By JOCELYN NOVECK
The Golden Globe nominations always have their quirks, and sometimes it seems they exist in their own private galaxy. This year’s movie nominations, though, stuck close to expectations, and close to Earth: “Interstellar,” Christopher Nolan’s high-pedigree, extragalactic space epic, was shut out save a nod for its score. Yet more surprisingly, one of the stars in our own galaxy, Angelina Jolie, missed out on a director nod for the high-profile “Unbroken,” which was totally shut out — as was Clint Eastwood’s upcoming Christmas release “American Sniper” and its leading man, Bradley Cooper.
A closer look at this year’s snubs and surprises at the Globe nominations:
“PRIDE” CAN BE PROUD:
This story about an unlikely alliance — British gay activists working to help miners during their long strike in the 1980s — had garnered much admiration but little awards buzz. In a welcome surprise, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave the heartwarming film an unlikely nod for best picture, musical or comedy.
“UNBROKEN” AND UN-NOMINATED:
Jolie has always gotten a lot of love from the HFPA — she’s been nominated seven times, even for the 2010 dud “The Tourist.” This year, many expected she’d be nominated for directing the well-received World War II drama “Unbroken.” The film’s shutout was especially surprising since Jolie had scored a Globe nod for best foreign language film for her previous directing effort, “In the Land of Blood and Honey.”
TIMOTHY SPALL’S CANVAS IS EMPTY:
This British veteran was named best actor at Cannes — and then by the New York Film critics — for his memorably gruff performance as the brilliant painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh’s admired biopic “Mr. Turner.” But his terrific work was ignored by the HFPA, in an admittedly packed best-actor field. Spall may have been edged out by the recently surging Jake Gyllenhaal, who gave a superbly creepy performance in “Nightcrawler.”
MARION COTILLARD, DOUBLY IGNORED:
One of the most admired actresses working today, the French Oscar winner had been a potential contender for two performances: “Two Days, One Night,” by the Dardenne brothers, and the Ellis Island period tale “The Immigrant,” directed by James Gray. Neither snagged a nod.
“INTERSTELLAR,” STUCK ON EARTH:
One of the bigger movies of the year, Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar,” remained tethered to the launch pad after garnering only one Globe nod — for Hans Zimmer’s score. Though it hadn’t figured heavily in the awards buzz — unlike last year’s space epic “Gravity” — the film could have conceivably been nominated for best picture, best director, or for actor Matthew McConaughey, who had that wrenching scene watching video messages from his kids in space.
“AMERICAN SNIPER,” MISSING ITS AIM:
There sure are some big names associated with the Christmas release “American Sniper”: Bradley Cooper stars as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, and it’s directed by none other than Clint Eastwood. But the film was shut out.
AN AWARD FOR “ANNIE”?:
She was nominated for a best-actress Oscar when she was only 9, for her role in “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” and two years later Quvenzhane Wallis is an over-achieving 11-year-old, too: She scored a best-actress nod in the musical or comedy category for “Annie,” joining a slew of veterans like Julianne Moore, Helen Mirren, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt.
