Things To Take Out Of Golden Globe Nominations

Just after 6:30am this morning Los Angeles time was when Woody Harrelson, Rashida Jones, Soffia Vergara, and Gerard Butler announced the nominees in the movie categories for the Golden Globe Awards.  The prestigious award (given annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press) helps shape the countdown to the Oscars.  Now that we know the nominees (if you don't, check out Dan Alexander's post on our home page), here are some things to know:

1) The Golden Globes separate Drama and Comedy

Most awards this season just awards the Best Picture.  The Hollywood Foreign Press splits the Drama away from Comedy or Musical.  Why Comedy and Musical are combined together has been a mystery, but it would seem tricky to have a "Musical Drama" I suppose.  The Best Picture - Drama winner usually has a leg up toward being the favorite to win the Oscar.  The Favorite in this category seems to be The Help based on its multiple nominations for Globes, plus its strong showing in SAG Award nominations.

Best Picture - Comedy or Musical may be an afterthought many years, but 2 pictures stand to gain a great deal if they win this award.  One is The Artist - the throwback to black & white Silent Picture genre which has a great deal of buzz about it.  The other is Bridesmaids - with almost $300 Million worldwide this year, this flick is the highest grossing film among the nominees in both categories.  A pure comedy (not a "Dramedy" or a musical) rarely gets Oscar love, but with the film getting a SAG nomination as one of the 5 best pictures of the year, plus a win here will force the Academy to re-think their usual stance.

2) George Clooney is a God, Woody Allen is still relevant, and Ryan Gosling is an A-List star

Big morning for Clooney with his Best Actor - Drama nomination for The Descendants, plus a nomination for Best Director and for co-writing the Best Screenplay for The Ides Of March. This may insure Clooney's future toward winning this night at least once, and even bigger things to come Oscar time.

Woody Allen is a entity onto himself.  His history has made him popular with the Hollywood Foreign Press, and the community of actors who seem to want to have a role in one of his movies.  Woody's latest film (Midnight In Paris) has earned himself a Best Director nomination, a Best Screenplay nod for Woody's writing, the film a Best Picture - Comedy or Musical nomination, and Owen Wilson earns a nomination for his work in this film.

Gosling earned 2 nominations for his acting this past year - one for Drama in The Ides Of March, and one for Comedy in Crazy Stupid Love.  This is rare feat in Golden Globe history!  Combine this with his co-star from Drive earning a Golden Globe nomination, Gosling amy be the hottest young star Hollywood has today.

3) Oscar hopes stay alive for Mara, Brooks, and Hugo

Albert Brooks took a step backwards just yesterday by not getting a SAG Award nomination, but put himself back in the Oscar discussion for his Best Supporting Actor turn for his crime boss role in Drive opposite the aforementioned Gosling.  Brooks has won many critics awards already this season, but may need this Golden Globe to have him return to Oscar gold for the 2nd time in his great career (1987 winner for Best Supporting Actor in Broadcast News)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was garnering much hype but no awards buzz until now.  Rooney Mara breaks into a category with stiff competition (Best Actress - Drama).  She would be a major underdog to win here, but her Oscar nomination chances stay alive with her nomination here for a Golden Globe.

Hugo hit a bump in the road toward Oscar without a SAG nomination, but the choice among a good chunk of the critics for Best Picture gets back in the mix.  A win over The Help would make Hugo the film to beat come Oscar time.

4) Woody Harrelson is crazy!

Woody has been a Golden Globe nominee in the past (The People Vs. Larry Flynt and The Messenger), and he was a long shot nominee this year for Rampart, but he took time to plug the films release date as he was passed over for Best Actor - Drama, and brought some laughs to the nominations this morning.  Woody also had fun claiming it was an oversight by the Hollywood Foreign Press (Side Note:  I saw the trailer and Rampart looks like one to watch in January).

5) Golden Globes recognize the best in TV this past year (AKA Cable)

One glaring point to bring out here is the nominees for Best Drama Series: American Horror Story on FX; Boardwalk Empire on HBO; Boss on Starz; Game of Thrones on HBO; Homeland on Showtime.

Network television needs to look at this and realize they are being taken down by more creative shows on cable, and that whatever worked in the past is now officially passe.  Should also be noted that all 5 Best Actor nominees are from Cable TV.

6) Ricky Gervais is back to host again

Should there be one reason to watch the Golden Globes on NBC in January is because of this man.  Irreverent, politically incorrect, completely insane and all times funny, Gervais is not afraid to say what he feels or potentially offend someone.  This makes this so so much more entertaining than the Oscars.  Billy Crystal has to know that it's 2011, and Ricky has become "The Man" when it comes to hosting this kind of event.