The Golden Globes Nominations, Brought to You By Penske Media

The Golden Globes went through a difficult few years that nearly sank the organization. In 2021, the Hollywood Foreign Press was criticized for its lack of diversity -- the organization had not added a new Black member since 2002. In response, the Globes attempted to enact reforms, but it would take too long, and the damage had already been done. Studios -- beginning with Amazon and Netflix -- backed out of the awards, and NBC decided against airing the 79th Golden Globe Awards in 2022. Tom Cruise returned his Golden Globes and it seemed like the ceremony was all but dead, and why not? There are better awards ceremonies with a more diverse set of voters that do not have the checkered history of the Golden Globes, nor a past history of nominations that include Burlesque, Covert Affairs, and The Tourist, among its most egregiously bad selections.

In 2023, however, the ceremony smartly hired Jerrod Carmichael to host the awards and pandered to all the right people, but Carmichael himself criticized the ceremony during the ceremony. The ratings for a telecast that had been moved to a Tuesday were not great. It felt like it was time to let it finally die.

However, earlier this year, the Golden Globe Awards assets and intellectual property were purchased by Penske Media, low-key the biggest news monopoly in Hollywood. Penske Media owns the trades -- Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline -- as well as Rolling Stone, TVLine, Indiewire, and TheHollywoodLife, among others. It's even the largest stakeholder in Vox Media, owner of Vulture and New York Magazine.

Guess what's on the home page of all those sites? This morning's Golden Globe nominations! Here I thought the industry had given up on the Golden Globes, but I guess when the industry is controlled by the same entity that owns the Golden Globes, that interest can be magically revived! I mean, it's not that other publications aren't running with the nominations, too, but they're doing so for the same reason we are: Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd. Penske Media bought a dying organization and used its media empire to relaunch it as a for-profit entity, which probably makes it easier to dismiss corruption allegations. Also, who would report on the corruption anyway?

Here are the 2023 Golden Globes nominations. They've expanded the categories to six nominees and added an idiotic category to award box-office receipts (aren't box-office receipts reward enough) and stand-up comedians, where they've nominated all your problematic faves. Was Matt Rife's special released too late to be eligible or something?

Best Motion Picture, Drama
"Oppenheimer" (Universal Pictures)
"Killers of the Flower Moon" (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
"Maestro" (Netflix)
"Past Lives" (A24)
"The Zone of Interest" (A24)
"Anatomy of a Fall" (Neon)

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
"Barbie" (Warner Bros.)
"Poor Things" (Searchlight Pictures)
"American Fiction" (MGM)
"The Holdovers" (Focus Features)
"May December" (Netflix)
"Air" (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Director, Motion Picture
Bradley Cooper -- "Maestro"
Greta Gerwig -- "Barbie"
Yorgos Lanthimos -- "Poor Things"
Christopher Nolan -- "Oppenheimer"
Martin Scorsese -- "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Celine Song -- "Past Lives"

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
"Barbie" -- Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
"Poor Things" -- Tony McNamara
"Oppenheimer" -- Christopher Nolan
"Killers of the Flower Moon" -- Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese
"Past Lives" -- Celine Song
"Anatomy of a Fall" -- Justine Triet, Arthur Harari

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Bradley Cooper -- "Maestro"
Cillian Murphy -- "Oppenheimer"
Leonardo DiCaprio -- "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Colman Domingo -- "Rustin"
Andrew Scott -- "All of Us Strangers"
Barry Keoghan -- "Saltburn"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Lily Gladstone -- "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Carey Mulligan - "Maestro"
Sandra Hüller - "Anatomy of a Fall"
Annette Bening -- "Nyad"
Greta Lee -- "Past Lives"
Cailee Spaeny -- "Priscilla"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Fantasia Barrino - "The Color Purple"
Jennifer Lawrence - "No Hard Feelings"
Natalie Portman - "May December"
Alma Pöysti - "Fallen Leaves"
Margot Robbie - "Barbie"
Emma Stone - "Poor Things"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Nicolas Cage -- "Dream Scenario"
Timothée Chalamet -- "Wonka"
Matt Damon -- "Air"
Paul Giamatti -- "The Holdovers"
Joaquin Phoenix -- "Beau Is Afraid"
Jeffrey Wright -- "American Fiction"

Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
Willem Dafoe -- "Poor Things"
Robert DeNiro -- "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Robert Downey Jr. -- "Oppenheimer"
Ryan Gosling -- "Barbie"
Charles Melton -- "May December"
Mark Ruffalo -- "Poor Things"

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Emily Blunt -- "Oppenheimer"
Danielle Brooks -- "The Color Purple"
Jodie Foster -- "Nyad"
Julianne Moore -- "May December"
Rosamund Pike -- "Saltburn"
Da'Vine Joy Randolph -- "The Holdovers"

Best Television Series, Drama
"1923" (Paramount+)
"The Crown" (Netflix)
"The Diplomat" (Netflix)
"The Last of Us" (HBO)
"The Morning Show" (Apple TV+)
"Succession" (HBO)

