2011 Golden Globes Nominations

Golden Globes nominations for the January 16 awards ceremony were announced today, and I really have no words. Actually, I do have some things to say, but none of them are good. Frankly, the Golden Globes continue to lose their credibility year after year with these ridiculous nominations. I have no idea where to start. Off the top of my head..

Some obviously flagrant offenses -- Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp's nominations for the The Tourist? The movie itself also got a nomination, despite its massive critical and box office failure. Oh, wow HFPA. I know the Golden Globes nominations usually read like a popularity chart, but how do you give Jolie and Depp nominations, and totally snub Julia Roberts for Eat, Pray, Love? Or hey, how about Gwyneth Paltrow's performance in Country Strong? Gee, let's see. She only plays a country music singer in that movie, of course she'd be left out of a comedy or musical nomination and naturally Angelina Jolie deserves one for her (hilarious, I'm sure) performance in The Tourist. Let's also mention that Burlesque received 3 nominations, and somewhere out of left field Emma Stone received a best actress in a comedy/musical nod for Easy A. Cute movie, but I didn't realize her performance was worthy of a Golden Globe nomination. Clearly, I was wrong.

Biggest offenses of all: the total lack of recognition for the Coen brothers' True Grit, despite widespread acclaim and its spot on critic's choice and AFI top ten lists. To be left out altogether is just a total slap in the face. Also missing is Danny Boyle in the best director category and 127 Hours in the best drama picture category, along with True Blood and The Office in their respective best television series categories.

The one bright spot (besides the nominations that were clearly a lock from the beginning) in this bleak announcement is Laura Linney's nomination for The Big C and the show's nomination as well. Extremely well deserved as the The Big C is easily my favorite newcomer this year; I'm totally rooting for Linney to win, although I will always have a soft spot for Toni Colette in United States of Tara. It's good to see her nominated, but I noticed the series nomination was missing -- and I totally get that. Season 2 was definitely not as strong as the first. I'm also glad to see Julia Stiles nominated for her recurring guest spot on Dexter because she definitely gave a strong performance. Having just watched the whole season, I thought she did great. Dexter has some amazing storylines for their guest spots. I am disappointed, however, that Jennifer Carpenter didn't receive a nomination. I thought this season of Dexter was her strongest season yet. I could have done without Jane Lynch for Glee as her character is very one-note, and it doesn't seem to be evolving any time soon. I can appreciate slapstick, but I would have preferred to have seen Jennifer Carpenter in her place in the best supporting actress series, mini-series, or TV movie category.

Let's just say I can't wait for the Oscars.

Alright, see the full list of nominations for both movies and television below. Judge for yourself.


Motion Pictures:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KING’S SPEECH
THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Halle Berry, FRANKIE AND ALICE
Nicole Kidman, RABBIT HOLE
Jennifer Lawrence, WINTER’S BONE
Natalie Portman, BLACK SWAN
Michelle Williams, BLUE VALENTINE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Jesse Eisenberg, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Colin Firth, THE KING’S SPEECH
James Franco, 127 HOURS
Ryan Gosling, BLUE VALENTINE
Mark Wahlberg, THE FIGHTER

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
BURLESQUE
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
RED
THE TOURIST

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Annette Bening, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Anne Hathaway, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
Angelina Jolie, THE TOURIST
Julianne Moore, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Emma Stone, EASY A

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Johnny Depp, ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Johnny Depp, THE TOURIST
Paul Giamatti, BARNEY’S VERSION
Jake Gyllenhaal, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
Kevin Spacey, CASINO JACK

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, BLACK SWAN
David Fincher, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Tom Hooper, THE KING’S SPEECH
Christopher Nolan, INCEPTION
David O. Russell, THE FIGHTER

BEST SCREENPLAY
Danny Boyle, 127 HOURS
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Hart, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Christopher Nolan, INCEPTION
David Seidler, THE KING’S SPEECH
Aaron Sorkin, THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexander Desplat, THE KING’S SPEECH
Danny Elfman, ALICE IN WONDERLAND
A.R. Robin, 127 HOURS
Trent Reznor, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Hans Zimmer, INCEPTION

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BIUTIFUL
THE CONCERT
THE EDGE
I AM LOVE
IN A BETTER WORLD

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, THE FIGHTER
Helena Bonham Carter, THE KING’S SPEECH
Mila Kunis, BLACK SWAN
Melissa Leo, THE FIGHTER
Jacki Weaver, ANIMAL KINGDOM

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Christian Bale, THE FIGHTER
Michael Douglas, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
Andrew Garfield, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Jeremy Renner, THE TOWN
Geoffrey Rush, THE KING’S SPEECH

BEST ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
THE ILLUSIONIST
TANGLED
TOY STORY 3

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Bound to You” – BURLESQUE
“Coming Home” – COUNTRY STRONG
“I See the Light” – TANGLED
“There’s a Place for Us” – THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE DAWN TREADER
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” – BURLESQUE


Television:

Best Television Series Drama
BOARDWALK EMPIRE
DEXTER
THE GOOD WIFE
MAD MEN
THE WALKING DEAD

Best Television Series – Comedy/Musical
30 ROCK
THE BIG BANG THEORY
THE BIG C
GLEE
MODERN FAMILY
NURSE JACKIE

Best Television Series – Miniseries/Movie
CARLOS
THE PACIFIC
PILLARS OF THE EARTH
TEMPLE GRANDIN
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical
Toni Collette, UNITED STATES OF TARA
Edie Falco, NURSE JACKIE
Tina Fey, 30 ROCK
Laura Linney, THE BIG C
Lea Michele, GLEE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical
Alec Baldwin, 30 ROCK
Steve Carell, THE OFFICE
Thomas Jane, HUNG
Matthew Morrison, GLEE
Jim Parsons, THE BIG BANG THEORY

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Julianna Margulies, THE GOOD WIFE
Elizabeth Moss, MAD MEN
Piper Perabo, COVERT AFFAIRS
Katey Sagal, SONS OF ANARCHY
Kyra Sedgwick, THE CLOSER

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi, BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Bryan Cranston, BREAKING BAD
Michael C. Hall, DEXTER
Jon Hamm, MAD MEN
Hugh Laurie, HOUSE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Scott Caan, HAWAII FIVE-0
Chris Colfer, GLEE
Chris Noth, THE GOOD WIFE
Eric Stonestreet, MODERN FAMILY
David Strathairn, TEMPLE GRANDIN

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hope Davis, THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
Jane Lynch, GLEE
Kelly Macdonald, BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Julia Stiles, DEXTER
Sofia Vergara, MODERN FAMILY

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Idris Elba, LUTHOR
Ian McSHane, THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
Al Pacino, YOU DON’T KNOW JACK
Dennis Quaid, THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
Edgar Ramirez, CARLOS

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Hayley Atwell, PILLARS OF THE EARTH
Claire Danes, TEMPLE GRANDIN
Judi Dench, RETURN TO CRANFORD
Romola Garai, EMMA
Jennifer Love Hewitt, THE CLIENT LIST