Golden Globes 2020: all the shocks, snubs and surprises from the nominations

The Globes still have a massive diversity problem

The 2020 Golden Globe nominations are finally out, meaning that awards season is in full swing.

Following today’s (December 9) announcement, we got our first look at how things might play out next year, with the likes of Marriage Story, The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Two Popes getting off to a good start.

However, not every major picture got the credit it was expected to – and every shock, snub and surprise inclusion seemed to cause huge discussion online. Here’s what everyone was talking about after the noms were revealed.

Where are the female directors?

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The biggest talking point is the fact that (once again) the directing category is dominated by men. Unbelievably, the last time a woman was even nominated was in 2015, when Ava DuVernay scored a nod for civil right biopic Selma.

One of the big omissions is Greta Gerwig for Little Women, which itself only scored two nominations despite being considered a big awards contender. Lulu Wang and Lorene Scafaria, who helmed The Farewell and Hustlers respectively, had also been possible contenders to score nominations, but missed out. And there’s also the likes of Olivia Wilde for Booksmart, Marielle Heller for A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood and Kasi Lemmons for Harriet  – to name a few.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Hustlers'
Jennifer Lopez in ‘Hustlers’

Natalie Portman famously called out the Globes on stage two years ago for the lack of female talent being recognised, and it seems sadly nothing has changed.

Todd Phillips beat some fan favourites – and people are not happy

One of the big surprises in the directing category was Todd Phillips for Joker. While it generated big awards buzz when it premiered a few months ago, the film has dropped out of the conversation somewhat recently given the controversy surrounding it. With this and nods for ‘Best Motion Picture – Drama’, ‘Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama’ for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score, it seems Joker is firmly back in contention.

However, quite a few people are less than happy that Phillips scored a nod, especially at the expense of some other worthy names:

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Yet some defended the nomination:

Game of Thrones goes out with a whimper

Game of Thrones‘ final season was divisive (to put it mildly) and it seems, like many fans, the Golden Globes are trying to put it out of their memories too. The HBO series scored only an acting nomination for Kit Harington (interestingly his first-ever one).

To be fair, Thrones hasn’t always been a major success at the Globes – having only ever scored an acting win for Peter Dinklage – but most years its at least eeked out a nomination for Best Television Series – Drama. However, it seems the final season won’t be getting any last-minute love.

Still, some fans were less than pleased:

When They See Us gets no love

A big omission this year is Netflix‘s acclaimed mini-series When They See Us, which tells the story of Central Park Five – a group of young African American men falsely accused of murder. The powerful series did well at the Emmys recently, with Jharrel Jerome’s scene-stealing performance as Korey Wise considered pretty much a lock for a Golden Globe.

However, the four-part series has been completely shut out, with many expressing shock at the snub:

It really is Netflix’s year

Despite the When They See Us‘s snub, Netflix completely dominates this year’s awards – both in film and TV. The streamer takes 17 nods on each side of the divide – with three out of the five drama film nods going to them. They also squeezed out a nomination for Dolomite Is My Name. Meanwhile, in TV they have big hitters such as The Crown, The Politician, Unbelievable and The Kominsky Method all contributing to a big haul that puts them ahead of rivals such as HBO.

The Irishman
Al Pacino is reunited with Robert De Niro on screen in ‘The Irishman’.

Its a rapid rise considering they didn’t get their first Globes nomination until five years ago, and last year they really hit the big leagues on the awards circuit with Roma, which was a frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars.

With the conversation changing over the role that streamers are playing in the film industry, going by their domination of the Globes it seems that Netflix is here to stay. Don’t be surprised if they finally score a Best Picture win come this year’s Oscars.

The claws are out for Cats

Although it wasn’t expected to be a huge awards contender, Cats only scored one nomination – Best Original Song for ‘Beautiful Ghosts’, earning Taylor Swift her third ever nod. The film is yet to screen for critics, but given that Globes voters have seen it, that one nod doesn’t bode well.

Indie fare isn’t such a gem

Adam Sandler has been having a bit of a critical renaissance thanks to Uncut Gems, with speculation rife that he would score an acting nomination. Alas, it wasn’t to be. And it wasn’t much better for acclaimed indie fare such as The Lighthouse, Ad Astra, Us, Honey Boy and Midsommar, which were all completely shut out.

The Golden Globe Awards will take place on 5 January 2020

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