Foreign Press breathes life back into some films with Golden Globe nods

The Golden Globe nominations are in. The Hollywood Foreign Press is an interesting beast, a group of 80 mainly freelance journalists who end up having tremendous sway over the second-biggest awards show.  The two big takeaways of the nominations? The Weinstein Co. is back, and the members of the foreign press have age-specific taste.

Django Unchained may have done poorly in the SAG Awards nominations, receiving no recognition, but it redeemed itself with the Hollywood Foreign Press. Django will be a contender in four categories: Best Drama, Director, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor (for both Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz). Maybe Harvey Weinstein knew he could have more of an impact by
targeting the 80-some members of the Hollywood Foreign Press who wield power over such influential awards. Also, the slavery-revenge-Western was rushed to the finish line, limiting the number of advance screenings. I'd say that this strong showing makes it extremely likely to show up as a Best Picture nominee at the Oscars, especially with the new "up to ten" rule.

When it came to the "just-squeaked-in" movies, it helped to have a picture that appealed to an older set. If you want to take a look at the age bias among awards shows, look no further than the nominations for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen received mention both for "Best Musical or Comedy" and for both of its lead actors, Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor. Although the actors aren't as old as those in Marigold, the story was gentle and had an Old Hollywood vibe. In his FJI review, critic Kevin Lally gave praise to the old-fashioned feel, noting that "the romantic-comedy portions of Salmon
Fishing are something special, a disarming throwback to the
classic repartee of the likes of Cary Grant and Rosalind
Russell." Don't think the Foreign Press didn't notice that. Best Exotic Marigold Hotel also scored in the Best Comedy category, which was backed up with a Supporting Actress nod for Judi Dench. In comparison, the more youthful-leaning Moonrise Kingdom was recognized in the "Best Musical or Comedy" category, and nowhere else.

There were also a lot of good movies with older casts or appeal this year, like The Sessions, which
was recognized for the performances of lead actors John Hawkes and Helen Hunt. And I adore Meryl Streep, but her age and stature with the Foreign Press likely led to her nomination in the funny trifle that was Hope Springs. You could make a similar judgment about Bill Murray's acting nomination in the mostly panned Hyde Park on Hudson. However, older moviegoers are a huge part of the specialty audience these days. They have the time to see movies, and prefer good ones. That's one reason why the Golden Globe nominations are skewing older this year, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. In particular, Hollywood has always been cruel to older actresses, considering them ready for pasture once they hit middle age. A lot of these "middle agers" received recognition.

Of the fifteen female nominees for Best Female Actor in a Drama, Best Female Actor in a Musical/Comedy, and Best Supporting Female Actor, only three are thirty or under, Jennifer Lawrence (22), Emily Blunt (29), and Anne Hathaway (30). Another seven are in the 35-50 range, a group that includes Jessica Chastain (35), Marion Cotillard (37), Amy Adams (38), Rachel Weisz (42), Naomi Watts (44), Nicole Kidman (45), and Helen Hunt (49). The remaining five are retirement age:  Meryl Streep (63), Sally Field (66), Helen Mirren (67), Maggie Smith (77), and Judy Dench (78). As Oscar history suggests, it is quite easy to be nominated and win as a young woman, but it tends to thin out when you get to older actors. This year could be an unusual cluster, or it could be part of a trend, as studios target specialty fare to older viewers and populate their films with mature actors. I will say I was surprised at the ages of some of these very youthful-looking actresses, so maybe part of the wave of older actresses doesn't come from expanded minds, but advances in the age-erasing fields of dermatology and plastic surgery. That's something we'll be paying attention to as the stars walk the red carpet this January.