2008 Golden Globes Nominations

The Hollywood Foreign Press announced the nominees for the 2008 Golden Globes Awards this morning. The complete list of nominees (including television nominees) can be found here.

I have several complaints about this year’s nominees.

1) Seven nominees for Best Picture Drama? Is that really necessary? I think that by allowing for more than five, it allows for more bad movies to be nominated.

2) Speaking of bad movies, I hated American Gangster. If someone out there enjoyed it, explain to me why and why it deserved three nominations for Picture, Director, and Actor. (Okay, Best Actor I can agree with, but not the others).

3) The Foreign Language Film category = GAH! The HFPA needs to change the rules. The Foreign Language Film category should highlight a film from outside the United States, ie not The Kite Runner. Even though this movie is not in English, it is still an American production meaning it is absolutely an American film. Which is unfortunate for The Kite Runner because it gets f’ed by that stupid, “The movie has to have this much dialogue in English for it to be an American film…” rule. Seriously? If it is an American production, it is an American film; it doesn’t matter what language is being spoken.

4) Since when was La Vie En Rose a musical? Regardless, Marion Cotillard delievered an amazing performance in that movie and has the best shot of winning (I hope).

5) Persepolis was nominated (yay) but not as an animated feature. Again, it is that annoying Foreign Language Film category that messes up everything.

6) I kind of love how Shakira is nominated for a Golden Globe. Oh! Maybe she’ll belly dance. Gabriel Garcia Marquez must be so proud.

Enough of my complaining! Onto the nominees:

Best Picture – Drama

American Gangster
Atonement
Eastern Promises
The Great Debaters
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Actress – Drama

Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie – Away From Her
Jodie Foster – The Brave One
Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley – Atonement

Best Actor – Drama

George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy – Atonement
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises
Denzel Washington – American Gangster

Best Picture – Musical or Comedy

Across The Universe
Charlie Wilson’s War
Hairspray
Juno
Sweeney Todd

Best Actress – Musical or Comedy

Amy Adams – Enchanted
Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray
Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd
Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page – Juno

Best Actor Musical or Comedy

Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl
Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson’s War
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Savages
John C. Reilly – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Animated Feature

Bee Move
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

Best Foreign Language Film

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfuly (France and USA)
The Kite Runner (USA)
Lust, Caution (Taiwan)
Persepolis (France)

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett — I’m Not There
Julia Roberts — Charlie Wilson’s War
Saoirse Ronan —Atonement
Amy Ryan — Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck — The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem — No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
John Travolta — Hairspray
Tom Wilkinson — Michael Clayton

Best Director

Tim Burton — Sweeney Todd
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen — No Country For Old Men
Julian Schnabel — The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Ridley Scott — American Gangster
Joe Wright — Atonement

Best Screenplay

Diablo Cody — Juno
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen — No Country For Old Men
Christopher Hampton — Atonement
Ronaldo Harwood — The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Aaron Sorkin — Charlie Wilson’s War

Best Original Score

Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder – Into the Wild
Clint Eastwood — Grace is Gone
Alberto Iglesias — The Kite Runner
Dario Marianelli — Atonement
Howard Shore — Eastern Promises

Best Original Song

“Despedida” — Love in the Time of Cholera
Music by: Shakira, Antonio PintoLyrics by: Shakira
“Grace is Gone” — Grace is Gone
Music by: Clint EastwoodLyrics by: Carole Bayer Sager
“Guaranteed” — Into the Wild
Music & Lyrics by: Eddie Vedder
“That’s How You Know” — Enchanted
Music & Lyrics by: Alan Menken
“Walk Hard” — Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Music & Lyrics by: Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow, Kasdan