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Sabor de Soledad
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: NM
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Golden Globes loves gay cowboys - and gay cowboys unsurprisingly love golden globes
'Brokeback' gets 7 Golden Globe nominations
By Gregg Kilday
The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. swooned over a thwarted romance between two cowboys, bestowing seven nominations on Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" as nominations were unveiled Tuesday for the 63rd annual Golden Globe Awards.
"Brokeback" not only figured in the best motion picture drama lineup but also lassoed nominations for Heath Ledger (actor), Michelle Williams (supporting actress) and Lee.
The other nominees in the drama contest include the African-set thriller "The Constant Gardener"; "Good Night, and Good Luck," an account of Edward R. Murrow's stand against Sen. Joseph McCarthy; the murder tragedy "A History of Violence"; and "Match Point," Woody Allen's London-set tale of social striving and infidelity.
On the lighter side, the HFPA chose as its five nominees for best motion picture musical or comedy "Mrs. Henderson Presents," a romp about a nudie revue that opens during the London blitz; the romantic Jane Austen adaptation "Pride & Prejudice"; Mel Brooks' musical "The Producers"; "The Squid and the Whale," a study of a New York family split by divorce that arguably packs more drama than laughs; and "Walk the Line," a musical biography of Johnny Cash and June Carter.
But then the HFPA mixed it up further with its director choices. Four of the dramas earned nominations for their helmers -- Lee for "Brokeback," Allen for "Match Point," George Clooney for "Good Night" and Fernando Meirelles for "Gardener." But "Violence" failed to earn a nom for David Cronenberg. Instead, the Globe voters tossed nominations to Peter Jackson for "King Kong" and Steven Spielberg for "Munich."
By the time the dust settled, "Brokeback's" nearest competitors in terms of potential trophy count were the dramas "Good Night" and "Match Point" and well as "The Producers," all scoring four noms. While the always unpredictable HFPA -- a collection of 86 foreign correspondents -- acknowledged such big-budget year-end awards hopefuls as "Kong," "Munich" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," with two noms each, they elevated seven indie pictures, most with budgets less than $30 million, into the top two best picture categories.
On the television side, the Globes have long been known for embracing newcomers, but this year the HFPA truly cleaned house, dispensing with many of its perennial favorites to make room for a slew of freshman shows, including multiple noms for NBC's "My Name Is Earl," Showtime's "Weeds," HBO's "Rome" and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Commander in Chief."
ABC's "Desperate Housewives" emerged as the most-nominated TV program for the second consecutive year with five nods. And this time around, even Eva Longoria cracked the inner circle, earning her seat at the table of lead comedy actress nominees alongside fellow "Housewives" Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman (a double nominee for her role in "Transamerica").
On the film front, NBC Universal scored a double whammy as its specialty division, Focus, led the pack with a commanding 12 noms, and Universal Pictures rose above its studio competition with 10 noms. Its closest competition was Time Warner, whose three films units, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Independent Pictures and New Line Cinema accounted for five, five and two noms, respectively.
"It's a great morning for the company," Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider said. "Mostly, it's a testament to our great executive team: (former production heads) Mary (Parent) and Scott (Stuber) and now (new production heads) Donna (Langley) and Jon (Gordon). And (Focus co-presidents) David (Linde) and James (Schamus) are the best at what they do. You can have all the strategy in the world, but if you don't have great people, who are in turn in business with the best filmmakers, it doesn't work."
Although "Kong" and "Munich" failed to earn best picture noms, Snider said she was confident in their eventual reception. In the case of the upcoming "Munich," she noted, "It arrived late, but it represents a huge leap forward for Steven (Speilberg) and will be recognized as brilliant and thought-provoking. It just requires time to be presented to the public." As for "Kong," which opens today, she added, "We've never received reviews like this. And audience reactions have been great. We have every confidence it will be recognized as awards season progresses. We're really gratified by the nominations that 'Munich' and 'Kong' did receive." With noms also going to Uni's "The Producers" and "Cinderella Man," Snider said, "It feels like this year the Hollywood Foreign Press gave recognition to a lot of movies, spreading it all around."
Speaking from Paris, which he considered a good luck omen, because that is where he was when he learned of two key Globe noms for "The Pianist" three years ago, Linde noted Focus' multiple noms were "a validation of the people we want to be in business with and the people at Universal who support us. It's very much a confirmation of Focus' business of supporting filmmakers who have a real perspective."
Despite all the accolades falling on "Brokeback," Linde said Focus will stick to its original release plan. Having opened to sold-out crowds in Los Angeles and New York, the film will move into 18 markets this weekend, with its next expansion planned for Jan. 6 after some of the bigger year-end releases have had their moment in the sun. "It's speaking to an incredibly diverse audience," Linde said, "and that bodes well for its going outside of the main markets."
In addition, "Gardener," which will be released on DVD on Jan. 10, is being rereleased this weekend in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. And Linde expects "Pride," which has grossed nearly $27 million to date, will break out of the specialty market on the strength of its noms.
