“Mank,” David Fincher’s black and white tale about Old Hollywood, was nominated for six trophies at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, the most in any film. It has been available for viewing on Netflix since December 4.
Have you seen?
This is OK. Nor are there many people in Hollywood.
What about “The Father”, about the devastation of dementia? He is a candidate for best drama and three other awards. Or maybe “The Mauritanian”, set in Guantánamo and disputing two Globes in the acting categories? Or the twice named “Judas and the Black Messiah”, about black political radicals in the 1960s? In fact, it received a national theatrical release (about 1,900 of the operatives) this month.
Did you see any of them?
Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Pretend you at least heard about a couple.
In a year in which almost all of the nominated films went through theaters because of the pandemic, the Globes – the biggest award there is, due to their dual focus on cinema and television – can seem small. The nominees have struggled to get noticed. For many people, including some in Hollywood, it’s hard to worry about little golden things at a time when the coronavirus still kills about 2,000 Americans most days.
“The stakes have never been lower,” said Tina Fey, who returned to host the ceremony with Amy Poehler, in blank Globe announcements.
Who said that nobody in Hollywood is honest? Here are some other things to consider before the ceremony starts on Sunday at 8 pm. East:
The traditional Golden Globe engine, a colossal red carpet, will not exist this time. The honorees will all be at home. (Accepting trophies from mansions and luxury hotel rooms, good tint. Waiting hours for photographers while wearing diamonds and haute couture dresses, apparently not.) Fey will present the Rainbow Room Globes in New York, with Poehler at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. A handful of frontline and essential workers were invited to attend in person, but the usual ostentatious dinner was destroyed.
Certainly not helping, the 78th Golden Globe comes amid a renewed sense that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the scandal-prone group that awards the awards, needs a dramatic overhaul. The approximately 80 voting members have long been painted as out of reach and slightly corrupt, including by their own hosts; Ricky Gervais referred to them as “vegetables” during last year’s live broadcast. But recent news has revealed brutal infighting and a questionable fixation in compensation.
The group has no black members, the Los Angeles Times found.
But the payout mechanism must continue: a lot of money is at stake. NBC pays $ 60 million a year for broadcast rights. Studios and streaming services will spend millions of dollars to publicize Globo awards, partly because voting for the most prestigious Academy awards begins on Friday. (Oscar nominees will be announced on March 15th. The Oscar ceremony, delayed because of the pandemic, will take place on April 25th)
If nothing else, Nielsen’s ratings for this unusual Globes broadcast will help set expectations for the Oscar’s reformed pandemic. O Globo attracted around 18.3 million viewers last year, when “1917” and “Once upon a time … in Hollywood” collected the film’s top prizes and Billy Porter caused an online traffic jam using his version of the Bjork swan dress. In contrast, when Globos became a boring press conference in 2008 because of a screenwriter’s strike, only 5.8 million people attended.
In other words, razzmatazz is important.
Netflix was humiliated on Globo last year. The streaming giant entered the ceremony with a total of 34 nominations and left … with a film award (Laura Dern won the award for best supporting actress for “Wedding Story”) and a tribute on television (Olivia Colman, praised “The Crown”). Instead, voters preferred to opt for the old guard.
Expect this round to be different, in part because most of the traditional film studios have been harmed by the pandemic. Netflix has 42 nominations and two of its films, “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” are vying for the best drama, the most prestigious award. No streaming service has ever won in this category.
If “Chicago 7” wins, increasing its chances of Oscar, Paramount Pictures will have some eggs in its face: the 109-year-old studio transferred the film to Netflix over the summer.
Among the remaining nominees for best drama, the Hollywood establishment is best represented by “Nomadland”, starring Frances McDormand as a van resident. “Nomadland” comes from the power of art cinema formerly known as Fox Searchlight (now just Searchlight, reflecting a change in corporate ownership). “O Pai” and “Mulher Jovem Promissora”, also from traditional film companies, complete the nominees.
In another premiere, Globo for best comedy or musical will almost certainly go to a streaming service. According to Gold Derby forecasts, an award prediction website, the musical comedy or race is a dispute between “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon) and “Hamilton” (Disney +). Also nominated are “Palm Springs” (Hulu), “The Prom” (Netflix) and “Music” by Sia, a sadly misguided video on demand release.