Ah, the awards season is now upon us. The glamor, the glitz, the giant elephant in the room.
Even if you can't work up the energy to care about Hollywood congratulating itself (and believe me, I get that), this is going to a very interesting evening, because this is the first time that Hollywood gets to address the world collectively post-Harvey Weinstein.
Black is the color of the night. Stars like Meryl Streep (already so popular with Donald Trump) and Eva Longoria are asking fellow participants to wear black to show their solidarity. Expect a lot of very pointed speeches as well.
This Sunday night’s Golden Globes will be the first televised awards ceremony to kick off what is certain to be a complicated—and potentially groundbreaking—awards season (a staid institution that’s admittedly starving for a shake-up). In an effort to continue to draw attention to the issue of sexual harassment, actresses attending the ceremony have pledged to show up on the red carpet wearing black, in solidarity with the cause. The dress code is just one part of the initiative spurred by Time’s Up a new movement led by 300 actresses, female directors, and writers to fight sexual discrimination not just in Hollywood but around the country, setting up a $13 million dollar legal fund to help low-income workers defend themselves against sexual misconduct. Time’s Up has also reportedly provided talking points for the Golden Globes red carpet. “For years, we’ve sold these awards shows as women, with our gowns and colors and our beautiful faces and our glamour,” Eva Longoria, a member of Time’s Up, said to The New York Times this week. “This time the industry can’t expect us to go up and twirl around. That’s not what this moment is about.”
My daughter--a film student--has given me her predictions for the nominees (I haven't seen all of the films and almost none of the television nominated). Feel free to play along.
Her choices for winners marked with (**)
Movies
Best Motion Picture - Drama
"Call Me by Your Name" **
"Dunkirk"
"The Post"
"The Shape of Water"
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Nicole: I did see this one, thought it was fantastic. I wouldn't be upset at all to see a ton of awards for this)
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
"The Disaster Artist"
"Get Out" (Nicole: I saw this, and although I don't know that it should win the top award, it's definitely a movie you should see.)
"The Greatest Showman"
"I, Tonya"
"Lady Bird" **
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Jessica Chastain, "Molly's Game"
Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"
Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Differing from my kid again. This was a performance without flaw. Fearless, lacking in vanity and beautifully nuanced.)
Meryl Streep, "The Post" **
Michelle Williams, "All the Money in the World"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Timothée Chalamet, "Call Me by Your Name" **
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Phantom Thread" (Nicole: I'm going to argue with my kid in that this is reportedly Day-Lewis' final role as a film actor and I think the Hollywood Foreign Press will likely present him with the award for the body of his work.)
Tom Hanks, "The Post"
Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
Denzel Washington, "Roman J. Israel, Esq."
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Judi Dench, "Victoria & Abdul"
Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"
Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird" **
Emma Stone, "Battle of the Sexes"
Helen Mirren, "The Leisure Seeker"
Best Director
Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water" **
Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"
Ridley Scott, "All The Money in the World"
Steven Spielberg, "The Post"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Steve Carell, "Battle of the Sexes"
Ansel Elgort, "Baby Driver"
James Franco, "The Disaster Artist" **
Hugh Jackman, "The Greatest Showman"
Daniel Kaluuya, "Get Out"
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Mary J. Blige, "Mudbound"
Hong Chau, "Downsizing"
Allison Janney, "I, Tonya" **
Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird" (Nicole: I suspect this is Metcalfe's, but having not seen I, Tonya, I defer to my kid)
Octavia Spencer, "The Shape of Water"
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project" **
Armie Hammer, "Call Me by Your Name"
Richard Jenkins, "The Shape of Water"
Christopher Plummer, "All the Money in the World" (Nicole: Interesting factoid on Plummer's performance: He replaced accused actor Kevin Spacey AFTER filming was concluded. If he wins, that's a major #MeToo moment.)
Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Nicole: Personally, I'm a huge fan of Rockwell and he was amazing in this role)
Best Original Score in a Motion Picture
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
"The Shape of Water"
"Phantom Thread" **
"The Post"
"Dunkirk"
(Nicole: Sufjan Stevens' soundtrack for "Call Me By Your Name" is award-worthy)
Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture
"The Shape of Water"
"Lady Bird"
"The Post"
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" **
"Molly's Game"
Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language
"A Fantastic Woman"
"First They Killed My Father"
"In the Fade"
"Loveless"
"The Square" **
Best Animated Film
"The Boss Baby"
"The Breadwinner"
"Ferdinand"
"Coco" **
"Loving Vincent" (Nicole: While I did see "Coco" and thought it was a visually amazing film, this film--with tens of thousands of individually painted pictures in the style of Vincent VanGogh--deserves the award for sheer achievement)
TV
Best TV series - Drama
"The Crown"
"Game of Thrones"
"The Handmaid's Tale" **
"Stranger Things"
"This Is Us"
Best performance by Actress in a TV series - Drama
Caitriona Balfe, "Outlander"
Claire Foy, "The Crown"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Deuce"
Katherine Langford, "13 Reasons Why"
Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" **
Best performance by an Actor in a TV Series - Drama
Sterling K. Brown, "This is Us" **
Freddie Highmore, "The Good Doctor"
Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul"
Liev Schreiber, "Ray Donovan"
Jason Bateman, "Ozark"
Best TV series - Musical or Comedy
"Black-ish"
"Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" **
"Master of None" (Nicole: I actually thought that the "Thanksgiving" episode of MoN was one of the best written television episodes of all time. Just perfect on every level.)
"SMILF"
"Will & Grace"
Best performance by an Actor in a TV series - Musical or Comedy
Anthony Anderson, "Black-ish"
Aziz Ansari "Master of None"
Kevin Bacon, "I Love Dick"
William H. Macy, "Shameless" **
Eric McCormack, "Will and Grace"
Best performance by an Actress in a TV series - Musical or Comedy
Pamela Adlon, "Better Things"
Alison Brie, "Glow"
Issa Rae, "Insecure"
Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" **
Frankie Shaw, "SMILF"
Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
"Big Little Lies" **
"Fargo"
"Feud: Bette and Joan"
"The Sinner"
"Top of the Lake: China Girl"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Robert De Niro, "The Wizard of Lies"
Jude Law, "The Young Pope"
Kyle MacLachlan, "Twin Peaks"
Ewan McGregor, "Fargo" **
Geoffrey Rush, "Genius"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jessica Biel, "The Sinner"
Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies" **
Jessica Lange, "Feud: Bette and Joan"
Susan Sarandon, "Feud: Bette and Joan"
Reese Witherspoon, "Big Little Lies"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alfred Molina, "Feud"
Alexander Skarsgard, "Big Little Lies" **
David Thewlis, "Fargo"
David Harbour, "Stranger Things"
Christian Slater, "Mr. Robot"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Laura Dern, "Big Little Lies"
Ann Dowd, "The Handmaid's Tale" **
Chrissy Metz, "This is Us"
Michelle Pfeiffer, "The Wizard of Lies"
Shailene Woodley, "Big Little Lies"
