December
11
Golden Globes Noms Boost Benjamin Button, Doubt and Frost/Nixon
Universal, Miramax and Paramount/Warners are heaving huge sighs of relief that the Golden Globes rewarded Frost/Nixon, Doubt and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with five nominations apiece. The three films had been virtually overlooked by influential critics' groups in L.A. and N.Y. this week. Only Frost/Nixon and Benjamin Button were nominated in the Globes' best feature drama category, though, which tends to carry more weight than the comedy category. Doubt scored four acting noms, plus screenplay for John Patrick Shanley.
The Globes are voted on by a relatively small and insular group, the 80-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who are often wined and dined by studios eager to get the extra boost of attention from Globe noms at the height of the pre-Oscar nomination season when Academy voters are deciding which DVDs to watch. The noms are not predictive, but do help build momentum.
Thus although the Globes saw fit to only recognize Sean Penn's performance in Gus Van Sant's very American and very political Milk (which won best film from the NYFCC), that should not hurt its overall awards chances. Nor would this group be particularly drawn to a fable beloved by both American moviegoers and critics, The Dark Knight. And Gran Torino's masterful, reflexive performance by actor/director Clint Eastwood is more likely to play to the Academy than the HFPA. (Oddly, they rewarded Eastwood for score for the Changeling and best song for Gran Torino.)
For example, Harvey Weinstein has always done well with The Globes and won their support for Stephen Daldry's The Reader, set in post-World War II Germany and starring Kate Winslet, who also stars in her husband Sam Mendes' nominated drama Revolutionary Road, for which she grabbed a best actress nom. Both films grabbed four noms. And Winslet was given a supporting actress nom for The Reader, to prevent her from competing with herself. Both films needed a boost, as they were also neglected by the critics groups.
Well on their way to awards season glory are Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) and Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Weinstein Co.). which nabbed four noms apiece. And Searchlight's The Wrestler is solidifying more acting noms for Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei.
Ben Stiller's Paramount comedy Tropic Thunder scored two noms for Tom Cruise and Robert Downey, Jr., which isn't so surprising when you consider that the HFPA is often voting for who will attend the Golden Globes Awards party. Thus both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gained noms for Button and Changeling, a feat that won't necessarily be repeated come Oscar nominations morning January 22.
The noms in the comedy categories are unlikely to have much impact on the Academy voters, who tend to reward gravitas, although Sally Hawkins, who was won best actress from the NYFCC, could score a best actress slot on January 22. Meryl Streep is more likely to land an Oscar nom for Doubt than for the raucous musical Mamma Mia!
Kristin Scott Thomas finally got some recognition for her role in the French film I've Loved You So Long, which was also nommed in the foreign film category, along with Jan Troell's Everlasting Moments, the Swedish Oscar entry, which is picking up support.
BEST FEATURE - DRAMA "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures "Frost/Nixon" - Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Studio Canal; Universal Pictures "The Reader" - Mirage Enterprises; The Weinstein Company "Revolutionary Road" - An Evamere Entertainment BBC Films Neal Street Production; DreamWorks Pictures in Association with BBC Films and Paramount Vantage "Slumdog Millionaire" -Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.; Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.BEST FEATURE - COMEDY
"Burn After Reading" - Working Title/Releasing Company; Focus Features in association with Studio Canal
"Happy-Go-Lucky" - Summit Entertainment, Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Miramax Films; Miramax Films
"In Bruges" - Blueprint Pictures; Focus Features
"Mamma Mia!" - Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar; Universal Pictures
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - Mediapro; The Weinstein CompanyACTOR - DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio - "Revolutionary Road"
Frank Langella - "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn - "Milk"
Brad Pitt - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rouke - "The Wrestler"
ACTRESS - DRAMA
Anne Hathaway - "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie - "Changeling"
Meryl Streep - "Doubt"
Kristin Scott Thomas - "I've Loved You So Long"
Kate Winslet - "Revolutionary Road"ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Colin Farrell - "In Bruges"
James Franco - "Pineapple Express"
Brendan Gleeson - "In Bruges"
Dustin Hoffman - "Last Chance Harvey"ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Sally Hawkins - "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Frances McDormand - "Burn After Reading"
Meryl Streep - "Mamma Mia!"
