Billy Porter (L) and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez both scored Golden Globe lead television acting nominations for “Pose.” (Photo courtesy FX)
If any doubt remained that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has fallen spectacularly out of favor, it was summarily erased by the fact that the sole celebrity on hand to help announce the list of nominations for its 2021 Golden Globe Awards was Snoop Dogg.
That’s not a dig against Snoop Dogg. The eminently lovable rapper is an icon who manages to float effortlessly between worlds within the entertainment industry, thanks to a reputation for enthusiastic self-parody and a proven tendency to be pretty much game for anything – and frankly, watching him read the service manual for a vintage sewing machine would likely be more entertaining than sitting through a list of award nominees being recited (with perfunctory reverence, of course) by even the most accomplished of screen thespians.
Still, the glaring absence of any representative from the industry which the HFPA exists to honor is proof that the organization is still a long way from recovering from the scandal that broke in the wake of a Los Angeles Times investigative report earlier this year, which revealed that its nearly 90-person membership included no people of color and provided damning details about its long-alleged unethical practices – including the influence over its voting process by gifts, paid travel, and other perks from studios and networks behind the potential nominees and winners.
The bombshell report, which was published mere days before the Golden Globes presentation last February, led to an embarrassing award show in which the revelation of the winners was eclipsed by the organization’s scramble to do damage control.
Leaning into a too-little-too-late show of diversity among the ceremony’s performers and presenters, and sending some of the HFPA’s high-level representatives to the podium in a desperate effort to spin the situation with a not-quite-apology for its previous shortcomings (followed by an unconvincing promise to do better), the organization seemed only to have dug itself deeper into the hole of bad publicity that threatened to put an end to the awards body’s 78-year existence, once and for all.
Proposed reforms to the structure and practices of the HFPA were announced, and were promptly dismissed by Time’s Up as “window-dressing platitudes.” Major players in the industry announced intentions to boycott the Golden Globes; more than a hundred PR firms threatened to cut off the HFPA from access to their clients; high-profile talent publicly denounced the organization, with three-time winner Tom Cruise even returning his trophies. Perhaps most disastrous of all, NBC – the network which had been home to the Golden Globes broadcast – announced it would not be airing another one until at least 2023, saying that “change of this magnitude takes time and work” and that “the HFPA needs time to do it right”.
Despite all this, the beleaguered organization declared its intention to continue with its annual awards presentation, and following months of restructuring – in which the HFPA has attempted to diversify its ranks by adding new members, rewritten its bylaws, forbidden the acceptance of gifts, restricted compensated travel, and undertaken an effort to revamp itself from bottom to top – has tenaciously clung to relevance by announcing the nominees for this year’s crop of films and television shows in an early morning press conference marked by the non-participation of any of the potential recipients of those honors.
This means, of course, that it’s time to start gearing up for another awards season in which the dramatic changes wrought by the COVID pandemic upon the entertainment industry are sure to have a still-unpredictable effect on the outcomes, and to engage in a game of “armchair quarterbacking” as we attempt to predict how the honors bestowed by other awards bodies will impact the winners’ circle for the most coveted industry prize of all: the Oscars.
Traditionally, the Golden Globes have been seen as a bellwether for Academy Award inclusion, with many of the nominees and winners going on to eventual Oscar glory – but given the current still-ongoing boycott of the HFPA by so many of the industry’s most influential power-players, it remains to be seen if that long-standing assumption will hold true this year.
With that in mind, it’s worth taking a look at the nominees – with an eye to the diversity among the choices, particularly the inclusion of LGBTQ-relevant nominees among the contenders.
For television, Black actors Billy Porter (“Pose”) and Omar Sy (“Lupin”), as well as South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae (“Squid Game”), received nominations as Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while the equivalent Lead Actress category included Black actress Uzo Aduba (“In Treatment”) and Black/Puerto Rican actress Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (“Pose”) – who also makes history by becoming the first transgender performer to be nominated in this category, a feat she also accomplished at the 2021 Emmys. In the Comedy division, Black actor Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”) picked up a nod as Best Lead Actor, with Black actresses Issa Rae (“Insecure”) and Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”) included among the nominees for Best Lead Actress.
In the supporting categories (which are not divided into comedy and drama division), O Yeong-su (“Squid Game”) got a nod for Best Supporting Actor, with no nominees of color named within the Supporting Actress slate.
For performances in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television, Latino actor Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”) and French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim (“The Serpent”) made the cut for Best Actor, while Black actress Cynthia Erivo (“Genius: Aretha”) was nominated for Best Actress.
The big screen acting categories also included several nominees of color. Though there were no performers of color in the running for Best Lead Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, the Lead Actor slate includes three Black actors – Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song”), Will Smith (“King Richard”), and Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”) – among its contenders. In the Musical or Comedy division, Latino actor Anthony Ramos (“In the Heights”) scored a nomination for Lead Actor, with Latino/Polish newcomer Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”) earning a nod for Lead Actress.
In the Supporting categories (which again, are not separated into Drama and Comedy divisions), Black performers Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”) and Ruth Negga (“Passing”) joined Black/Puerto Rican performer Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) on the list of Actress nominees, and while the Actor category contained no performers of color, deaf actor Troy Kotsur (“CODA”) made the cut, in a rare show of representation for people with disabilities.
