The first major round of awards nominations/announcements is still a month away. We won’t get the SAG and Golden Globes nominations until mid-December. But the shenanigans have started early, probably because there are already so many competing Oscar campaigns and awards consultants and the whole thing has turned into Fantasy Football for movie geeks. One of the biggest surprises (to me) is that The Martian is looking more and more like a major awards contender for some big prizes. Ridley Scott will almost definitely get another Oscar nomination for Best Director, I’m sure The Martian will be nominated for Best Picture, and Matt Damon will probably lock in a Best Actor nomination.
But something weird happened. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association – the people putting on the Golden Globes – have designated The Martian a “comedy.” It might sound like a minor thing, but this is a really strange turn of events for a film that was billed as a straight up sci-fi/drama. As it turns out, it was the studio’s call, and 20th Century Fox wanted to walk away with more Golden Globes, and seeing as how the Comedy/Musical categories are seen as “less competitive,” Fox put The Martian in the Comedy/Musical category and the HFPA agreed.
“The Martian” is a comedy. As is David O. Russell’s upcoming movie, “Joy.” So says the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s eligibility committee, which, in a vote, decided to keep both films just where 20th Century Fox wanted them for the upcoming Golden Globes awards. The Blacklist-era biopic “Trumbo” didn’t receive its wished-for comedy category placement, however. The HFPA’s eligibility committee moved the film and its cast, which includes Bryan Cranston and Louis C.K., to drama.
The HFPA splits its best picture, actor and actress prizes into the categories of drama and musical/comedy. Since there are typically far more serious-minded contenders than carefree romps, studios and their awards consultants try to wedge the tweeners — films that could fit in either group such as “Nebraska” and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” to name two recent comedy nominees — into the less competitive group.
The placement of “Joy,” which stars frequent Russell collaborator Jennifer Lawrence as a young woman pursuing her piece of the American dream, wasn’t surprising. Russell’s last two movies — “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook” — competed as comedies at the Globes, with “Hustle” taking the picture prize and honors for Lawrence and costar Amy Adams. Still, not everyone is happy.
I finally saw The Martian, and while it was much lighter than I was expecting, it’s still just a drama with a handful of lighter moments. What’s weird is that I’m pretty sure The Martian would have dominated in the Drama categories – The Martian is a huge hit, and Matt Damon is excellent in it.
Oh, and as for two of the biggest music-heavy films of the year, Love & Mercy and Straight Outta Compton? They’ll be competing in the drama categories. Seriously. People are LITERALLY SINGING/RAPPING in those movies and they won’t be included as “musicals.”
Another shenanigan… Rooney Mara’s performance in Carol and Alicia Vikander’s performance in The Danish Girl were both rejected by the HFPA for the supporting categories. They’ll be up for lead drama nominations… IF they get nominated, which will probably happen. I kind of wonder if they’ll both be shuffled back down to the supporting categories for the Oscars though.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Yaawn, Hollywood politics. Man, I wish people would get over the Oscars/Golden Globes (to a lesser extent) as an indicator of good quality. I’ve seen so many Oscar best film winners and was bored. Also, so many international films are out there that don’t even make it on the Oscar radar.
Just when the HFPAA was starting to fix its reputation…Judd Apatow tweeted he thought it was a “punk” move by The Martian because they were “too scared” to compete in the drama category, and I agree with him. The Rooney Mara rejection is apparently the right move, but that they tried it is just funny too me. I hope The Martian loses if it gets nominated, which is most likely will.
Paul Feig, the director of McCarthy’s “Spy” had a great response:
“A comedy’s a film whose #1 goal is to make people laugh. If that wasn’t the filmmakers’ top goal, it’s not a comedy.”
Kinda like how Transparent ended up in the Comedy category at the Emmys. Was Jeffrey Tambor trying to get laughs for his role? It’s a shame. It’s not fair to the other (actually comedic) actors in that category.
Paul Feig said what? That’s extremely rich coming from a guy whose “comedy,” based on his oeuvre, consists almost entirely of fat jokes and toilet humor. Based on his own definition, he doesn’t make “comedy” either.
Holmes – Yeah, I get it that his humor may not be in your wheelhouse, but it is comedy and by his definition, he sets out to create them as such. Is he a comedic genius? Nah, but he is a comedic writer and director.
It’s ok if he doesn’t make you laugh, but personally I liked Freaks and Geeks (which he created) and Bridesmaids as well.
He was talking about Joy
The Martian is not a comedy nor did I find it entertaining. I can imagine Damon picking out his clip for the Academy long before he has to. He likes to win. Not a big fan, although I liked him in Liberace of all things.
He likes to win? Are there people who like to lose?
@Nancy, who wrote: “I can imagine Damon picking out his clip for the Academy long before he has to. He likes to win.”
