“Man”, David Fincher’s black-and-white tale of Old Hollywood, is nominated for Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards for six trophies, the most of any film. It’s been on Netflix since December 4th.
Have you seen it yet?
This is OK. There are also not many people in Hollywood.
What about “The Father” about the devastation of dementia? It’s a contender for best drama and three other awards. Or maybe “The Mauritanian”, set in Guantánamo and competing for two Globes in acting categories? Or the twice-nominated “Judas and the Black Messiah” about black political radicals in the 1960s? It’s actually a national release in theaters (about 1,900 of the operations) this month.
Seen from them?
Well, I do not know what to tell you. Pretend you’ve heard of at least one couple.
In a year in which almost all the nominated films have bypassed the theaters due to the pandemic, the Globes – the largest awards tent there is – with the dual focus on film and television – feel quite small. Nominees struggled to get noticed. For many people, including some in Hollywood, it’s hard to care for little golden things at a time when the coronavirus is still killing about 2,000 Americans on most days.
“The game has never been lower,” Tina Fey, who returned to host the ceremony with Amy Poehler, said in a deadly Globe ad.
Who said no one in Hollywood is honest? Here are some other things to consider before the ceremony begins on Sunday at 8:00 PM East:
The traditional engine of the Golden Globes, a colossal red carpet, does not exist this time. The honors will all be home. (Accepting trophies from mansions and luxury hotel rooms, apparently fine. Sounds are photographed for hours while photographers are wrapped in diamonds and couture gowns.) Fey hosts the Globes from the Rainbow Room in New York, with Poehler in the Beverly Hilton is stationed. A hotel in Beverly Hills, California, has been invited to personally attend to prominent and essential workers, but the usual fancy dinner has been spoiled.
Sure, it does not help, but the 78th Golden Globes comes amid a new feeling that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the scandal-prone group that awards the awards, needs a dramatic overhaul. The 80-party voting members have long been out of touch and faintly corrupt, even by their own armies; Ricky Gervais referred to them as “vegetables” during last year’s live broadcast. But recent news reports have fixed brutal infighting and questionable compensation.
The group has no black members, The Los Angeles Times has discovered.
But the awarding machine must stop: Too much money is at stake. NBC pays $ 60 million a year for broadcasting rights. Studios and streaming services will spend millions of dollars to announce Globe victories, in part because voting for the more prestigious Academy Awards begins Friday. (Oscar nominees will be announced on March 15. The Oscars ceremony, delayed due to the pandemic, will take place on April 25.)
If nothing else, Nielsen ratings for this unusual Globes broadcast will help set expectations for the pandemic-revamped Oscars. The Globes attracted about 18.3 million total viewers last year, when ‘1917’ and ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ collected the best film awards and Billy Porter caused an online traffic jam through his rendition of the Bjork to wear a swan dress. In contrast, when the Globes became a moody news conference in 2008 due to a screenwriter, only 5.8 million people agreed.
In other words, razzmatazz is important.
Netflix was humiliated at the Globes last year. The streaming giant entered and left the ceremony with the leading 34 nominations … with one film award (Laura Dern won Best Supporting Actress for ‘Marriage Story’) and one television honor (Olivia Colman, awarded for ‘The Crown’ ). Instead, voters mostly stick with old-fashioned choices.
Expect this round to be different, in part because most traditional film studios have been paralyzed by the pandemic. Netflix has 42 nominations, and two of its films, “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” compete for the best drama, the most coveted award. No streaming service has ever won in this category.
If ‘Chicago 7’ wins, which increases its Oscar chances, Paramount Pictures will have a bit of an egg on its face: the 109-year-old studio downloaded the film to Netflix during the summer.
Among the remaining best nominated for dramas, the Hollywood institution is best represented by ‘Nomadland’, with Frances McDormand as a bus. “Nomadland” comes from the art film powerhouse formerly known as Fox Searchlight (now just Searchlight, which reflects a change in corporate ownership). The nominees include ‘The Father’ and ‘Promising Young Woman’, also from traditional film companies.
In another first time, the Globe for best comedy or musical will almost certainly go to a streaming service. According to forecasters at Gold Derby, an award-winning website, the comedy or musical race is a focus between “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon) and “Hamilton” (Disney +). “Palm Springs” (Hulu), “The Prom” (Netflix) and Sia’s “Music”, an unfortunate misleading release of video-on-demand, are also nominated.