When it comes to LGBTQ representation, however, the nominations fall considerably shorter. Among all the acting nominees, the only out members of the community are Porter and Rodriguez (each in their respective Lead Performance categories for “Pose”), Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”) and Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) for Lead Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, and Hannah Einbender (“Hacks”) for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Television Comedy. In addition to these, Azuba, Erivo and Andrew Garfield (nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for “tick, tick… Boom!”) are noted for their vocal LGBTQ advocacy as allies.
While nominees Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee (nominated for Lead and Supporting Actor, respectively, in a Motion Picture Drama for “The Power of the Dog”) play queer characters, both identify as straight in real life. The same is true for Ewan McGregor, nominated as Best Actor in a Limited Series for his star turn as the title character in “Halston”.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the Best Director of a Motion Picture category, long dominated exclusively by men, this year includes two women: Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) and Maggie Gyllenhall (“The Lost Daughter”).
Whether or not these nominees – or any of the others, for that matter – end up following up their recognition today with nods or wins on Oscar night remains to be seen. In the meantime, we can find out who takes home the HFPA’s prizes (as well as who actually shows up to claim a prize from an organization now relegated to pariah status by most of Hollywood) on January 9, when the ceremony can be seen on the Golden Globes’ You Tube channel.
A complete list of nominations is below.
Film:
Best Motion Picture, Drama
“Belfast” (Focus Features)
“CODA” (Apple)
“Dune” (Warner Bros.)
“King Richard” (Warner Bros.)
“The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)
Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
“Cyrano” (MGM)
“Don’t Look Up” (Netflix)
“Licorice Pizza” (MGM)
“Tick, Tick … Boom!” (Netflix)
“West Side Story” (20th Century Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Best Director, Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)
Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Lost Daughter”)
Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”)
Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song”)
Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”)
Will Smith (“King Richard”)
Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”)
Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)
Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)
Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”)
Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”)
Peter Dinklage (“Cyrano”)
Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”)
Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”)
Anthony Ramos (“In the Heights”)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Marion Cotillard (“Annette”)
Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”)
Jennifer Lawrence (“Don’t Look Up”)
Emma Stone (“Cruella”)
Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”)
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”)
Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”)
Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”)
Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)
Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Caitríona Balfe (“Belfast”)
Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)
Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)
Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)
Ruth Negga (“Passing”)
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Paul Thomas Anderson — “Licorice Pizza” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Kenneth Branagh — “Belfast” (Focus Features)
Jane Campion — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)
Adam McKay — “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix)
Aaron Sorkin — “Being the Ricardos” (Amazon Studios)
Best Motion Picture, Animated
“Encanto” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
“Flee” (Neon)
“Luca” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
“My Sunny Maad” (Totem Films)
“Raya and the Last Dragon” (Walt Disney Studios)
Best Picture, Foreign Language
“Compartment No. 6” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Finland, Russia, Germany
“Drive My Car” (Janus Films) — Japan
“The Hand of God” (Netflix) — Italy
“A Hero” (Amazon Studios) — France, Iran
“Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Spain
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
“The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures) — Alexandre Desplat
“Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Germaine Franco
“The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) — Jonny Greenwood
“Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classic) — Alberto Iglesias
“Dune” (Warner Bros.) — Hans Zimmer
Best Original Song, Motion Picture
“Be Alive” from “King Richard” (Warner Bros.) — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dixson
“Dos Orugitas” from “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down to Joy” from “Belfast” (Focus Features) — Van Morrison
“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from “Respect” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) — Jamie Hartman, Jennifer Hudson, Carole King
“No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) — Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell
Television:
Best Television Series, Drama
“Lupin” (Netflix)
“The Morning Show” (Apple TV Plus)
“Pose” (FX)
“Squid Game” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO/HBO Max)
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
“The Great” (Hulu)
“Hacks” (HBO/HBO Max)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
“Reservation Dogs” (FX on Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV Plus)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Lee Jung-jae (“Squid Game”)
Billy Porter (“Pose”)
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)
Omar Sy (“Lupin)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Uzo Aduba (“In Treatment”)
Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”)
Christine Baranski (“The Good Fight”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (“Pose”)
Best Television Actor, Musical or Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Nicholas Hoult (“The Great”)
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)
Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”)
Elle Fanning (“The Great”)
Issa Rae (“Insecure”)
Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”)
Jean Smart (“Hacks”)
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
“Dopesick” (Hulu)
“Impeachment: American Crime Story” (FX)
“Maid” (Netflix)
“Mare of Easttown” (HBO/HBO Max)
“The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)
Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture made for Television
Paul Bettany (“WandaVision”)
Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”)
Michael Keaton (“Dopesick”)
Ewan McGregor (“Halston”)
Tahar Rahim (“The Serpent”)
Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
Jessica Chastain (“Scenes From a Marriage”)
Cynthia Erivo (“Genius: Aretha”)
Elizabeth Olsen (“WandaVision“)
Margaret Qualley (“Maid”)
Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”)
Best Supporting Actor, Television
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Mark Duplass (“The Morning Show”)
Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”)
O Yeong-su (“Squid Game”)
Best Supporting Actress, Television
Jennifer Coolidge (“White Lotus”)
Kaitlyn Dever (“Dopesick”)
Andie MacDowell (“Maid”)
Sarah Snook (“Succession”)
Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”)
