Golden Globes Announced: “Twelve Years a Slave” and Kerry Washington in Contention

A few surprises. Completely passed over for major awards were The Butler and Fruitvale Station. Damn shame in the case of Fruitvale Station, but perhaps it will show up in the Oscar race. And perhaps, it was released far too early for the voters to recall it at this particular time. Strangely, Game of Thrones with its Red Wedding and Homeland were also snubbed. This Globe race could be a harbinger for the Oscars.

My fear? Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor will cancel each other out for Best Actor and someone like Robert Redford or Tom Hanks will slip in as “a compromise.” Another dark horse for Best Actor at the Oscars? Bruce Dern.

Barkhad Abdi, the Somali-American actor and indie film director who played the pirate leader Abduwali Muse in Captain Phillips, won a nomination from both the Globes and the Screen Actors Guild this week. Methinks that the cadaverous Abdi, who came to this country from Somali via Yemen about fourteen years ago, also appealed to the imaginative nightmares of Globe voters to get him that nomination. But with Bradley Cooper and Michael Fassbinder—who was crazed in 12 Years... —in the running as well, it’s going to be an interesting contest.

The frontrunners for Best Picture? 12 Years a Slave, as well as that paean to 2oth century corrupt politics and Mafia guys, American Hustle. Dark horses may be Nebraska and The Wolf of Wall Street. If director Steve McQueen is overlooked for 12 Years…, either by the Globes or the Oscars, I think that it will be a disgrace.

I think it’s a three-way tussle between Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Sandra Bullock for Best Actress – Drama. Who do I think is going to win? Blanchett. Her performance is a cautionary tale of how a formerly rich socialite can fall very low on the economic totem pole, still hanging onto not only one but several lies. Woody Allen’s latest has been described as a recent version of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. At the same time, it makes me think of how far Ruth Madoff’s fortunes have plummeted.

Lupita Nyong’o, to me, has got a Globe and an Oscar and anything else that they can throw her way for her role as Patsey in 12 Years… That it took a non-African American actress to garner this kind of attention suggests that the sisters have got to step up their game. But Nyong’o attended Yale School of Drama, which, notably, is also where Meryl Streep and Angela Bassett graduated.

The guys below from the UK’s Guardian have a different and interesting take on the film sweepstakes and on the Globe voting bloc itself. In short, the reviewers think that they are weird.

As far as the TV Globes are concerned, if Kerry Washington gets the award for Best Actress in a TV Series – Drama, it will be a total shock. Not that I think that she doesn’t deserve it. However, it’s a tough sell with the likes of Juliana Margulies, a former winner, and Taylor Schilling, a new nominee from the show, Orange is the New Black, competing. I know I am supposed to “love” Downton Abbey for Best TV Series – Drama, but somehow, I am falling out of love with it and its inevitability. Even with the prospect of viewing its first black character, I’m not feeling it anymore. Breaking Bad is going to be the frontrunner, along with Masters of Sex, the series about sexologists Masters and Johnson.

Here is the full list of nominees that count, from the Los Angeles Times.

Best Motion Picture, Drama
“12 Years a Slave”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“Philomena”
“Rush”

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
“American Hustle”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Cate Blanchett “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock – “Gravity”
Judi Dench – “Philomena
Emma Thompson – “Saving Mr. Banks”
Kate Winslet – “Labor Day”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Chiwetel Ejiofor – “12 Years a Slave”
Idris Elba – “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom”
Tom Hanks – “Captain Phillips”
Matthew McConaughey – “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford – “All Is Lost”

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams – “American Hustle”
Julie Delpy – “Before Midnight”
Greta Gerwig – “Frances Ha”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “Enough Said”
Meryl Streep – “August: Osage County”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale – “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern – “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “The Wolf Of Wall Street”
Oscar Isaac – “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Joaquin Phoenix – “Her”

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence – “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o – “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts – “August: Osage County”
June Squibb – “Nebraska”

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”
Daniel Brühl – “Rush”
Bradley Cooper – “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender – “12 Years a Slave”
Jared Leto – “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Director – Motion Picture
Alfonso Cuarón – “Gravity”
Paul Greengrass – “Captain Phillips”
Steve McQueen – “12 Years a Slave”
Alexander Payne – “Nebraska”
David O. Russell – “American Hustle”

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Spike Jonze – “Her”
Bob Nelson – “Nebraska”
Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan – “Philomena”
John Ridley – “12 Years a Slave”
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell – “American Hustle”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“The Great Beauty”
“The Hunt”
“The Past”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Animated Feature film
“The Croods”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Frozen”

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Atlas” – “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
“Let It Go” – “Frozen”
“Ordinary Love” – “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
“Please Mr. Kennedy” – “Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Sweeter Than Fiction” – “One Chance”

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Alex Ebert – “All is Lost”
Alex Heffes – “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Steven Price – “Gravity”
John Williams – “The Book Thief”
Hans Zimmer – “12 Years a Slave”

Best TV Series, Drama
“Breaking Bad”
“Downton Abbey”
“The Good Wife”
“House of Cards”
“Masters of Sex”

Best TV Series, Comedy
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
“Girls”
“Modern Family”
“Parks and Recreation”

Best TV Movie or Mini-Series
“American Horror Story: Coven”
“Behind the Candelabra”
“Dancing on the Edge”
“Top of the Lake”
“The White Queen”

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama
Julianna Margulies – “The Good Wife”
Tatiana Maslany – “Orphan Black”
Taylor Schilling – “Orange is the New Black”
Kerry Washington – “Scandal”
Robin Wright – “House of Cards”

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Bryan Cranston – “Breaking Bad”
Liev Schreiber – “Ray Donovan”
Michael Sheen – “Masters of Sex”
Kevin Spacey – “House of Cards”
James Spader – “The Blacklist”

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy
Zooey Deschanel – “New Girl”
Lena Dunham – “Girls”
Edie Falco – “Nurse Jackie”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “Veep”
Amy Poehler – “Parks and Recreation”

Best Actor, TV Series Comedy
Jason Bateman – “Arrested Development”
Don Cheadle – “House of Lies”
Michael J. Fox – “The Michael J. Fox Show”
Jim Parsons – “The Big Bang Theory”
Andy Samberg – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Helena Bonham Carter – “Burton and Taylor”
Rebecca Ferguson – “White Queen”
Jessica Lange – “American Horror Story: Coven”
Helen Mirren – “Phil Spector”
Elisabeth Moss – “Top of the Lake”

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Matt Damon – “Behind the Candelabra”
Michael Douglas – “Behind the Candelabra”
Chiwetel Ejiofor – “Dancing on the Edge”
Idris Elba – “Luther”
Al Pacino – “Phil Spector”

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie
Jacqueline Bisset – “Dancing on the Edge”
Janet McTeer – “White Queen”
Hayden Panettiere – “Nashville”
Monica potter – “Parenthood”
Sofia Vergara – “Modern family”

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Josh Charles – “The Good Wife”
Rob Lowe- “Behind the Candelabra”
Aaron Paul – “Breaking Bad”
Corey Stoll – “House of Cards”
Jon Voight -” Ray Donovan”