2021 Golden Globe awards nominations: nods for Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman as female directors break through

Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett score nominations as female directors break through| FULL LIST

Nicole Kidman has been nominated for her role in The Undoing.

Netflix’s Mank, a black-and-white drama that dives into Hollywood’s Golden Age with the making of Citizen Kane, on Wednesday topped the nominations for the pandemic-delayed Golden Globes, as female directors finally broke through with multiple nods.

Mank earned six nominations, including best drama, followed by fellow Netflix movie The Trial of the Chicago 7 on five, in an announcement that offered an important, early glimpse into the movies leading this year’s unique awards season.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has only previously nominated five female film directors in its long history, gave Globes nods to three women in the category this year.

The unveiling of the nominations, remotely co-hosted by Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker and Taraji P Henson, whittled down the list of films and stars headed for the Globes ceremony later this month — itself seen as a bellwether for the Oscars in April.

As expected, pandemic-related theater closures and blockbuster delays boosted smaller, stay-at-home movies from streamers this year, as Netflix thrashed the competition with a whopping 22 film nominations — up from an impressive 17 last year.

Gary Oldman as Herman Mankiewicz in Netflix’s Mank.

Rival Amazon Prime earned seven film nominations, including three apiece for civil rights-themed play adaptation One Night in Miami and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Sacha Baron Cohen starred in the sequel mockumentary about fictional Kazakh journalist Borat — which famously entrapped Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani — and earned a second acting nomination for his supporting work in Chicago 7, about the city’s 1968 anti-war riots.

“We’re so honoured — and just in case we don’t win any, I’ve already hired Rudy Giuliani to contest the results,” tweeted the British comedian.

Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett headline the Australian nominees, both nominated in the best actress in a miniseries or television motion picture category for their work in HBO’s The Undoing and Mrs America respectively.

5 Bloods snubbed

A small batch of prestige titles from Tinseltown’s traditional major studios held their own, with Disney’s Nomadland, Sony’s The Father and Universal’s Promising Young Woman each earning four nods.

#MeToo revenge thriller Promising Young Woman in particular exceeded expectations, with recognition for best drama, director, screenplay and actress for Carey Mulligan.

Mulligan will compete with Viola Davis for 1920s blues drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom as well as Frances McDormand for Nomadland, which swept the prizes at the Venice and Toronto festivals and is the pick of many experts for overall best picture.

Carey Mulligan as Cassandra in Promising Young Woman.

In the acting categories, late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman was also nominated for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

But he missed out on a second posthumous nod for Da 5 Bloods — which failed to snare any nominations, despite the choice of director Spike Lee’s children as this year’s Globes ambassadors, and a widely praised lead performance by Delroy Lindo.

Instead the fiercely competitive best actor in a drama category will feature heavyweights such as Anthony Hopkins for The Father, adapted from a French play about dementia, and Gary Oldman for Mank. Surprisingly, Meryl Streep missed out on a nomination for Netflix musical The Prom, which saw British talk show host James Corden honoured instead.

Female directors arrive

Last year, the HFPA was slammed for its failure to nominate any female directors, but this time Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Regina King (One Night in Miami) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) all earned nods.

Only five women had been nominated for best director across 77 previous editions of the Globes, with Barbra Streisand still the only female winner for 1983’s Yentl. Zhao becomes the first Asian female recognised in the category.

Disney+’s Hamilton, created from multiple performances featuring the original Broadway cast, earned two nominations, including best musical or comedy film, and best actor for creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

It is not allowed to compete at the Oscars, meaning the Globes represent the best chance for the Tony-winning musical about the US founding fathers to scoop up film accolades.

Foreign-language films, separated out into their own Globes pool, saw acclaimed Korean-American family drama Minari nominated as it bids to emulate last year’s all-conquering Parasite. In the television categories, Netflix was again dominant, scoring 20 nominations. Closest rival HBO earned seven, plus a further two for its new streaming platform HBO Max with The Flight Attendant. The latest season of British royal family drama The Crown had the most recognition with six nominations, ahead of recent Emmys smash hit Schitt’s Creek on five.

The 78th Golden Globes, voted on by the 90-odd members of the HFPA, will be broadcast on February 28. The season-crowning Oscars follow on April 25.

Full list of 2021 Golden Globes nominations

Best Motion Picture — Drama: The Father, Mank, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Picture – Musical Comedy: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Hamilton, Music, Palm Springs, The Prom

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Frances McDormand (Nomadland), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama: Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) Chadwick Boseman, (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) Anthony Hopkins, (The Father) Gary Oldman, (Mank) Tahar Rahim, (The Mauritanians)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy: Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Kate Hudson (Music), Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit), Rosamund Pike (I Care a Lot), Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), James Corden (The Prom), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield), Andy Samberg (Palm Springs)

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Olivia Colman (The Father), Jodie Foster (The Mauritan), Amanda Seyfried (Mank), Helena Zengel (News of the World)

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah), Jared Leto (The Little Things), Bill Murray (On the Rocks), Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami)

