From Hamilton to Promising Young Woman, diversity rules Golden Globe nominations

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood period drama Mank led a list of Golden Globe nominations on Wednesday (Feb 3) that were strong on diversity and dominated by Netflix in a reflection of the upheaval wrought by the coronavirus pandemic on the traditional American film industry.

From the movie version of rap-infused musical Hamilton to LGBTQ musical The Prom and director nods for three women, the nominations – which kick off the Hollywood awards season - recognised multiple stories and performers in an industry that critics have long complained is dominated by white men.

The contest for the best drama movie will also include modern Great Recession story Nomadland, 1960s Vietnam War protest drama The Trial Of The Chicago 7, #MeToo revenge story Promising Young Woman and ageing family drama The Father.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s satire on former President Donald Trump’s America, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm; Hamilton; The Prom; autism story Music and time-loop comedy Palm Springs will compete in a separate category for musicals and comedies.

For television, British royal family drama The Crown, whose season focused on the late Princess Diana, led the way with six nods, followed by quirky small-town comedy Schitt’s Creek.

Streaming service Netflix  beat all comers in both film, with 22 nods, and television, with 20, after a year in which the coronavirus pandemic led Hollywood studios to push back dozens of their film releases or put them on streaming services, and many movie theatres were closed for months.

Amazon Studios was a distant second with seven nominations in the movie field.

Three of the five directors nominated on Wednesday were women, including Regina King for the story of a meeting of four black icons in the 1960s in One Night In Miami, Britain’s Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman and Chinese-born filmmaker Chloe Zhao for Nomadland.

Among the acting nominees were Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, in his last film role, in jazz period piece Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed as a drummer losing his hearing in Sound Of Metal, Andra Day for her role in The United States Vs Billie Holiday, and Dev Patel for the modern twist on Charles Dickens The Personal History Of David Copperfield.

“Without question, things are changing,” said actor Leslie Odom Jr, who was involved in Hamilton, Music and One Night In Miami where he played A Change Is Gonna Come singer Sam Cooke.

“The table is getting longer, the room is getting larger, and the lens is finding new people and new interesting stories to tell,” Odom said in a phone interview.

The Golden Globes are to be handed out at a virtual ceremony on Feb 28, hosted by actors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

The winners are selected by the small Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

“Despite a stressed pandemic year, there is a comfort of sorts in embracing traditions. Perhaps it is a hopeful sign that we will get out of this eventually,” said British actor Gary Oldman who was nominated for playing Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz in Mank.

It was a good day for Baron Cohen, who won nominations both for his Borat sequel and for his supporting role in The Trial Of The Chicago 7.

“These two films are different, but they share a common theme: Sometimes we have to protest injustice with our own farce,” Baron Cohen said in a statement.

Following is a list of key film nominations:

Best drama

Nomadland

The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Mank

The Father

Promising Young Woman

Best comedy or musical

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Hamilton

Palm Springs

Music

The Prom

Best actor, drama

Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins – The Father

Riz Ahmed – Sound Of Metal

Gary Oldman – Mank

Tahar Rahim – The Mauritanian

Best actress, drama

Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Frances McDormand – Nomadland

Vanessa Kirby – Pieces Of A Woman

Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Andra Day – The United States vs Billie Holiday

Best actor, comedy or musical

Sacha Baron Cohen – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Dev Patel – The Personal History Of David Copperfield

James Corden – The Prom

Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton

Andy Samberg – Palm Springs

Best actress, comedy or musical

Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Michelle Pfeiffer – French Exit

Kate Hudson – Music

Rosamund Pike – I Care A Lot

Anya Taylor-Joy – Emma

Best director

Chloe Zhao – Nomadland

Aaron Sorkin – The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Regina King – One Night In Miami

David Fincher – Mank

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

Best supporting actor

Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah

Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Jared Leto – The Little Things

Bill Murray – On the Rocks

Leslie Odom Jr – One Night in Miami

Best supporting actress

Olivia Colman – The Father

Amanda Seyfried – Mank

Jodie Foster – The Mauritanian

Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy

Helena Zengel – News Of The World

Best animated film

The Croods: A New Age

Onward

Over the Moon

Soul

Wolfwalkers

Best foreign film

Another Round (Denmark)

La Llorona (France, Guatemala)

The Life Ahead (Italy)

Minari (USA)

Two of Us (USA, France)

Best original song

Fight for You - Judas and the Black Messiah

Hear My Voice - The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Io Si (Seen) - The Life Ahead

Speak Now - One Night In Miami

Tigress & Tweed - The United States vs Billie Holiday

Following is a list of key television nominations:

Best TV drama series

The Crown

Lovecraft Country

The Mandalorian

Ozark

Ratched

Best TV comedy/musical series

Schitt’s Creek

Ted Lasso

The Great

The Flight Attendant

Emily in Paris

Best actor, TV drama

Jason Bateman – Ozark

Josh O’Connor – The Crown

Matthew Rhys – Perry Mason

Al Pacino – Hunters

Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul

Best actress, TV drama

Olivia Colman – The Crown

Jodie Comer – Killing Eve

Emma Corrin – The Crown

Laura Linney – Ozark

Sarah Paulson – Ratched

Best actor, TV comedy/musical

Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek

Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso

Ramy Youssef – Ramy

Don Cheadle – Black Monday

Nicholas Hoult – The Great

Best actress, TV comedy/musical

Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek

Elle Fanning – The Great

Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant

Jane Levy – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Lily Collins – Emily in Paris

Best TV movie or limited series

Normal People

The Queen’s Gambit

Small Axe

The Undoing

Unorthodox