After a year that has rocked the film and television industry, a yearly milestone has arrived to bring some sense of normalcy: the 2021 Golden Globe nominations.
Often seen as the most important precursor to the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes are chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes are split into comedy and drama categories.
On the film side, David Fincher’s dramatic biopic “Mank,” about uncredited “Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, leads the pack with six nominations, including Best Drama. Meanwhile, some unusual and exciting choices are being honored in the Best Musical or Comedy category, including Sacha Baron Cohen’s subversive sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and the Disney+ musical smash “Hamilton.”
On the director front, the Golden Globes are also making waves. Before the pandemic, 2020 should have been the year of the female filmmaker, with no less than five big-budget films directed by women originally scheduled (Cathy Yan’s “Birds of Prey,” Niki Caro’s “Mulan,” Cate Shortland’s “Black Widow,” Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman 1984,” and Chloé Zhao’s “Eternals”). With the pandemic sending most of these films to a digital audience or pushing them off the 2020 release calendar altogether, female directors seemed to lose out on their moment.
The 2021 Golden Globe nominations have put the spotlight back on female directors, nominating a record-breaking three women for Best Director: Regina King for “One Night in Miami,” Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman,” and Chloé Zhao (whose Marvel film “Eternals” has been pushed back to November 2021) for “Nomadland.” It is the first time more than one woman has been nominated for Best Director at the Golden Globes.
Turning to the television side, Netflix’s “The Crown” garnered the most nominations with six, including nods for lead actress Olivia Colman and Best Drama. And “Schitt’s Creek” has a chance to repeat the Emmy sweep it pulled off last September: it is nominated in all four acting categories as well as Best Musical or Comedy.
The 78th annual Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast live on February 28, 2021 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The show will be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, but interestingly, they won’t be in the same room. Fey will host from The Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center in New York City, while Poehler will host from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where the Globes are usually held.
While the HFPA has not announced whether the awards will be accepted by winners in person or remotely (or a mixture of both), the split broadcast will likely help make in-person acceptance more feasible without requiring all the nominees to travel to one location.
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2021 Golden Globes.
Film
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
- “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
- “Hamilton”
- “Music”
- “Palm Springs”
- “The Prom”
Best Motion Picture — Drama
- “The Father”
- “Mank”
- “Nomadland”
- “Promising Young Woman”
- “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Best Motion Picture — Foreign Language
- “Another Round,” Denmark
- “La Llorona,” Guatamela/France
- “The Life Ahead,” Italy
- “Minari,” USA
- “Two of Us,” France/USA
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
- Emerald Fennell – “Promising Young Woman”
- Jack Fincher – “Mank”
- Aaron Sorkin – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
- Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton – “The Father”
- Chloé Zhao – “Nomadland”
Best Original Song — Motion Picture
- “Fight for You” – “Judas and the Black Messiah”
- “Hear My Voice” – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
- “IO SI (Seen)” – “The Life Ahead”
- “Speak Now” – “One Night in Miami”
- “Tigers & Tweed” – “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
- Sacha Baron Cohen – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
- Daniel Kaluuya – “Judas and the Black Messiah”
- Jared Leto – “The Little Things”
- Bill Murray – “On the Rocks”
- Leslie Odom, Jr. – “One Night in Miami”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
- Glenn Close – “Hillbilly Elegy”
- Olivia Colman – “The Father”
- Jodie Foster – “The Mauritanian”
- Amanda Seyfried – “Mank”
- Helena Zengel – “News of the World”
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
- Sacha Baron Cohen – “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
- James Corden – “The Prom”
- Lin-Manuel Miranda – “Hamilton”
- Dev Patel – “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
- Andy Samberg – “Palm Springs”
Best Motion Picture — Animated
- “The Croods: A New Age”
- “Onward”
- “Over the Moon”
- “Soul”
- “Wolfwalkers”
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
- Chadwick Boseman, – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
- Riz Ahmed – “The Sound of Metal”
- Anthony Hopkins – “The Father”
- Gary Oldman – “Mank”
- Tahar Rahim – “The Mauritanian”
Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
- Viola Davis – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
- Andra Day – “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
- Vanessa Kirby – “Pieces of a Woman”
- Frances McDormand – “Nomadland”
- Carey Mulligan – “Promising Young Woman
Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
- Maria Bakalova – “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
- Kate Hudson – “Music”
- Michelle Pfeiffer – “French Exit”
- Rosamund Pike – “I Care A Lot”
- Anya Taylor-Joy – “Emma”
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
- Sacha Baron Cohen – “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
- James Corden – “The Prom”
- Lin-Manuel Miranda – “Hamilton”
- Dev Patel – “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
- Andy Samberg – “Palm Springs”
Best Director — Motion Picture
- David Fincher – “Mank”
- Regina King – “One Night in Miami”
- Aaron Sorkin – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
- Chloé Zhao – “Nomadland”
- Emerald Fennell – “Promising Young Woman”
Best Original Score
- “The Midnight Sky”
- “Tenet”
- “News of the World”
- “Mank”
Television
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy
- Don Cheadle – “Black Monday”
- Nicholas Hoult – “The Great”
- Eugene Levy – “Schitt’s Creek”
- Jason Sudekis – “Ted Lasso”
- Ramy Youssef – “Ramy”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy
- Lily Collins – “Emily in Paris”
- Kaley Cuoco – “The Flight Attendant”
- Elle Fanning – “The Great”
- Jane Levy – “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”
- Catherine O’Hara – “Schitt’s Creek”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama
- Jason Bateman – “Ozark”
- Josh O’Connor – “The Crown”
- Bob Odenkirk – “Better Call Saul”
- Al Pacino – “Hunters”
- Matthew Rhys – “Perry Mason”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama
- Olivia Colman – “The Crown”
- Jodie Comer – “Killing Eve”
- Emma Corrin – “The Crown”
- Laura Linney – “Ozark”
- Sarah Paulson – “Ratched”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Bryan Cranston – “Your Honor”
- Jeff Daniels – “The Comey Rule”
- Hugh Grant – “The Undoing”
- Mark Ruffalo – “I Know This Much is True”
- Ethan Hawke – “The Good Lord Bird”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Cate Blanchett – “Mrs. America”
- Daisy Edgar-Jones – “Normal People”
- Shira Haas – “Unorthodox”
- Nicole Kidman – “The Undoing”
- Anya Taylor-Joy – “The Queen’s Gambit”
Best Television Series Drama
- “The Crown”
- “Lovecraft Country”
- “The Mandalorian”
- “Ozark”
- “Ratched”
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- “Normal People”
- “The Queen’s Gambit”
- “Small Axe”
- “The Undoing”
- “Unorthodox”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- Helena Bonham Carter – “The Crown”
- Julia Garner – “Ozark”
- Annie Murphy – “Schitt’s Creek”
- Cynthia Nixon – “Ratched”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- John Boyega – “Small Axe”
- Brendan Gleeson – “The Comey Rule”
- Daniel Levy – “Schitt’s Creek”
- Jim Parsons – “Hollywood”
- Donald Southerland – “The Undoing”
Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy
- “Emily in Paris”
- “The Flight Attendant”
- “Schitt’s Creek”
- “The Great”
- “Ted Lasso”