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
"The Bear" (FX)
"Ted Lasso" (Apple TV+)
"Abbott Elementary" (ABC)
"Jury Duty" (Amazon Freevee)
"Only Murders in the Building" (Hulu)
"Barry" (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Pedro Pascal -- "The Last of Us"
Kieran Culkin -- "Succession"
Jeremy Strong -- "Succession"
Brian Cox -- "Succession"
Gary Oldman -- "Slow Horses"
Dominic West -- "The Crown"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Helen Mirren -- "1923"
Bella Ramsey -- "The Last of Us"
Keri Russell -- "The Diplomat"
Sarah Snook -- "Succession"
Imelda Staunton -- "The Crown"
Emma Stone -- "The Curse"

Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Ayo Edebiri -- "The Bear"
Natasha Lyonne -- "Poker Face"
Quinta Brunson -- "Abbott Elementary"
Rachel Brosnahan -- "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
Selena Gomez -- "Only Murders in the Building"
Elle Fanning - "The Great"

Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Bill Hader -- "Barry"
Steve Martin -- "Only Murders in the Building"
Martin Short -- "Only Murders in the Building"
Jason Segel -- "Shrinking"
Jason Sudeikis -- "Ted Lasso"
Jeremy Allen White -- "The Bear"

Best Supporting Actor, Television
Billy Crudup -- "The Morning Show"
Matthew Macfadyen -- "Succession"
James Marsden -- "Jury Duty"
Ebon Moss-Bachrach -- "The Bear"
Alan Ruck -- "Succession"
Alexander Skarsgård -- "Succession"

Best Supporting Actress, Television
Elizabeth Debicki -- "The Crown"
Abby Elliott -- "The Bear"
Christina Ricci -- "Yellowjackets"
J. Smith-Cameron -- "Succession"
Meryl Streep -- "Only Murders in the Building"
Hannah Waddingham -- "Ted Lasso"

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
"Beef"
"Lessons in Chemistry"
"Daisy Jones & the Six"
"All the Light We Cannot See"
"Fellow Travelers"
"Fargo"

Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Matt Bomer -- "Fellow Travelers"
Sam Claflin -- "Daisy Jones & the Six"
Jon Hamm -- "Fargo"
Woody Harrelson -- "White House Plumbers"
David Oyelowo -- "Lawmen: Bass Reeves"
Steven Yeun -- "Beef"

Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Riley Keough -- "Daisy Jones & the Six"
Brie Larson -- "Lessons in Chemistry"
Elizabeth Olsen -- "Love and Death"
Juno Temple -- "Fargo"
Rachel Weisz -- "Dead Ringers"
Ali Wong -- "Beef"

Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Ludwig Göransson -- "Oppenheimer"
Jerskin Fendrix -- "Poor Things"
Robbie Robertson -- "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Mica Levi -- "The Zone of Interest"
Daniel Pemberton -- "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
Joe Hisaishi -- "The Boy and the Heron"

Best Picture, Non-English Language
"Anatomy of a Fall" (Neon) -- France
"Fallen Leaves" (Mubi) -- Finland
"Io Capitano" (01 Distribution) -- Italy
"Past Lives" (A24) -- United States
"Society of the Snow" (Netflix) -- Spain
"The Zone of Interest" (A24) -- United Kingdom

Best Original Song, Motion Picture
"Barbie" -- "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish and Finneas
"Barbie" -- "Dance the Night" by Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
"She Came to Me" -- "Addicted to Romance" by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" -- "Peaches" by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, and John Spiker
"Barbie" -- "I'm Just Ken" by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
"Rustin" -- "Road to Freedom" by Lenny Kravitz

Best Motion Picture, Animated
"The Boy and the Heron" (GKids)
"Elemental" (Disney)
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" (Sony Pictures)
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (Universal Pictures)
"Suzume" (Toho Co.)
"Wish" (Disney)

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy or Television
Ricky Gervais -- "Ricky Gervais: Armageddon"
Trevor Noah -- "Trevor Noah: Where Was I"
Chris Rock -- "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage"
Amy Schumer -- "Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact"
Sarah Silverman -- "Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love"
Wanda Sykes -- "Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer"

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
"Barbie" (Warner Bros.)
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (Disney)
"John Wick: Chapter 4" (Lionsgate Films)
"Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One" (Paramount Pictures)
"Oppenheimer" (Universal Pictures)
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" (Sony Pictures)
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (Universal Pictures)
"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" (AMC Theatres)

I don't have major beef with most of the nominations. I'm not sure why people keep nominating The Morning Show, except so that Reese and Aniston will show up at the event, and as much as I wanted to like Daisy Jones and the Six, it was not very good. I do wonder if Amazon sent around very nice goodie bags this year because while I enjoyed Air, I'm not sure it warrants inclusion, either. I'll give them Jury Duty, though.