In an awards process only slightly less littered with beautiful, drunk faces than The A.V. Club’s Best TV Shows of 2014 (and arguably just as meaningful), the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced this year’s nominees for the 72nd annual Golden Globes. For those looking for anything in the way of a lock in their Oscar betting pool, you would do well to bet the house on Birdman, and also seek help for your gambling problem. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s meta excoriation of the self-importance of celebrity and the entertainment industry scored seven nominations in all from the very people it’s mocking, including nods for Best Musical Or Comedy and Best Director, and honors for most of its acting ensemble: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone. The significance of these accolades has already been summed up by Stone herself.
While Birdman’s competition in the Best Musical Or Comedy category poses a stiff challenge in the “getting Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, and Bill Murray to come to the HFPA’s party” factor, it seems like the presumed winner in every other respect. There’s less certainty in the Best Drama category, which is a tough race between Boyhood, Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, Selma, and The Theory Of Everything. Perhaps the biggest surprises there are the shutouts of Gone Girl and Interstellar, two movies that seem like exactly the kind of populist, (mostly) critically endorsed that are usually right in the Golden Globes’ sweet spot. Ditto Unbroken, which is precisely the sort of uplifting, historical epic that was directed by Angelina Jolie, whose face the Globes can then put on television.
Gone Girl, at least, can console itself with acting nods for Rosamund Pike, and nominations for David Fincher, writer Gillian Flynn, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score. Meanwhile, Interstellar landed just a sole nod for Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack (though quite possibly, that was all Globes voters could concentrate on). Meanwhile, other dark horse favorites Inherent Vice and Whiplash were similarly relegated to one nomination apiece for Joaquin Phoenix and J.K. Simmons. Good job, J.K. Simmons.
The Globes shook things up a little on television, finally ditching the ballots it had pre-printed with Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory (and The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons) to welcome some newcomers—even if it meant ditching other long-in-the-tooth veterans like last year’s Best Comedy winner Brooklyn Nine-Nine. After all, that category had to make room for new freshmen series like Transparent, Silicon Valley, and Jane The Virgin whose wins could be celebrated while also being deemed a tad premature.
Unlike the Emmys, Fargo and True Detective were both considered as miniseries for the Globes, where they nearly matched each other with five and four nominations apiece, respectively. And that cleared the way for others to enter the drama race, like Showtime’s The Affair—a surprisingly strong presence in all the major categories—and The Knick’s Clive Owen, who received well-deserved recognition for being Clive Owen and probably being fun to party with. (He might even bring some of that vodka.) And their absence weakened all of the drama categories enough that its outright ignoring of Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, and Hannibal doesn’t even seem like a big deal.
The full list of nominations is below for your perusal and occasional burst of outrage. The Golden Globes will be doled out on Jan. 11, in a televised ceremony hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey that is its only real justification for existence.
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Birdman
Into The Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Pride
St. Vincent
Best Motion Picture, Drama
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory Of Everything
Best Director
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Actor, Drama
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory Of Everything
Best Actress, Drama
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory Of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Animated Motion Picture
Big Hero 6
The Book Of Life
The Boxtrolls
The Lego Movie
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Best Actor, 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 Actress, Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Emily Blunt, Into The Woods
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Julianne Moore, Maps To The Stars
Quvenzhané Wallis, Annie
Best Supporting Actress
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
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Foreign Language Film
Force Majeure
Gett
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines Mandarinid
Best Screenplay
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game
Best Song
“Big Eyes,” by Lana Del Rey—Big Eyes
“Glory,” by John Legend & Common—Selma
“Mercy Is,” by Patti Smith & Lenny Kaye—Noah
“Opportunity,” by Greg Kurstin, Sia Furler, Will Gluck—Annie
“Yellow Flicker Beat,” by Lorde—Mockingjay
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Johann Johannsson, The Theory Of Everything
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez, Birdman
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar
Best TV Drama
The Affair
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
The Good Wife
House Of Cards
Best Actress, TV Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How To Get Away With Murder
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Ruth Wilson, The Affair
Robin Wright, House Of Cards
Best Actor, TV Drama
Clive Owen, The Knick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House Of Cards
James Spader, The Blacklist
Dominic West, The Affair
Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical
Louis C.K., Louie
Don Cheadle, House Of Lies
Ricky Gervais, Derek
William H. Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Gina Rodriguez, Jane The Virgin
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Taylor Schilling, Orange Is The New Black
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is The New Black
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Allison Janney, Mom
Michelle Monaghan, True Detective
Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Girls
Orange Is The New Black
Transparent
Silicon Valley
Jane The Virgin
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television
Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Colin Hanks, Fargo
Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
Best Actress in a TV Movie or Mini-series
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
Frances O’Connor, The Missing
Allison Tolman, Fargo
Best Actor in a TV Movie or Mini-series
Martin Freeman, Fargo
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo
Best TV Movie or Mini-series
The Normal Heart
True Detective
Olive Kitteridge
Fargo
The Missing