The Golden Globes Goes Bi-Coastal

Back in the day, film insiders would say, the Golden Globes was the Hollywood event of the year. The champagne, the parties, the sheer weight of the statue—the air of frivolity for this serious award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press. Protracted in a pandemic, the nominations, announced today, had few disappointments, and few surprises: lavish praise for Promising Young Woman (nominations for Best Drama, Best Director and Best Screenplay to Emerald Fennell, Best Actress in a Drama for Carey Mulligan.) Nomadland was favored in top categories: Best Drama, Best Actress in a Drama, Frances McDormand, Best Director and Screenplay for Chloe Zhao. David Fincher’s Mank got a whole lotta love too, as did The Father with Anthony Hopkins’ especially great performance in the title role, and Aaron Sorkin’s Trial of the Chicago 7 featuring an ensemble of A-list actors. Mank, an inside Hollywood story, led with 6 nominations. These are the films that have been circling around for top prizes. Expect to see them at Oscar time.

A favorite category for me: Best Picture, Foreign Language, with nominations for Another Round, The Life Ahead, La Llorona, Minari, and Two of Us. These nods beg the question: how are Mads Mikkelson, Sophia Loren, Steven Yeun, Barbara Sukowa overlooked for actor awards? Still.

Maybe one surprise: The awards will be held on February 28, bicoastal for the first time in its history, with Amy Poehler hosting at the Beverly Hilton and Tina Fey at the Rainbow Room.