Get Ready for the Globes
Variety breaks down top contenders vying for trophies this year
Motion Picture Drama
The Globes changed eligibility rules starting with the 2022 ceremony to allow non-english language films to compete in best picture categories, and what a difference it made this year: both “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest” made the cut, along with “Past Lives,” which might have technically been considered ineligible in the past a la “Minari.” They’ll go up against “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro” and “Oppenheimer,” all of which received actor nominations: “Oppenheimer” scored a lead nom for Cillian Murphy and supporting recognition for Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, while “Killers’” Leonardo Dicaprio and frontrunner Lily Gladstone will vie in the lead categories, with Robert Deniro making the supporting cut. And “Maestro” leads Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan were both recognized, adding weight to its chances. — Jenelle Riley
Motion Picture Musical, Comedy
While the Globes, now owned by Variety parent Penske Media’s Dick Clark Prods. and Eldridge, has shown recent improvement in nominating actual comedies for this trophy, all musicals were shut out, including “The Color
Purple” — though actors Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks were recognized and “Wonka” star Timothée Chalamet made the cut. But it’s hard to argue with the six films nominated: “Air,” “American Fiction,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “May December” and “Poor Things.” This could be a “Barbie” blowout but keep your eye on the acclaimed “Poor Things,” especially with Emma Stone looking like the actress frontrunner. The two films also received screenplay nominations, which indicate their odds are higher than the other films. — J.R.
TV Drama
It’s no surprise that “Succession” dominated the drama categories, with nine overall nods including best series, three nods in both actor and supporting actor and one in actress. Its biggest competition may be “The Crown,” which now holds the record for the only series to be nominated for every season. Emma Stone snuck into the category, earning the sole nomination for “The Curse.” Both Jennifer Aniston for “The Morning Show” and Melanie Lynksey for “Yellowjackets” were surprisingly snubbed. Apple TV+’S “Morning Show” did earn two noms, for drama series and supporting actor (Billy Crudup), while “Yellowjackets” earned one nom, Christina Ricci in the supporting actress category. Speaking of sole nominations, Gary Oldman was a surprise in the actor category with the only recognition for “Slow Horses,” currently in its third season on Apple TV+.
— Emily Longeretta
TV Musical or Comedy
The comedy categories include a few more surprises. “Abbott Elementary” earned a best comedy nod and recognition for Quinta Brunson, but Janelle James, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Tyler James Williams were snubbed. Jason Segel earned the only nom for “Shrinking,” with Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams falling short. Bill Lawrence’s other series, “Ted Lasso,” earned three noms — series, lead actor Jason Sudeikis and supporting actress Hannah Waddingham. (Brett Goldstein was omitted!) “Poker Face” was missing from the series category, too, with lead Natasha Lyonne earning the sole nom. “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building” tied with five nominations each. While lead actors Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Martin Short and Steve Martin weren’t surprises, it was exciting to see Selena Gomez finally be recognized. Additionally, Meryl Streep earned a nod for her “Only Murders” supporting role while “The Bear” recognized supporting (yet, main!) actors Abby Elliott and Ebon Moss-bachrach. — E.L.
Limited Series
“Beef” led the limited/anthology category with three noms: the series and lead actors Steven Yeun and Ali Wong were recognized. “Fellow Travelers” snuck in with both a series nom — taking a spot that many thought could go to “A Small Light,” “Tiny Beautiful Things” or “Swarm” — and an acting nom for Matt Bomer. The male actor category included Woody Harrelson for “White House Plumbers” and David Oyelowo for “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” two shows that have earned little buzz. — E.L.
Director
With the exception of newcomer Celine Song, each director contender (or films they’ve made) have been recognized by the Globes before. The “Past Lives” helmer will vie against Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”) and Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”). With now 12 nominations under his belt since 1981 (including two for best screenplay) and three Globe wins in this category, Scorsese is by far the most decorated. But Cooper’s acting credits put him not far behind with eight and Nolan right behind him with six, though in both cases, no wins — yet. Song’s deeply personal debut generated as much love from critics as its blockbuster competition did from audiences, putting her on equal footing with a murderer’s row of filmmaking veterans. — T.G.
Screenplay
Among this year’s screenplay contenders, only “Anatomy of a Fall” wasn’t nominated concurrently in the directing category, but that speaks more to the quality of Justine Triet and Arthur Harari’s mesmerizing story of a woman on trial for the murder of her spouse than shortcomings in Bradley Cooper’s work on “Maestro,” which it replaced. That said, there are no surprises in the category, as the respective scripts for blockbusters “Barbie” (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach) and “Oppenheimer” (Christopher Nolan) were virtually guaranteed to get recognized, as was Martin Scorsese’s screenplay with Eric Roth for “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Tony Mcnamara’s for “Poor Things.” Both Song’s “Past Lives” and “Anatomy” have possessed a “little engine that could” quality during awards season that has not just kept them in the conversation but made them bold, imminently worthy alternatives to their more pedigreed competitors. — T.G.
Picture, Animated
Since its release, critically acclaimed B.O. hit “Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse” seemed the front-runner, but now its biggest competition is Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which is not only earning critics’ kudos but also rang up a historic B.O. over its first weekend of release. Makoto Shinkai’s “Suzume” could also grab voters — it was the first animated title to screen in Berlin’s competition since 2002 (Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away”), while it racked up an eye-popping $10 million in the U.S. Well-reviewed but not wowing are “Elemental,” “Wish” and blockbuster “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” But this year seems to boil down to a race among Japanese animation masters and the innovative comic-book hero’s journey. — C.H.
Picture, Non-english Language
This could boil down to a threeway race, with “The Zone of Interest,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Past Lives” also all nabbing motion picposthumous ture, drama, nominations. But will voters leave the trio to slug it out in that best pic category and reward the critically acclaimed and beloved “Fallen Leaves,” which started its journey in Cannes, here? Or immigration drama “Io Capitano,” which wowed the Venice fest? Or will “Society of the Snow” be the dark horse in the race? It’s kind of unprecedented, really, speaking to a strong field of contenders with Cannes festival-winners “Zone” and “Anatomy” pushing forward on the back of recent critics’ groups awards. — C.H.
Original Score
While most of the original score nominees were predictable, the outcome is far from that, and Globe observers consider this a pretty level playing field. And true to the Globes’ international bent, none of the nominees are U.s.-born. Four are first timers: English composers Jerskin Fendrix (“Poor Things”) and Mica Levi (“The Zone of Interest”), Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi (“The Boy and the Heron”) and a nod for Canadian Robbie Robertson (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), who died Aug. 9. Two more are previous Globe nominees, but neither has won: Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson (“Oppenheimer”) and English musician Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse”). — J.B.
Original Song
For the first time in more than 30 years, Golden Globe voters nominated three songs from the same film: Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” and “I’m Not Ken,” all from “Barbie.” The last time that happened was with 1992’s “Aladdin” (and one of those songs won). This year’s surprise nominee is “Addicted to Romance,” Bruce Springsteen’s end-title ballad from the romantic comedy “She Came to Me.” The remaining two song nominations were widely predicted: Jack Black’s amusing ditty “Peaches” from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and Lenny Kravitz’s “Road to Freedom” from “Rustin.” — J.B.