BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 20, 2001– The Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out some early holiday gifts to some of the year’s top film and television stars and officially launched the latest Hollywood awards season by announcing the nominations for the 2002 Golden Globe Awards.
The Globes are traditionally seen as the first precursor to next year’s Academy Awards derby, and dramatic film nods to A Beautiful Mind, In the Bedroom, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Mulholland Drive and surprise contender The Lord of the Rings set those movies on the fast track to Oscar glory.
Contenders in the musical or comedy category included Bridget Jones’s Diary, Gosford Park, Legally Blonde, Moulin Rouge and the animated hit Shrek. A Globe victory for any of them could add serious cred to an Oscar bid.
A Beautiful Mind topped the dramatic field with six nominations, while Moulin Rouge led the musical-comedy pack with another six.
The Golden Globes were particularly kind to Hollywood’s Aussie ambassadors. Russell Crowe was tapped for his performance as a troubled genius in A Beautiful Mind, and despite personal troubles earlier in the year, Nicole Kidman flourished professionally with two nominations, a dramatic nod for her turn in the Tom Cruise-produced The Others and a musical-comedy nod for her song-and-dance work in Moulin Rouge.
Mulholland Drive, starring Kidman‘s pal and fellow Aussie Naomi Watts also snared several nominations. But the best news from Down Under had to go to Hugh Jackman, who awakened at an ungodly hour to join the bleary-eyed journalists, photographers, news crews and PR flacks at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to make the nomination announcements. Jackman‘s fortitude paid off with a nomination for his role as a time-lost gentleman in the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold.
“Now I’m definitely awake, thank you,” said a beaming Jackman, who was joined for the nominations by actresses Lucy Liu and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (both of whom congratulated the newly minted nom with kisses) and producer Dick Clark, who is celebrating his tenth year overseeing the awards telecast.
Others who were doubly blessed with nominations included Billy Bob Thornton for his comedic role in Bandits and his serious turn in The Man Who Wasn’t There, and Ben Kingsley, feted as a supporting actor in Sexy Beast (though his performance practically carries the picture) and his small screen role in the TV film Anne Frank. Halle Berry, a favorite of the Globes since her emotional win for The Dorothy Dandridge Story, was pegged for her role opposite Thornton in the forthcoming Monster’s Ball.
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Ali, surprisingly shut out of the dramatic film competition, wasn’t a contender, although star Will Smith scored a knockout with his first dramatic acting nomination. Also scooped was The Shipping News, although Kevin Spacey predictably scored a nod for his leading role in the film. Memento was also forgotten, except for a screenwriting acknowledgement.
Conspicuously absent were highly touted Vanilla Sky collaborators Tom Cruise and writer-director Cameron Crowe, although the Globes did provide a supporting actress mention to the other Cameron, Diaz, and the title songwriter, Paul McCartney. Crowe‘s omission is most shocking considering the inclusion of directing nominee Steven Spielberg, the man responsible for the widely panned A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Smaller films such as Iris (with noms for stars Judi Dench and Kate Winslet) and Gosford Park (with accolades going to director Robert Altman, supporting actresses Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith and screenwriter Julian Fellowes) are certain to benefit from Globe attention. And with noms going out to In the Bedroom and its stars Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei, you can bank on Miramax throwing its much-ballyhooed marketing and promotional muscle behind the film come Oscar season.
On the TV side, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s picks honored stalwarts like The West Wing, The Sopranos, Frasier, Friends, Sex and the City, Will & Grace, CSI, Ally McBeal and their stars. But the Globes also continued the recent tradition of singling out newcomers and under-rated performers.
This year’s crop of surprise nominees included the low-rated but critically hailed 24 and star Kiefer Sutherland, the cult hit spy thriller Alias and its leading lady Jennifer Garner and The Guardian star Simon Baker. Globe nods also went to Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham and Ed‘s Tom Cavanagh, both of whom add charm and pizzazz to shows that don’t typically get a lot of limelight.
And while most categories were limited to five nominees, the most hotly contested TV race is easily the dramatic actress slot with no less than seven very viable leading ladies out for the prize: Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Amy Brenneman, Marg Helgenberger, Graham, Garner and previous winner Sela Ward. This is clearly the contest to watch.
HBO cleaned up as usual with Sex and Sopranos, and it saw its latest series Six Feet Under join its pay-cable brethren as a serious contender in the dramatic ranks, with noms for the show and stars Peter Krause and Rachel Griffiths. The cable net also scored with numerous nods for its other original programming, including Band of Brothers, Conspiracy, Wit and 61* actor Barry Pepper.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the TV selections were the dual nominations for Spin City stars Charlie Sheen and Heather Locklear in lead comedy roles, given that the show’s a bit long in the tooth and not exactly a ratings powerhouse. Let’s just chalk those up to a recent wave of ’80s nostalgia.
