Guillermo del Toro鈥檚 Cold War-era, Canadian-shot fairytale 鈥淭he Shape of Water鈥� swam away with a leading seven Golden Globe nominations Monday, while the Canadian-directed HBO drama 鈥淏ig Little Lies鈥� led the television categories with six nods.
In what鈥檚 been seen as a wide-open Oscar race so far, several films followed closely behind 鈥淭he Shape of Water,鈥� including Steven Spielberg鈥檚 Pentagon Papers drama 鈥淭he Post,鈥� with six nominations, including best actress for Meryl Streep and best actor for Tom Hanks. Martin McDonagh鈥檚 revenge drama 鈥淭hree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri鈥� also got a major boost in the nominations announced Monday in Beverly Hills, California, with six nods, including best actress for Frances McDormand and supporting actor for Sam Rockwell.
But as the most prominent platform yet in Hollywood鈥檚 awards season to confront the post-Harvey Weinstein landscape, the Globes also enthusiastically supported Ridley Scott鈥檚 J. Paul Getty drama 鈥淎ll the Money in the World.鈥� Acclaimed Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, who replaced Kevin Spacey in the film just last month, was nominated for best supporting actor. Scott was also nominated for best director and Michelle Williams for best actress.
A rough cut of the film was screened for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the Globes. Scott is quickly reediting the movie to eradicate Spacey, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by numerous men.
The nominees for best picture drama are: the tender young romance 鈥淐all Me By Your Name,鈥� Christopher Nolan鈥檚 World War II epic 鈥淒unkirk,鈥� 鈥漈he Post,鈥� 鈥漈he Shape of Water鈥� and 鈥淭hree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.鈥�
鈥淭he Shape of Water鈥� was shot in Toronto and Hamilton.
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The nominees for best picture comedy or musical are: James Franco鈥檚 鈥淭he Disaster Artist,鈥� Jordan Peele鈥檚 horror sensation 鈥淕et Out,鈥� Greta Gerwig鈥檚 coming-of-age tale 鈥淟ady Bird,鈥� the upcoming musical 鈥淭he Greatest Showman,鈥� and the Tonya Harding comic-drama 鈥淚, Tonya.鈥�
Despite considerable backlash, 鈥淕et Out鈥� ended up on the comedy side of the Globes. It was submitted that way by Universal Pictures. Peele himself slyly commented on the controversy, calling his social critique of latent racism 鈥渁 documentary.鈥� Though the Globes passed over Peele鈥檚 script, newcomer Daniel Kaluuya was nominated for best actor in a comedy.
Though some predicted and feared an acting field lacking diversity, the nominees were fairly inclusive. Denzel Washington (鈥淩oman J. Israel, Esq.鈥�), Mary J. Blige (鈥淢udbound鈥�), Hong Chau (鈥淒ownsizing鈥�) and Octavia Spencer (鈥淭he Shape of Water鈥�) were among the 30 film acting nominees.
In the television categories, the Emmy-winning 鈥淏ig Little Lies,鈥� which is directed by Montreal鈥檚 Jean-Marc Vallee, earned a number of acting nods (Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard) as well as best limited series. (HBO recently announced a second season for 鈥淏ig Little Lies,鈥� which will change its category in other awards shows.)
Other nominees with Canadian connections include Toronto-born 鈥淲ill and Grace鈥� star Eric McCormack for best actor in a musical or comedy series, the Canadian co-production 鈥淭he Breadwinner鈥� for best animated film and the Alberta-shot series 鈥淔argo鈥� for TV鈥檚 best limited series or motion picture. 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale,鈥� based on Canadian author Margaret Atwood鈥檚 acclaimed novel, also received several nominations, including best television drama.
FX鈥檚 Bette Davis and Joan Crawford chronicle 鈥淔eud: Bette and Joan鈥� landed four nominations, including nods for Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon. Amazon鈥檚 just-debuted 鈥淭he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel鈥� scored several nods, including best comedy series. Also with numerous nominations were Netflix鈥檚 鈥淪tranger Things,鈥� and NBC鈥檚 鈥淭his Is Us.鈥�
Left out were frequent Globes-nominees 鈥淗ouse of Cards鈥� and 鈥淭ransparent,鈥� two of the TV affected by the cascading fallout of sexual harassment allegations in the wake of Harvey Weinstein鈥檚 ouster. It鈥檚 been an omnipresent component of this year鈥檚 awards season, including Monday. As usual, the nominations were partly announced on NBC鈥檚 鈥淭oday鈥� show, where Matt Lauer was recent fired following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Gary Oldman, nominated for best actor for his Winston Churchill in 鈥淒arkest Hour,鈥� said it鈥檚 cast an unusual pall over the season.
鈥淗ow should we celebrate? Well, I don鈥檛 think any of it鈥檚 funny, so I guess that people will stay away from it in the ceremony,鈥� said Oldman by phone Monday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 evolution, and it鈥檚 good that we sort of start to check ourselves about what we do and what we say and how we do it and how we say it to people, so I think it鈥檚 ultimately a good thing. But I can鈥檛 see too much of this coming up in (the show), up there on the platform, as it were, on the podium. It鈥檚 not something to joke about, I don鈥檛 think.鈥�
The nominees were announced from Beverly Hills after still-burning fires ravaged Southern California for the past week. The Thomas Fire has destroyed some 790 structures and forced thousands to evacuate their homes, with the blazes even entering the nearby neighbourhood of Bel Air.
The Globes haven鈥檛 traditionally predicted the Oscars, but they did last January. The Globes best-picture winners 鈥� 鈥淢oonlight鈥� and 鈥淟a La Land鈥� 鈥� both ultimately ended up on the stage for the final award of the Oscars, with 鈥淢oonlight鈥� emerging victorious only after the infamous envelope flub. The press association, which has worked in recent years to curtail its reputation for odd choices, is composed of approximately 90 freelance international journalists.
The last Globes broadcast, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, averaged 20 million viewers, an upswing of 8 per cent, according to Nielsen. This year, Fallon鈥檚 NBC late-night partner, Seth Meyers, will host the January 7 ceremony.
No Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement recipient has yet been chosen. Last year鈥檚 honoree, Streep, spoke forcefully against the then President-elect Donald Trump, shortly before his inauguration, leading him to criticize the actress as 鈥渙verrated.鈥� This year, she 鈥� along with Spielberg and Hanks 鈥� return with a pointed and timely drama, 鈥淭he Post,鈥� about the power of the press to counter lies emanating from the White House.
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Associated Press writers Lindsey Bahr and Sandy Cohen, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
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