Emma Thompson - "Last Chance Harvey"DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry -"The Reader"
David Fincher -"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard - "Frost/Nixon"
Sam Mendes -"Revolutionary Road"SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise - "Tropic Thunder"
Robert Downey Jr. - "Tropic Thunder"
Ralph Fiennes - "The Duchess"
Philip Seymour Hoffman - "Doubt"
Heath Ledger - "The Dark Knight"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis - "Doubt"
Marisa Tomei - "The Wrestler"
Kate Winslet - "The Reader"SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Simon Beaufoy - "Slumdog Millionaire"
David Hare - "The Reader"
Peter Morgan - "Frost/Nixon"
Eric Roth - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
John Patrick Shanley - "Doubt"FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" ("Der badder meinhof komplex")(Germany) - Constantin Film Produktion GmbH; Summit Entertainment, LLC
"Everlasting Moments" ("Maria larssons eviga ögonblick") (Sweden) - Final Cut Productions Aps; IFC Films
"Gomorrah" ("Gomorra") (Italy) - Fandango; IFC Films
"I've Loved You So Long" ("Il y a longtemps que je t’aime") (France) - UGC YM/UGC Images/France 3 Cinema/Integral Film; Sony Pictures Classics
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel) - Bridgit Folman Film Gang/Les Films D'Ici/Razor Films/Arte France/ITVS International; Sony PicturesANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Bolt" - Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
"Kung Fu Panda" - DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures
"Wall-E" - Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesBEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat - "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
Clint Eastwood - "Changeling"
James Newton Howard - "Defiance"
A. R. Rahman - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Hans Zimmer - "Frost/Nixon"BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Down To Earth" from "Wall-E" - Music By: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel
"Gran Torino" from "Gran Torino" - Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens; Lyrics By: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
"I Thought I Lost You" from "Bolt" - Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
"Once In A Lifetime" from "Cadillac Records"
Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott Mcfarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
"The Wrestler" from "The Wrestler" - Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen
GLOBES SCORECARD: NOMINATIONS BY PICTURE
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" 5
"Doubt" 5
"Frost/Nixon" 5
"The Reader" 4
"Revolutionary Road" 4
"Slumdog Millionaire" 4
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" 4
"In Bruges" 3
"The Wrestler" 3
"Bolt" 2
"Burn After Reading" 2
"Changeling" 2
"Happy-Go-Lucky" 2
"I've Loved You So Long" ("Il Y A Longtemps Que Je T'aime") 2
"Last Chance Harvey" 2
"Mamma Mia!" 2
"Tropic Thunder" 2
"Wall-E" 2
"Baader Meinhof Complex" ("Der Badder Meinhof Komplex") 1
"Cadillac Records" 1
"The Dark Knight" 1
"Defiance" 1
"The Duchess" 1
"Everlasting Moments" ("Maria larssons eviga ögonblick") 1
"Gomorrah" ("Gomorra") 1
"Gran Torino" 1
"Kung Fu Panda" 1
"Milk" 1
"Pineapple Express" 1
"Rachel Getting Married" 1
"Waltz With Bashir" 1
NOMINATIONS BY STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures 11
Universal Pictures 9
The Weinstein Company 8
Fox Searchlight Pictures 7
Miramax Films 7
DreamWorks Pictures 6
Focus Features 6
Paramount Pictures 6 More than one option
(Co) Paramount Pictures
(Co) Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage M
(Co) Paramount Studio Facilities
Paramount Vantage 6
BBC Films 5
Sony Pictures Classics 4
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 4
IFC Films 2 More than one option
(Co) IFC Productions
(Co) IFC Films
Overture Films 2
Sony Pictures Releasing 2
Studio Canal 2 More than one option
(Co) Studio Canal
(Co) StudioCanal
Pathe 1
Summit Entertainment, LLC 1
Village Roadshow 1




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Did the makers of IN BRUGES have something on HPFA? A mystery.
Posted by: Griff | December 11, 2008 at 03:07 PM
Best wishes for all the nominees.Thanks for great post.
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Posted by: Venkat Rao | December 12, 2008 at 12:28 AM