What kind of biased fantasy is this? Do you ‘know’ Matt Damon personally, at least well enough to make such an adamant statement? And F.Y.I., 20th-Century Fox is in control of ‘who’ and ‘what’ gets submitted for Awards.
I get that winning awards = big business for a lot of films, but I find some of this pretty shameless by the HFPA and the studios.
Haven’t seen The Martian and none of us have seen Joy but they sure don’t seem like comedies. American Hustle though, WTF, as it had ZERO comedy in it.
American Hustle was pretty funny IMO. Bradley Cooper’s and Jennifer Lawrence’s characters especially.
Yeah I’d call that a comedy WAAAAY before calling the Martian one.
For me it’s the complete other way round. The Martian was way funnier than AH. I actually think it fits the category of a comedy. It’s not a one-joke-every-two-seconds movie but I had some of the best (intentional) laughs I saw in the cinema in a while.
I saw The Martian and I enjoyed it; it definitely has funny / cute moments but it’s a stretch beyond belief to call it a comedy. American Hustle did have more humour in it, and though I wouldn’t have called it a comedy either, it certainly fits the category more than The Martian does.
hollywood’s shameless is more along the lines of “desperate”
The Globes shove things into the comedy category so more stars will attend their televised awards show. They are junk, I don’t know why anyone cares. The HFPA is a joke.
Rooney and Alicia SHOULD be in the lead category. Going into supporting so they have a better chance of winning is category fraud. Funny though how they are cracking down on the ladies when the men have been doing it for years and winning Oscars (Bale, Christoph Waltz).
The terrific book The Martian IS actually a comedy Sci Fi book. So even though the subject matter is serious the book is funny and Mark Whatney the character Damon plays was chosen for the space mission because of his sense of humor and refusal to let a heavy situation go without some goofy inappropriate joke or comment. the entire book is Whatney cracking jokes, doing silly things alone on Mars and pissing off NASA because he refuses to follow their wishes that he suddenly behave solemnly and seriously in the face of the danger to his life.
Whatney maintains his humor from the beginning to the end of the story.
So sorry folks but The Martian is a comedian and should be in the Comedy Movie section.
I found The Martian hilarious.
@Lilacflowers, who wrote: “I found The Martian hilarious.”
So did I (and the audience I was in). 🙂
I mentioned this yesterday, and I totally agree. I do, however, think it was pretty misrepresented marketing-wise. It WAS in fact billed as a super serious existential drama. I kind of got dragged along to see it, and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.
Both Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander have been placed in the supporting category for SAG because their production companies choose placement but they get placed by vote at the Globes, BAFTA and the Oscars.
The Globes are right they should both be in lead actress. They only reason they are being pushed Into supporting actress as its weaker group overall and more chance of an Oscar nomination.
In Elizabethan/Shakespearian terms, The Martian IS a comedy as opposed to a tragedy (what we have come to call drama). I think it’s fair.
Joy, I don’t know about. But since DOR sucks, I’m gonna go with: it should be in the “trash” category.
I haven’t seen the movie, but I have read the book, and I don’t think the book is a comedy. There are some funny moments for sure. And Watney, in order to survive, relies very much on humor to keep his wits about him, and to help himself keep focused on the task at hand, which is staying alive on Mars even as one perilous thing after another continues to happen that threatens his ability to survive. The book has some really nerdy moments as well, and it normally isn’t the kind of thing I read, but I am glad that I did.
The interesting thing is for the Oscars you(via your people) submit your own name in the category you choose..so historically a lot of supporting actor nominations were for pretty big parts, but they felt they had a better shot than if in the lead category. I always thought the foreign press chose their nominations based on who was most accessible to them or celeb status to get viewers 😎
You can submit, but that doesn’t mean that Academy members will place a person in that category. Keisha Castle – Hughes was submitted as supporting when she did Whale Rider (because they thought she’d have a better shot) and the Academy folks instead placed her in the Lead category when they nominated her.
@Boredblond, who wrote: “The interesting thing is for the Oscars you(via your people) submit your own name in the category you choose..so historically a lot of supporting actor nominations were for pretty big parts, but they felt they had a better shot than if in the lead category.”
The Studios submit film and actors / actresses for consideration. Basically, they throw everything at the Awards wall and hope something sticks. 🙂
Compton and Mercy have music in them, but that doesn’t make them musical. A musical uses songs as a medium of driving the story forward, whereas those movies were about music being made.
Yes but similar movies like Walk the Line and Inside Lleyewn Davis were selected in the comedy/musical category. Like SOC, they were basically dramas with music in it.
I found the Martian to be absolutely engrossing and joyful . It was very well made and definitely deserving of a best picture nod . I am so here for actually enjoyable movies like this, mad max, inside out making the best picture nominations than formulaic oscar baits.