2020 Golden Globe Awards: ‘Marriage Story’ is the top nominee

December 9, 2019

by Carla Hay

With six nominations, Netflix’s divorce drama “Marriage Story” is the leading contender for 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will be presented January 5, 2020, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Ricky Gervais will host the ceremony. NBC has the U.S. telecast of the show, which begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) votes for the nominations and awards. The HFPA and Dick Clark Productions are producing the Golden Globe Awards telecast. Eligible movies are feature-length films released in the U.S. for at least one week in 2019. Eligible TV shows are those that aired new episodes on U.S. TV networks or streaming services in 2019.

“Marriage Story” picked up expected nominations for in the Motion Picture – Drama categories: Best Picture, Best Actor (Adam Driver) and Best Actress (Scarlett Johansson). The other “Marriage Story” nominations are for Best Screenplay (Noah Baumbauch), Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern) and Best Original Score (Randy Newman). Other movies with multiple nominations are Netflix’s “The Irishman” and Columbia Pictures’ “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which have five nods each.  Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Joker” and Netflix’s “The Two Popes” have four nominations each. Neon’s “Parasite,” Universal Pictures’ “1917,” and Paramount Pictures’ “Rocketman” each earned three nods.

For television, HBO’s “Chernobyl,” Netflix’s “The Crown” and Netflix’s “Unbelievable” are the leading contenders, with four nominations each. HBO’s “Barry,” HBO’s “Succession,” Amazon’s “Fleabag,” HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” FX’s “Fosse/ Verdon,” Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method” and Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” scored three nominations each.

Snubs and Surprises

The most noticeable Golden Globes snub this year was Netflix’s award-winning, critically acclaimed limited drama series “When They See Us” (created by Ava DuVernay), which told the story about the wrongful convictions of the Central Park Five, but failed to get any Golden Globe nominations. The snub is all the more noticeable, considering that “When They See Us” had 10 Emmy nominations and ended up winning one: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie, which went to Jharrel Jerome. Other Golden Globe TV snubs this year included “This Is Us” and “Schitt’s Creek,” which each received multiple Emmy nods this year. Also shut out of the Golden Globes race are the movies “Uncut Gems,” “Honey Boy,” “Clemency,” “The Lighthouse” and “Waves,” which have all received several nominations and some wins at independent film awards.

In terms of surprises, the murder mystery “Knives Out” picked up three nods in the Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy field: Best Picture, Best Actor (Daniel Craig) and Best Actress (Ana de Armas). Although there are some jokes in “Knives Out,” it can hardly be considered a comedy, since it’s an Agatha Christie-styled mystery drama.  It’s yet another example of how the Golden Globe Awards put nominees from movie dramas in the Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy categories. Other examples of dramas being misplaced in the musical/comedy field this year include Awkwafina from “The Farewell” and Cate Blanchett from “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?,” who each received nominations for Best Actress, while the “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” picked up nods for Best Picture and Best Actor (for Leonardo DiCaprio).

Diversity and Inclusion

In terms of diversity, the major movie categories each had at least one person of color as a nominee. Asians had the highest representation this year in the movie categories, with the South Korean drama “Parasite” (three nods), the Chinese American film “The Farewell” (two nods) and “Jojo Rabbit,” whose director/producer/co-star Taika Waititi is of Māori descent.

Latinos were represented most by the Spanish film “Pain and Glory,” which got nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (for Antonio Banderas). The aforementioned “Knives Out” co-star de Armas, who is Cuban, was also nominated. “Hustlers” co-star Jennifer Lopez (a Puerto Rican American) picked up a nod for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

Black people had representation in the movie categories with Eddie Murphy from “Dolemite Is My Name” (Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy); Cynthia Erivo from “Harriet” (Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and Best Original Song); Beyoncé from “The Lion King” (Best Original Song); and the French drama “Les Misérables” (Best Foreign Language Film), which has a black director and a predominantly black cast.

People of color are underrepresented in the TV categories. All of the nominees are white in most of the TV categories this year, which would not have happened if “When They See Us” repeated its Emmy nominations. Meanwhile, African American actor Billy Porter from “Pose” and Egyptian American actors Rami Malek from “Mr. Robot” and Ramy Youssef from “Ramy” were the only people of color to get nominations in the TV categories. Porter and Malek are contenders in the category of Best Actor in a TV Series – Drama, while Youssef is nominated for Best Actor in a TV Series – Musical or Comedy. Native Americans, who are severely underrepresented in entertainment, received no nominations in any of the Golden Globe categories, although there are some Native American supporting characters in the nominated animated film “Frozen II.” The award for Best Animated Film goes to the film’s producer(s) and director(s), not the actors.

In the categories of Best Director, all of the nominees are men. (The Golden Globes have been shutting out women in this category for years.) Women were also snubbed this year in the category of Best Screenplay. Possible nominees in the screenplay category could have been writer/director Greta Gerwig for “Little Women” and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who co-wrote “1917” with director Sam Mendes. However, a woman did get a nomination in a category that’s traditionally dominated by men: Best Original Score. Hildur Guðnadóttir got a nod in this category for her “Joker” score.

