Nods and Snubs: Weighing the 2015 Golden Globe Nominees

Following on the heels of yesterday’s Screen Actors Guild award nominations, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association doled out its annual Golden Globe nods this morning (see the full list below). Cue the cheers for the nominees and the jeers for the snubs.

Of course, to really cheer or jeer, you probably have to consider an award show like the Golden Globes as something more than a chance for rich people to gratuitously pat each other on the back while exchanging little gold statuettes. I, personally, am not quite that jaded (as, I suspect, neither are most reading this). True, award shows can seem pretty hollow, and they run way, WAY too long. But if we’re going to hand out little gold statuettes for movies and TV, there’s a part of me (and, likely, you) that wants to see my favourite actors/actresses receive those little gold statuettes.

And it was precisely that part of me that was growling at the television this morning when the Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama, nominees were announced, and the name “Timothy Spall” did not appear on the list. This is the same man who won the top acting award at Cannes this year for his career-defining performance as English painter J.M.W. Turner in the stunning biopic Mr. Turner. No offence to Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), but he somehow managed to nab Spall’s spot.

And Spall isn’t the only perceived high-profile “snub.” Angelina Jolie (Unbroken) and Jean-Marc Vallee (Wild) for Best Director, Hilary Swank (The Homesman) for Best Actress, Drama, the wonderful Quebecois drama Mommy for Best Foreign Language Film or The Walking Dead for Best TV Series, Drama, to name a few, have raised the ire of film/TV buffs.

But let’s not dwell too long on the snubs. For those who received nods, this could prove the beginning of a very successful award season. Take Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo, who received well-deserved nominations for Best Director and Best Actor, Drama, respectively for the brilliant Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights drama Selma (both were in Toronto, by the way, to screen the film last night at the TIFF Bell Lightbox). Selma is also in the running for Best Picture, Drama. It’s also great to see Michael Keaton back in the spotlight, this time for Birdman (which nabbed Keaton a Best Actor nod and the film on the Best Picture, Comedy or Musical list).

The Nominees

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Boyhood

Foxcatcher

Selma

The Imitation Game

The Theory of Everything

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Jennifer Aniston (Cake)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)

Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)

David Oyelowo (Selma)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Birdman

Into the Woods

Pride

St. Vincent

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Amy Adams (Big Eyes)

Julianne Moore (Maps To The Stars)

Emily Blunt (Into the Woods)

Helen Mirren (The Hundred Foot Journey)

Quvenzhané Wallis (Annie)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Bill Murray (St. Vincent)

Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)

Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes)

Best Animated Feature Film

Big Hero 6

The Book of Life

The Boxtrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

The Lego Movie

Best Foreign Language Film

Force Majeure Turist (Sweden)

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem Gett (Israel)

Ida (Poland/Denmark)

Leviathan (Russia)

Tangerines Mandariinid (Estonia)

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)

Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)

Emma Stone (Birdman)

Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Robert Duvall (The Judge)

Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)

Edward Norton (Birdman)

Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Director – Motion Picture

Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Alejandro Iñárritu (Birdman)

Ava DuVernay (Selma)

Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

David Fincher (Gone Girl)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo (Birdman)

Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)

Jóhann Jóhannsson (The Theory Of Everything)