I’m not afraid to admit it: I didn’t watch the Golden Globes last night. I let Josh take that honor, and I’m sure he’s a better man for it (or, at least, better informed about the perils of Billy Bush, which I’m sure will help him down the line).
I didn’t feel the need to watch the Globes, as I’m sure many Americans didn’t, because I knew I’d get the news eventually anyway, and knew that all the fun and life had been sucked out of the event already. Seems like I was right. It’s really a shame there was no ceremony, though, since a good number of the nominees actually had me gasping as I stared at my laptop, alone. It’s all well and good to express your surprise to your boyfriend, who is busy watching Lost, but it’s much more fun to be in a room full of Globes-watchers who are sharing the moment.
The shocks? Well, Atonement definitely dropped my jaw, and I don’t think I was alone there. The New York Times’ Carpetbagger said his predictions turned out to be “butt ugly,” and since I shared his belief that No Country for Old Men would take home the prize, I guess I share that dubious distinction too. Sweeney Todd winning for Best Musical or Comedy was another surprise, given that Juno has been steamrolling its way through the box office while Sweeney languishes outside the top ten. It’s not all about money, of course, but even the most die-hard Sweeney fans, like me, weren’t even bothering to take its pulse.
Even though the Hollywood Foreign Press typically loves the foreign language fare—being, y’know, foreign and all—Julian Schnabel’s win as Best Director for his work on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly came out of left field, since the Coens have been stomping their way through Guild awards and critical awards up to this point. The pair had to settle for Best Screenplay, another shocker given that Diablo Cody was a favorite for her Juno writing. No Country picked up one more statue, Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, which put it even with Atonement, Diving Bell and Sweeney for the winningest films of the night That’s right: no single film won more than two awards. Talk about spreading the love.
The question of whether or not the Globes mean anything in terms of the Oscars is even bigger than usual this year. Most studios expect their winning films to get a box office boost, or at least extra publicity, following the Globes. Given that anyone who doesn’t enjoy pain (or doesn’t get paid to watch awards shows) didn’t tune in last night, though, there’s no telling whether or not that publicity will be there. Oscar ballots are already in, so Atonement and Sweeney, both of which was big question marks for Best Picture nominations, won’t get any push in that department. If either of them makes the top five, though, the Golden Globe nod could get Academy members to finally pay attention.
In other awards news, today the Producers Guild of America announced their nominees for Best Picture of the Year. The producers’ top five never quite exactly matches up with the Oscar top five, but it’s usually pretty close. Their lineup of No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, Juno and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a solid lineup of the usual suspects, though Diving Bell is something of a surprise. Into the Wild and Atonement are significantly missing, and they round out the list of seven films that most prognosticators consider to still be in the running. Keep in mind the Directors Guild nominees, which swapping Juno for Into the Wild are exactly the same, and a much stronger Oscar predictor.
What does all this Guild craziness mean? Well, Atonement and Sweeney fans might not want to get their hopes up too high, since the Guilds are usually much stronger Oscar indicators, especially given that the Globes were handed out after the Oscar ballots were in. If either movie makes it through the next Oscar round we’ll talk, but for now I’m looking much closer at the DGA and PGA lineups. I said months and months ago that No Country and There Will Be Blood could never both be up for Best Picture, but now it looks like I have to eat my words. Given that I loved both movies, and condescendingly assumed the Academy just “wouldn’t get” Blood, I’m happy as a clam to be taking it back.
Coming up this week… uh, not much. BAFTA will announce its nominees on Wednesday, and we can expect Atonement to make a strong showing once again. Next Tuesday, though, is the big day: Oscar nominations go out at last. I’ll check in next Monday with my predictions, as stupid a plan as that may be, and then again on Tuesday to run down what actually happened. As weird as this sounds, I’m almost looking forward to the nominations rather than the actual awards. I know Daniel Day-Lewis will win Best Actor, but who will be nominated alongside him? And I will continue assuming that No Country will walk away with its deserved Oscar, but if the Best Picture line-up is actually full of movies I’ve seen and I liked—a first!—I will be beside myself. In that case, I’ll see you at the bar next Tuesday.
