HOLLYWOOD — In recent years, the Golden Globes were tarnished to such a dark level it seemed they might go the way of the CableAce Awards and the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, but after some sweeping reforms and a change in ownership, the Globes are making a new bid for respectability.
The nominations for the 2024 Golden Globes were announced pre-dawn at the Beverly Hilton by Cedric the Entertainer and Wilmer Valderrama, and while one can’t argue with the vast majority of selections and there are some particularly strong categories, e.g., all the major acting groups, we still have a few questions.
Will ‘Succession’ stars split the vote?
For best performance by an actor in a television series/drama, the nominees included three cast members from “Succession”: Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin and Brian Cox. How does one choose? Will they split the vote? The surprise in this category is Dominic West, a fine actor who I believe was totally miscast as Prince Charles in “The Crown,” but there he is, and congratulations to Dominic.
Could Marsden win for playing himself?
In the category of (deep breath) best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a musical/comedy or drama television series, we have three more “Succession” players — Matthew McFadyen, Alexander Skarsgärd and Alan Ruck — plus Billy Crudup for “The Morning Show” (my personal favorite in this group) and James Marsden for “Jury Duty.”
Wait, I thought “Jury Duty” was a reality/prank show about a guy who thought he had been selected to be a juror in a civil lawsuit, when in fact everyone else in the series was an actor playing a role. James Marsden was great playing an exaggerated version of James Marsden on the show, but it’s kind of odd to see him in this category, given his primary onscreen partner was a regular dude who didn’t know he was participating in dramatic/comedic scenes. Eh, why not. It would be kind of a hoot if Marsden won for essentially having a wonderful time making fun of himself.
What makes a film or show a ‘comedy’?
One could also argue “The Morning Show” is more of a drama than a comedy. In that same vein, it was a bit jarring to see “May December” get a nomination for best picture, musical or comedy, and Natalie Portman garner a nod for best actress in a musical or comedy — not because it’s underserving (I loved the film and the performances). It’s just that while there were a myriad moments of social satire and high camp dark comedy in Todd Haynes’ film, one could also make the case it was more of a cynical and disturbing piece of melancholia than a laugh riot.
Other well-deserved nominations
On the Chicago front, three cheers for the nominations for “The Bear” in the category of best television series, musical or comedy, and cast members Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edibiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Abby Elliott. (Wait, “The Bear” is more comedy than drama? Are we sure about that? All right all right, we’ll just go with it and move on.)
Also, it was wonderful to see Greta Gerwig receive her first best director nomination (for “Barbie,” you might have heard of that one) after being snubbed for “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.” Kudos as well to Emma Stone for her well-deserved double nomination, for the film “Poor Things” and the limited series “The Curse.”
This year’s changes and additions
For this year’s ceremony, two new categories have been added. One is Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, with a requirement that the eight nominees must have attained “a box office receipt total/gross of $150 million, of which $100 million must come from the U.S. domestic box office, and/or obtain commensurate digital streaming viewership recognized by trusted industry sources.” As you’d expect, top box office blockbusters such as “Barbie,” “The Super Marios Bros. Move,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider:Verse” and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3” made the cut — and the the voters also included “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which has performed spectacularly.
The Globes also added a Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television category, with Ricky Gervais, Trevor Noah, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes gaining nods for their respective specials. (Given there are approximately 8 kabillion stand-up specials on TV these days, it’s an honor just to be nominated.)
As noted, just a few years ago, the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association were on life support, reeling from a series of scandals, including questionable ethical practices by some members and a lack of diversity within the closed-off ranks of voters. Major stars such as Tom Cruise, Scarlett Johansson, Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes and Mark Ruffalo spoke out against the HFPA, and NBC declined to air the ceremony in 2022.
After the organization expanded its membership by inviting a sizable and diverse group of new members, banned gifts, instituted new rules, changed bylaws and announced the establishment of an oversight committee and a partnership with the NAACP, the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards returned to television.
In June 2023, Dick Clark Productions and its holding company, Penske Media Eldridge, announced they had taken over the awards show from the HFPA. The 81st Golden Globes will air on Jan. 7 on CBS and will stream on Paramount+ directly following an NFL on CBS doubleheader — a smart move designed to capitalize on the slump-proof ratings juggernaut that is the National Football League. (Oooh, what if the second game goes into overtime?) This will mark the first time the Globes have had a home with CBS since the early 1980s.