Best Director – Motion Picture: Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), David Fincher (Mank), Regina King (One Night in Miami), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Chloe Zhao, (Nomadland)

Best Screenplay Motion Picture: Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), Jack Fincher (Mank), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller, (The Father), Chloe Zhao, (Nomadland)

Best Picture — Animated: The Croods: A New Age, Onward, Over the Moon, Soul, Wolfwalkers

Best Picture — Foreign Language: Another Round (Denmark), La Llorona (France and Guatemala), The Life Ahead (Italy), Minari (USA), Two of Us (USA and France)

Best Score Motion Picture: The Midnight Sky, Alexandre Desplat; Tenet, Ludwig Göransson; News of the World, James Newton Howard; Mank, Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor; Soul, Jon Batiste, Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor

Best Song Motion Picture: “Fight for You”, Judas and the Black Messiah; “Hear My Voice”, The Trial of the Chicago 7; “Io Sì” (“Seen”), The Life Ahead; “Speak Now”, One Night in Miami; “Tigress & Tweed”, The United States vs. Billie Holliday

Best Drama Series: The Crown, Lovecraft Country, The Mandalorian, Ozark, Ratched

Best Musical/Comedy Series: Emily in Paris, The Flight Attendant, The Great, Schitt’s Creek, Ted Lasso

Best Television Motion Picture: Normal People, The Queen’s Gambit, Small Axe, The Undoing, Unorthodox

Best Actress-Television Motion Picture: Cate Blanchett (Mrs America), Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People), Shira Haas (Unorthodox), Nicole Kidman (The Undoing), Anya Taylor-Joy, (The Queen’s Gambit)

Best Actor-Television Motion Picture: Bryan Cranston (Your Honor), Jeff Daniels (The Comey Rule), Hugh Grant (The Undoing), Ethan Hawke (The Good Lord Bird), Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)

Best Television Actress — Drama Series: Olivia Colman (The Crown), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Laura Linney (Ozark), Sarah Paulson (Ratched)

Best Television Actor – Drama Series: Jason Bateman (Ozark), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Al Pacino (Hunters), Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason)

Best Television Actress – Musical/Comedy Series: Lily Collins (Emily in Paris), Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant), Elle Fanning (The Great), Jane Levy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)

Best Television Actor – Musical/Comedy Series: Don Cheadle (Black Monday), Nicholas Hoult (The Great), Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), Ramy Youssef (Ramy)

Best Supporting Actress – Television: Gillian Anderson (The Crown), Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Julia Garner (Ozark), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Cynthia Nixon (Ratched)

Best Supporting Actor – Television: John Boyega (Small Axe), Brendan Gleeson (The Comey Rule), Daniel Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Jim Parsons (Hollywood), Donald Sutherland (The Undoing)

Nominations by motion picture distributor: Netflix 22, Amazon Studios 7, Focus Features 5, Searchlight Pictures 5, Sony Pictures Classics 5, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 5, Warner Bros. Pictures 4, Universal Pictures 3, Hulu 2, NEON / Hulu 2, STXfilms 2, Vertical Entertainment / IMAX 2, A24 1, Apple / A24 1, Apple / GKIDS 1, Magnolia Pictures 1, Samuel Goldwyn Films 1, Shudder 1

Nominations by television distributor: Netflix 20, HBO 7, Hulu 6, Pop TV 5, Showtime 5, Amazon Studios 3, Apple TV+ 2, HBO Max 2, AMC 1, BBC America 1, Disney+ 1, FX Networks 1, NBC 1

Nominations by motion picture: Mank 6, The Trial of the Chicago 7 5, The Father 4, Nomadland 4, Promising Young Woman 4, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm 3, One Night In, Miami… 3, Hamilton 2, Judas and the Black Messiah 2, The Life Ahead 2, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 2, The Mauritanian 2, Music 2, News of the World 2, Palm Springs 2, The Prom 2, Soul 2, The United States vs. Billie Holiday 2, Another Round 1, The Croods: A New Age 1, Emma. 1, French Exit 1, Hillbilly Elegy 1, I Care a Lot 1, La Llorona 1, The, Little Things 1, The Midnight Sky 1, Minari 1, On the Rocks 1, Onward 1, Over The Moon 1, The Personal History of David Copperfield 1, Pieces of a Woman 1, Sound of Metal 1, Tenet 1, Two of Us 1, Wolfwalkers 1

Nominations by television series or program: The Crown 6, Schitt’s Creek 5, Ozark 4, The Undoing 4, The Great 3, Ratched 3, The Comey, Rule 2, Emily in Paris 2, The Flight Attendant 2, Normal People 2, The Queen’s Gambit 2, Small Axe 2, Ted Lasso 2, Unorthodox 2, Better Call Saul 1, Black Monday 1, The Good Lord Bird 1, Hollywood 1, Hunters 1, I Know This Much Is True 1, Killing Eve 1, Lovecraft Country 1, The Mandalorian 1, Mrs. America 1, Perry Mason 1, Ramy 1, Your Honor 1, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist 1

AFP