man; Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air; Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air; Penelope Cruz, Nine

Joe More predictability really. Farminga has been close to a nom a couple of times in the past, Penelope Cruz is sure to be brilliant but won't win because she swept the board last year. I'd love to see Moore pick up an award or two this year. She's one of the greatest American living actresses to have never won an Oscar, and a win here would certainly boost her chances.

Rob Having not seen any of the films, it’s tough to say anything really. I agree though that Moore is very good, and that it would be nice to see her win stuff. Otherwise it’s much like all their nominations this year, pretty safe

Joe Exactly. I haven't seen any of them either, but the picture of Cruz I've seen from Nine is pretty much single-handedly deserved of an award.

Matt Damon in "Invictus".

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Matt Damon, Invictus; Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones; Christopher Plummer, The Last Station; Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds;
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Joe A double nomination for Matt Damon? I don't know whether I'm happy about that or not. I don't know how Harrelson managed to miss out on some Supporting Actor buzz a year or so for No Country for Old Men, so it's nice to see him getting around this year. Here's that Waltz nomination I was talking about earlier... he must be deemed a supporting actor rather than a lead, which I guess makes sense. He deserves this. He's the best thing about Basterds, and - although I can't say he deserved to win at Cannes (Willem Dafoe, anybody?) - I'd like to see him walk away with the prize. Tucci is playing the most interesting character in the Lovely Bones, so that'll be interesting to see.

Rob Waltz absolutely was the best thing about Basterds, this is certainly true. He's probably in with a fair shout of winning too, though I am interested to see what Damon does with François Pienaar. Nice to see The Lovely Bones wasn't completely forgotten. Something interesting has just occurred to me - No Avatar in the acting nominations. People still sniffy about the whole mocap thing? Or just the acting a bit rubbish in it?

Joe I see what you mean. I guess that, if Serkis can't get nominated for the Two Towers, it'll take something monumental to overcome MoCap snootiness and pick up an Awards nom.

Best Director -- Motion Picture
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker; James Cameron, Avatar; Clint Eastwood, Invictus; Jason Reitman, Up in the Air; Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds

Rob Oooh - its Cameron Vs Bigalow!

Joe Haha! Interesting showdown! My feelings towards Basterds are well known, but Tarantino directed the shit out of that film. I'm not sure that he deserves to win a Golden Globe for it, though. It'll be interesting to see whether Awards favorites Cameron and Eastwood - and I guess Reitman could qualify for that title too - are in here for hype or actual quality. I'm getting more and more hyped for Avatar typing this...

Rob I kinda agree, about QT, it’s pretty smartly directed, I think he's in with a shout. Eastwood was an obvious choice, so too was Reitman with how well Up in the Air is doing here. I wouldn't mind seeing Bigelow take it; she has just made absolutely her best film

Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture
Up in the Air; It's Complicated; District 9; The Hurt Locker; Inglorious Basterds

Rob District 9's presence sort of highlights its lack of being anywhere else, I think. I mean, it was good, but still... I suspect it’s between Basterds and Up in the Air.

Joe Wow, I'm actually genuinely surprised to see It's Complicated nominated here. Inglorious Basterd's script isn't bad in terms of dialogue, but I think it's kinda pointless and unsophisticated. District 9? Are you joking? The Hurt Locker is the best of those three, but I think Up in the Air will poach it

Best Original Score -- Motion Picture
Michael Giacchino, Up; Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant; James Horner, Avatar; Abel Krozeniowski, A Single Man;
Karen O. and Carter Burwell, Where the Wild Things Are

Rob Really hope Karen O and Carter Burwell win. That score is wonderful, lends a real depth to the film

Joe I LOVE the score in Where the Wild Things Are, and you're right, it hands the film a whole other dimension. Up is a good choice, too. I think Avatar's will be epic, but - again - I have to reserve judgment until I see it. But, I'll say it now, Karen O. and Carter Burwell would be the perfect winners here; unconventional, surprising, and totally deserving.

Rob Last but not least:

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture
"I Will See You," Leona Lewis, Avatar; "The Weary Kind," The Crazy Heart; "Winter," U2, Brothers; "Cinema Italiano," Nine;
"I Want to Come Home," Paul McCartney Everybody's Fine

Joe I WILL SEE YOU OH MY GOOD NO PLEASE NO PLEASE NO THAT MAKES MY EARS BLEED. PLEASE GOD NO NOT I WILL SEE YOU ANYTHING BUT I WILL SEE YOU LEONA LEWIS SHOULD NEVER SING AGAIN NOT BE APPLAUDED BY AWARDS CEREMONIES.

Rob I imagine Nine will win. I would like Macca to win as I'm a bit of a Beatles fanboy. In fact, I'm wearing a Beatles T-Shirt as I type.

Joe If Leona Lewis wins a Golden Globe and Charlotte Gainsbourg doesn't, I will bang my head against a brick wall until life makes sense again.

Rob So yeah, you’re not a fan?

Joe No I love it.
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