The biggest snubs and surprises from the 2024 Golden Globe nominations

May December got several very deserved nominations across the acting categories and for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy. But the Globes failed to acknowledge the behind-the-camera talent, snubbing both Todd Haynes as director and especially Samy Burch’s delightfully wicked screenplay. May December is Burch’s debut feature, and based on its strength, she’ll have plenty more chances to compete in the future—but this one still stings a little bit. [Drew Gillis]

There was a lot of love for Past Lives this morning. The film snagged nominations for its lead Greta Lee, as well as its screenplay and direction by Celine Song. Historically, awards shows haven’t always given women or non-white creators their due, so it was a very pleasant surprise to see Song embraced this whole-heartedly across categories, especially for her debut feature. [Drew Gillis]

A couple of months ago, Passages seemed like the artsy, non-American film that stood to make the biggest splash of awards season, but it was completely snubbed at this year’s Golden Globes. To their credit, however, the Globes nominated a bunch of non-American, non-English language films across categories, a nice sign that the wins of Parasite four years ago actually did change film appetites in the U.S.—even if that appetite didn’t extend to Passages. [Drew Gillis]

Much has been made about America Ferrera’s monologue in the Barbie movie—Meryl Streep herself was jealous of it, according to director Greta Gerwig—but the stirring speech about the cognitive dissonance of being a woman in society didn’t manage to land her a Golden Globe nomination. Unlike other categories at the Globes, the supporting categories aren’t divided by musical/comedy or drama, so it’s a crowded field in which to compete. Despite some chatter that Ferrera’s Gloria is the true “heart” of Barbie, she couldn’t edge out heavy hitters like Emily Blunt, Jodie Foster, or Da’Vine Joy Randolph. [Mary Kate Carr]

Dream Scenario is one of 2023’s most inventive, biting films, and it’s one that has flown relatively under the radar of awards season chatter. Even if its sole nomination at the 2024 Golden Globes came for Nicolas Cage’s performance, it’s a nomination that is a very pleasant surprise. Cage’s role as a loser-ish professor who becomes an overnight celebrity when he starts appearing in dreams all over the world is one of the best of the actor’s career. [Drew Gillis]

Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this year, was almost completely shut out of the nominations barring a nod for newcomer Cailee Spaeny in the titular role. Unfortunately for Coppola, competition was stiff in the drama, directing, and screenplay categories with major awards-season favorites like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Bradley Cooper, plus a buzzy debut from Celine Song. It was also a shut-out for Jacob Elordi, who, despite being one of the season’s most talked-about stars, didn’t make the supporting actor cut for either Priscilla or Saltburn. [Mary Kate Carr]

What’s a surefire way to get eyes on your awards show? Lure Taylor Swift there, and the Swifties will follow. The new category for “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement in Motion Pictures” was already an attempt to make the ceremony more attractive to the average audience member, and most of the other nominees are exactly what you’d expect—box office behemoth Barbenheimer, a Marvel flick (Guardians Of The Galaxy), some action movies (John Wick, Mission: Impossible), and a couple animated features (Spider-Man, Super Mario Bros.). As a concert movie, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour doesn’t quite fit in with the bunch, but if we have to award box office achievement (cue Don Draper “that’s what the money is for” meme), the numbers are certainly in her favor. [Mary Kate Carr]

Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks’ excellent performances in The Color Purple both got deserved attention during the Golden Globe nominations, but the rest of the production was ignored. Generally, it seems like a safe bet that the year’s biggest musical would get a spot in the Best Picture, Comedy or Musical category (though it’s hard to say which film deserved a boot to make room for The Color Purple). Taraji P. Henson and Halle Bailey both show great supporting performances, and each conceivably could have deserved nominations, too. [Drew Gillis]

We’re in the midst of a mild Emma Stone resurgence, with the actor starring in one of the buzziest films of the year (Poor Things) and most interesting TV series of the year (The Curse). While the former got plenty of love from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Curse was ignored outside of Stone’s (excellent) performance. Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie both had a strong case for nominations—maybe they’ll finally get their due come Emmy season. [Drew Gillis]

It presumably took some convincing to get Harrison Ford to pivot to TV this year, but hopefully awards recognition wasn’t among the promises made. Ford’s Shrinking costar Jason Segel and his 1923 costar Helen Mirren both had their names called this morning while the Star Was alum was left empty handed. [Drew Gillis]

Non-English language films often have a hard time crossing over into categories that don’t specifically award non-English language films. It was a pleasant surprise this year to see Anatomy Of A Fall, The Zone Of Interest, and particularly Fallen Leaves get some love from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. While Sandra Hüller has been more or less a lock for her performances since Cannes, Alma Pöysti getting nominated for her performance in Fallen Leaves was unexpected. [Drew Gillis]

Are the nominees in the new “Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television” really the best, or are they just the most established? The HFPA certainly hit the big names: Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, and Trevor Noah. The list is a who’s-who of “please host our awards show!” talent, but these are far from the most exciting specials the year in comedy had to offer. It would have been nice to see some fresh blood like John Early, Mae Martin, Joe Pera, or Chris Fleming in the mix. The Globes also missed out on recognizing Nate Bargatze, who had a huge year, or even John Mulaney for his much-discussed Baby J (possibly the most glaring snub in a category that could also be called “Best Comedians Your Dad Has Heard Of”). Instead, they went with the safest, easiest choices possible—not exactly an auspicious start for launching a new category. [Mary Kate Carr]

Truthfully, it was a good year for biopics—Oppenheimer and Maestro are frontrunners in the Best Director and Best Lead Actor race. With such a competitive field, though, the year’s other offerings fell by the wayside, despite having major directors and stars attached. See: Michael Mann’s Ferrari, starring Adam Driver; Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix; and Ava DuVernay’s Origin, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. All of those artists are previous Golden Globe nominees (if not winners), and a biopic with a few big names attached are usually easy awards bait, but this crowd missed out time around. [Mary Kate Carr]