Golden Globe Nominees Announced

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its nominees today. See them here.

Wow. Not what I expected, really. Atonement leads the way with 7 nominations, followed by Charlie Wilson's War with 5, and No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, and Sweeney Todd, all of which have 4 nominations. Now I know it's still really early in the award season, and that the Golden Globes (and nominations) are always pretty ridiculous. That being said, where's the love for Into the Wild (Emile Hirsch!?), Once, I'm Not There, Zodiac, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? Almost totally ignored. Interesting to note that Casey Affleck is going to have his best acting year ever stolen away by Javier Bardem, as both are up for Actor in a Supporting Role. And what about Sidney Lumet? I thought critics were fawning over his direction in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Or Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men? Maybe most surprising of all was the fate of Judd Apatow, who in his biggest year ever was completely shut out of the Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical category. No Knocked Up, Superbad, or Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

If nothing else the nominees hint that this could be quite an interesting Oscar campaign. I'm especially interested in the Best Animated Film and Best Foreign Language Film categories. Keep in mind that a movie can't be nominated in two categories. Ratatouille was at one point considered a shoo-in to win Best Animated Film, or instead receive a more prestigious Best Picture nomination (the only animated film ever to receive one was Beauty and the Beast - weird, right?). Then Persepolis came along, which is being lauded enough to contend in three categories: Picture, Animated Film, and Foreign Language Film. But remember it can only be nominated for one. And what about Once, which was - once - a lock for a Foreign Language Film win or possible Best Picture nomination? Then there are Bee Movie, The Simpsons Movie, and Beowulf, all of which may be Best Animated Film contenders.

In conclusion: In a year of outstanding films that can technically be nominated in several categories, somebody's going to lose out big time - Once, Ratatouille, or Persepolis, to name a few. It all depends on how the studios market their Oscar campaigns for each movie. Then it's in the hands of the Academy voters...