Everything
“[Film] was always being driven by economics and a false belief that if it’s not a white character then it won’t sell,” Remy Hii, co-star of Spider-Man: Far From Home told ICON earlier this year. The young, Asian-Australian actor was reflecting on how far the film and television industry had come in regards to whitewashed storylines, and, for the most part Hii was correct. At the 2019 Emmy Awards, Jharrel Jerome received the accolade for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for When They See Us. Earlier this year, Black Panther proved to be wildly successful across a number of ceremonies with an almost entirely African-American cast. And Rami Malek, the son of Egyptian immigrants won Best Actor at the Academy Awards. But as the Golden Globe nominations were revealed overnight, it has sparked criticism on diversity. It leads to the question, is the association to blame, or are the filmmakers at fault?
The Golden Globes in particular hold importance as to the predictions of the closely followed Oscars. On the two-month stretch to the Golden Globe Awards, the nominees across film and television were announced overnight. Leading the nomination count is Joker, Marriage Story, The Irishman and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood while television series The Crown and The Morning Show are expected to also win big. The nominations will attract huge Hollywood names including Daniel Craig and Brad Pitt but with star factor, it appears small but no-less important productions are missing out.
Of note, one of the biggest snubs this morning was When They See Us, the limited Netflix series that interpreted the true story of the ‘Exonerated five’. And out of 30 film-acting nominees, only two are black (Eddie Murphy, for Dolemite Is My Name, and Cynthia Erivo for Harriet); in total, five actors of colour were shortlisted. It sparks the same conversation, #OscarsSoWhite, where the Academy was forced to make drastic changes to its membership in 2016 following several years of all-white nominees.
On the other hand, the recent nominations also came under fire with its lack of nods towards actresses and female filmmakers. Though Little Women, A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood and The Farewell were recognised by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, they were noticeably snubbed for directing and screenwriting categories.
The question as to whether these film minorities are being overlooked is advertently clear. But it is hard to ignore the competition of the 2019 film landscape. Quentin Tarantino revisited his award-winning craft this year for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Joker essentially rewrote the comic book genre while spotlighting the innate talent of Joaquin Phoenix and The Irishman adopted new forms of film technology.
So, should we be placing sole blame on the academies and associations that highlight the very best in film and television, or comparatively, should we urge filmmakers and producers to widen the scope for people of colour and celebrate female creatives with as much enthusiasm as we do with our male counterparts?
Time will tell.
The full list of nominees:
Best Picture, Drama
1917
The Irishman
Joker
Marriage Story
The Two Popes
Best Actor, Drama
Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best Actress, Drama
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy
Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
Dolemite Is My Name
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Rocketman
Best Actor, Musical or Comedy
Daniel Craig, Knives Out
Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
Best Actress, Musical or Comedy
Ana De Armas, Knives Out
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Cate Blanchett, Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart
Emma Thompson, Late Night
Best Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Annette Bening, The Report
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Best Director
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Sam Mendes, 1917
Todd Phillips, Joker
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Screenplay
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won, Parasite
Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
Hildur Guđnadóttir, Joker
Randy Newman, Marriage Story
Thomas Newman, 1917
Daniel Pemberton, Motherless Brooklyn
Best Original Song
“Beautiful Ghosts,” Cats
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen II
“Spirit,” The Lion King
“Stand Up,” Harriet
Best Foreign Language Film
The Farewell, U.S.A.
Les Misérables, France
Pain and Glory, Spain
Parasite, South Korea
Portrait of a Lady on Fire, France
Best Animated Film
Frozen II
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
The Lion King
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Best TV Drama
Big Little Lies (HBO)
The Crown (Netflix)
Killing Eve (BBC America)
The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Succession (HBO)
Best Actor, TV Drama
Brian Cox, Succession
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Tobias Menzies, The Crown
Billy Porter, Pose
Best Actress, TV Drama
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Best TV Musical or Comedy
Barry (HBO)
Fleabag (Amazon)
The Kominksy Method (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
The Politician (Netflix)
Best Actor, TV Musical or Comedy
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Bill Hader, Barry
Ben Platt, The Politician
Paul Rudd, Living With Yourself
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Best Actress, TV Musical or Comedy
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kirsten Dunst, On Becoming a God in Central Florida
Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Best TV Miniseries/Movie
Catch-22 (Hulu)
Chernobyl (HBO)
Fosse/Verdon (FX)
The Loudest Voice (Showtime)
Unbelievable (Netflix)
Best Actor, TV Miniseries/Movie
Christopher Abbott, Catch-22
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Spy
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
Jared Harris, Chernobyl
Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon
Best Actress, TV Miniseries/Movie
Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable
Joey King, The Act
Helen Mirren, Catherine the Great
Merritt Wever, Unbelievable
Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
Best Supporting Actor, TV
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Andrew Scott, Fleabag
Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl
Henry Winkler, Barry
Best Supporting Actress, TV
Patricia Arquette, The Act
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Emily Watson, Chernobyl