Meanwhile, the Weinstein Co., which after 74 days in business is the relative newcomer on the block even if company co-founder Harvey Weinstein is an experienced awards hand, broke out of the crowd with its seven nominations for an eclectic array of films, including "Mrs. Henderson," "Transamerica" (released with IFC Films), foreign-language nominee "The Promise" and "The Matador." The Weinstein Co. also had a hand in overseeing the campaign for "Proof," released by Miramax Films, which earned Gwyneth Paltrow a nomination.
In the best dramatic film actor category, Ledger will be facing off against three actors playing real-life figures: Russell Crowe as boxer Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man"; Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" and David Strathairn as CBS journalist Murrow in "Good Night." The fifth slot went to Terrence Howard for his performance as a small town pimp trying to break into the music business in "Hustle & Flow."
For best dramatic film actress, the nominees were Maria Bello, who plays a woman dealing with her husband's dangerous past in "A History of Violence"; Paltrow, struggling with a family history of genius and madness in "Proof"; Charlize Theron, fighting against sexual harassment in "North Country"; Ziyi Zhang, learning the arcane arts of pleasing men in "Memoirs of a Geisha"; and Huffman, playing a pre-operative transsexual reuniting with her son in "Transamerica."
Huffman was just one of several multiple nominees. Clooney scored three citations: best directing and screenwriting noms for "Good Night" as well as a best supporting actor nomination for his CIA operative in "Syriana." Among the TV contenders, Donald Sutherland staked a claim in two races: best performance by an actor in a miniseries for his work in "Human Trafficking" and best performance by a supporting actor in a series for his role as Rep. Nathan Templeton in "Commander in Chief."
For best actor in a movie musical or comedy, the nominations were spread among Pierce Brosnan, playing a scruffy hit man in "The Matador"; Jeff Daniels as an intellectual contending with divorce in "Squid"; Johnny Depp as the eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"; Nathan Lane as a larcenous Broadway producer in "The Producers"; Cillian Murphy as a resilient cross-dresser in "Breakfast on Pluto"; and Joaquin Phoenix as singer Cash in "Walk the Line."
Phoenix's "Walk the Line" co-star Reese Witherspoon, who plays June Carter, scored a nomination in the musical/comedy actress race, where she will compete with Judi Dench as an upper-crust theater owner in "Mrs. Henderson"; Keira Knightley as a young woman flirting with marriage in "Pride"; Laura Linney as a wife in the middle of an affair in "Squid"; and Sarah Jessica Parker as a woman confronting her future in-laws in "The Family Stone."
Supporting movie actress nominees were Scarlett Johansson for "Match Point," Shirley MacLaine for "In Her Shoes," Frances McDormand for "North Country," Rachel Weisz for "Gardener" and Williams for "Brokeback."
In addition to Clooney, the supporting film actor nominees were Matt Dillon for "Crash," Will Ferrell for "The Producers," Paul Giamatti for "Cinderella Man" and Bob Hoskins for "Mrs. Henderson."
Screenwriters nominated for best screenplay were Allen for "Match Point," Clooney and Grant Heslov for "Good Night," Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco for "Crash," Tony Kushner and Eric Roth for "Munich," and Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for "Brokeback."
Best motion picture score nominees were Alexandre Desplat for "Syriana," James Newton Howard for "King Kong," Gustavo Santaolalla for "Brokeback," Harry Gregson-Williams for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe," and John Williams for "Geisha."
The motion picture song lineup was: "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" from "Brokeback," music by Santaolalla, lyrics by Bernie Taupin; "Christmas in Love" from "Christmas in Love," music by Tony Renis, lyrics by Marva Jan Marrow; "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway" from "The Producers," music and lyrics by Mel Brooks; "Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica," music and lyrics by Dolly Parton; and "Wunderkind" from "Narnia," music and lyrics by Alanis Morissette.
Sony Pictures Classics took two of the foreign-film nominations, one for Stephen Chow's martial arts comedy "Kung Fu Hustle" and the other for Christian Carion's "Merry Christmas," a French film about a Christmas truce during World War I that SPC picked up at this year's Festival de Cannes. Miramax Films figured in the race with its first pickup under the regime of new president Daniel Battsek, Gavin Hood's South African drama "Tsotsi." The new Weinstein Co. scored with "The Promise," the Chen Kaige film which the Weinsteins picked up in Cannes. And WIP was represented by Hany Abu-Assad's "Paradise Now," a portrait of two suicide bombers.
As previously announced, Anthony Hopkins will receive a life achievement nod, the HFPA's Cecil B. DeMille Award.
The Globe winners will be announced Jan. 16 at a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton, which will be broadcast by NBC.
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First Brokeback does huge at the Box office and now takes top nominations for the GG's.
Kudos also to Desperate Housewives and Kung Fu Hustle.
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I was young and confused and your mom didn't want me around no more. Now pass me dem damn collard greens! |
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