Who was a surprise, and who was left out in the Golden Globe Award nominations on Dec. 9?
Snub: Robert De Niro
“The Irishman” got a lot of love at the Globes, including nods for both of his co-stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci in the Supporting Actor category, but De Niro himself came away empty-handed.
Surprise: Cate Blanchett for “Where’d You Go Bernadette?”
Cate Blanchett’s performance in Richard Linklater’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” was fairly forgotten, as the movie was a late summer release that didn’t play the festival circuit, and the film was a critical and box office disappointment considering its pedigree. It’s a good thing the HFPA remembered though, because she’s phenomenal in a light-hearted, but complex role.
Snub: “Game of Thrones”
“Game of Thrones,” one of the most critically acclaimed shows ever, received no love on Monday except for lead actor Kit Harington. At the Emmys this year, the show swooped five awards, out of its 10 nominations.
Surprise: Ana de Armas for “Knives Out”
Ana de Armas was great in “Knives Out,” but her nomination came as a bit of a surprise to some, especially because “Hustlers’” Constance Wu was shut out.
Snub: “The Handmaid’s Tale”
The Hulu show has seen major wins in previous year for “The Handmaid’s Tale,” but this year, the Elisabeth Moss-fronted show couldn’t even score a nomination.
Surprise: Annette Bening for “The Report”
Annette Bening plays Sen. Dianne Feinstein in Scott Z. Burns’ dense but scathing drama about how the CIA aimed to cover up its use of torture and “enhanced interrogation techniques” following 9/11. Her co-star Adam Driver as investigator Daniel J. Jones is deserving as well, but he got nominated for his work in “Marriage Story”
Snub: “When They See Us”
Niecy Nash and Jharrel Jerome were predicted nominees, and the show was expected to get a Best TV Limited Series nod, at least — but it got absolutely nothing. Shocking, especially because it received the most love at the Critics Choice Awards just the day before, and Jerome won the Emmy.
Surprise: “Catch-22”
The underrated Hulu wartime drama “Catch-22” scored some surprise nominations in the Limited Series category and for star Christopher Abbott. And this will give the HFPA an opportunity to invite George Clooney to the ceremony.
Snub: Noah Baumbach for Best Director
Baumbach was left out of the Best Director nominations for his film “Marriage Story,” in a category that included Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”), Sam Mendes (“1917”), Todd Phillips (“Joker”), Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”) and Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”). Stiff competition, but still a surprise.
Surprise: “Two Popes” in Best Drama and Jonathan Pryce in Best Actor
“The Two Popes” is a delightful movie, but it might be the lightest among the other very serious drama nominees. And Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis, though he bears a splitting resemblance to the pontiff, is a surprise for having beaten out guys like Robert De Niro in “The Irishman.”
Snub: Lupita Nyong’o for “Us”
After Nyong’o won the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Actress for her role in Jordan Peele’s “Us,” we thought the HFPA might do the same. However, the actress got no love on Monday.
Surprise: Reese Witherspoon for “Morning Show”
Those Apple TV+ subscriptions must be fresh for voters, because they didn’t just nominate Jennifer Aniston for her work on “The Morning Show,” they also nominated Reese Witherspoon to give the show two Lead Actress nominations in the same category.
Snub: “Uncut Gems”
There was no love at all for Adam Sandler’s “Uncut Gems,” although the National Board of Review just named it one of the 10 best films of the year, and Sandler even won Best Actor. The New York Film Critics Circle gave the Best Director Award to the Safdie Brothers for the film.
Surprise: Christina Applegate
Applegate was wonderful in “Dead To Me” and definitely deserves recognition, but the could be deemed a surprise given the other heavy hitters that could’ve received a nomination. For example, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was left out for “Veep.”
Snub: “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”
What’s the opposite of “Yeah, bitch!”? Oh, right: No, bitch!
We waited six years to find out what happened to Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and actually got a very good movie along with that answer — and yet no Golden Globe nomination?!? Even Aaron himself was left out in the cold — and we’re not talking about where he ends up. C’mon, dog.
Surprise: Ramy Youssef
Youssef was nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy category, alongside Ben Platt, Bill Hader, Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd. Ted Danson (“The Good Place”) was shut out.
Snub: Jeremy Strong
The amount of crap that Kendall Roy (Strong) had to suffer this season on “Succession” and not even a lousy Golden Globe nomination? OK, so there’s nothing “lousy” about a Globes nod, but this snub sure is. Don’t get us wrong, Brian Cox is very deserving and likely split the vote in a Christian Bale-Matt Damon “Ford v. Ferrari” scenario, but Jeremy was just as deserving as his small-screen big poppa. That rap alone!
Happy to see (TV) lil’ bro Roman (Kieran Culkin, the actual lil’ bro of Macauley Culkin) recognized in his own category.
Snub: Female Directors
Once again, not one woman was nominated in the Best Director category, although this year was stacked with critically-acclaimed films directed by women. Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”), Melisa Matsoukas (“Queen & Slim”), Marielle Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”) and Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), for example, were left out.
Snub: “Honey Boy”
Alma Har’el’s film was completely shut out as well — not even Shia LaBeouf received a nod for portraying his own father in the film based on his own life.