The LGBTQ community is represented in the movie categories with the Elton John musical biopic “Rocketman,” which received three nominations; “Pain and Glory,” which is inspired by a dysfunctional period of time in the life of the film’s openly gay director, Pedro Almodóvar; the French lesbian drama “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” which is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film; and nominated “Bombshell” supporting actress Margot Robbie, who plays a queer character in the movie. For television, the LGBTQ community picked up two nods for “The Politician”— Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series (for Ben Platt) — while the aforementioned Porter from “Pose” received an expected Golden Globe nod, since he won an Emmy Award for the role.

Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2020 Golden Globe Awards:

MOVIES

Best Motion Picture – Drama
“The Irishman” (Netflix)
“Marriage Story” (Netflix)
“1917” (Universal)
“Joker” (Warner Bros.)
“The Two Popes” (Netflix)

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Columbia)
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight)
“Knives Out” (Lionsgate)
“Rocketman” (Paramount)
“Dolemite Is My Name” (Netflix)

Best Director 
Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”)
Sam Mendes (“1917”)
Todd Phillips (“Joker”)
Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Christian Bale (“Ford v Ferrari”)
Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”)
Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”)
Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”)
Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Daniel Craig (“Knives Out”)
Roman Griffin Davis (“Jojo Rabbit”)
Leonardo DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Taron Egerton (“Rocketman”)
Eddie Murphy (“Dolemite Is My Name”)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”)
Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”)
Saoirse Ronan (“Little Women”)
Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”)
Renée Zellweger (“Judy”)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Awkwafina (“The Farewell”)
Ana de Armas (“Knives Out”)
Cate Blanchett (“Where’d You Go, Bernadette?”)
Beanie Feldstein (“Booksmart”)
Emma Thompson (“Late Night”)

Best Supporting Actor 
Tom Hanks (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”)
Anthony Hopkins (“The Two Popes”)
Al Pacino (“The Irishman”)
Joe Pesci (“The Irishman”)
Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)

Best Supporting Actress 
Kathy Bates (“Richard Jewell”)
Annette Bening (“The Report”)
Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”)
Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”)
Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”)

Best Screenplay
Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”)
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (“Parasite”)
Anthony McCarten (“The Two Popes”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Steven Zaillian (“The Irishman”)

Best Original Score
Daniel Pemberton (“Motherless Brooklyn”)
Alexandre Desplat (“Little Women”)
Hildur Guðnadóttir (“Joker”)
Thomas Newman (“1917”)
Randy Newman (“Marriage Story”)

Best Original Song 
“Beautiful Ghosts” (“Cats”)
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (“Rocketman”)
“Into the Unknown” (“Frozen II”)
“Spirit” (“The Lion King”)
“Stand Up” (“Harriet”)

Best Animated Film 
“Frozen II” (Disney)
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (Universal)
“Missing Link” (United Artists Releasing)
“Toy Story 4” (Disney)
“The Lion King” (Disney)

Best Foreign Language Film
“The Farewell” (A24)
“Pain and Glory” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Neon)
“Parasite” (Neon)
“Les Misérables” (Amazon)

TELEVISION

Best Television Series – Drama
“Big Little Lies” (HBO)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“Killing Eve” (BBC America)
“The Morning Show” (Apple TV+)
“Succession” (HBO)

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
“Barry” (HBO)
“Fleabag” (Amazon)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
“The Politician” (Netflix)

Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Kit Harington (“Game of Thrones”)
Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”)
Tobias Menzies (“The Crown”)
Billy Porter (“Pose”)

Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”)
Olivia Colman (“The Crown”)
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”)
Reese Witherspoon (“Big Little Lies”)

Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Ben Platt (“The Politician”)
Paul Rudd (“Living with Yourself”)
Ramy Youssef (“Ramy”)

Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Kirsten Dunst (“On Becoming a God in Central Florida”)
Natasha Lyonne (“Russian Doll”)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”)

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
“Catch-22″ (Hulu)
“Chernobyl” (HBO)
“Fosse/Verdon” (FX)
“The Loudest Voice” (Showtime)
“Unbelievable” (Netflix)

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Christopher Abbott (“Catch-22”)
Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Spy”)
Russell Crowe (“The Loudest Voice”)
Jared Harris (“Chernobyl”)
Sam Rockwell (“Fosse/Verdon”)

Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Kaitlyn Dever (“Unbelievable”)
Joey King (“The Act”)
Helen Mirren (“Catherine the Great”)
Merritt Wever (“Unbelievable”)
Michelle Williams (“Fosse/Verdon”)

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Andrew Scott (“Fleabag”)
Stellan Skarsgård (“Chernobyl”)
Henry Winkler (“Barry”)

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Patricia Arquette (“The Act”)
Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”)
Toni Collette (“Unbelievable”)
Meryl Streep (“Big Little Lies”)
Emily Watson (“Chernobyl”)