Golden

A lot of surprising/bewildering selections this morning for Golden Globe nominations.

As expected Brokeback Mountain led the charge (although it missed out on one easy nom - Jake Gyllenhaal in the supporting category). Not so expected was the dismissal of Munich and King Kong. The former was viewed as a strong contender all year long but is now starting to be seen as a minor disappointment (and it still hasn't even been released), while the latter was a film that appeared to be gaining ground due to rapturous reviews and expected phenomenal box office. Both were nominated for Best Director but only landed one other nomination each (Munich for screenplay and Kong for score). Their omission in the big picture category (and all the acting categories) will not help their award profiles. But both films could simply be late bloomers, gaining traction in the coming weeks if they perform well at the box office. (For a clue about what might be holding Kong back, check out the reviews on the negative side of its metacritic page.)

In any event this year's awards are looking more unpredictable than normal, which is good. And it's hard to fault the films the Globes did select for Best Picture - Drama (although I still need to see two of them):

Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Good Night, And Good Luck.
A History of Violence
Match Point

Five of the best reviewed movies of the year. It's really nice that there's no lazy selections, like a Memoirs of a Geisha or a Crash, in this bunch.

In the comedy/musical category the five nominees are:

Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
The Producers
The Squid and the Whale
Walk the Line

A less impressive category. Walk the Line is the year's laziest award favorite and while I haven't seen Henderson or Producers yet, something tells me there were better (but not as obvious) selections to be made. But Walk the Line should easily win this anyway, setting up a potential showdown with Brokeback Mountain for Oscar's Best Picture (they are currently the only two locks for nominations, although Good Night, and Good Luck. is holding its own).

Among the other choices:

Bad news for the non-nominated Eric Bana (Munich), Naomi Watts (King Kong), Diane Keaton (The Family Stone), Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Joan Allen (and Upside of Anger co-star Kevin Costner). The first three especially have been ignored by nearly every group so far this week, despite a lot of buzz in their favor. Even more dead in the water: Terrence Malick's The New World, which is getting no love from anyone.

Good news for the nominated Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), David Straitharin (Good Night, And Good Luck.), Shirley MacLaine (In Her Shoes) (yay) and Matt Dillon (Crash) (barf), who have all become stronger contenders now. It's still possible the Globes will be the end of the line for one or any of them but showing up here should help fuel their campaigns.

Little indie darling The Squid & the Whale had a good showing with its comedy picture nomination and recognition for "leads" Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney, but oddly its script, which had been getting a lot of attention, was left out (the Globes don't separate adapted and original, so that didn't help). Expect the situation to change come Oscar time, when the movie's script might be the only nomination it receives.

Maria Bello's nomination for A History of Violence is a great thing but it's also bizarre on two counts. First, she was submitted as lead actress although most other places she'll go the supporting route. Catherine Zeta-Jones did the same thing for Chicago and won an Oscar, but I just don't understand the theory behind category confusion. Second, her nomination is the only nom for History of Violence besides best picture! No Viggo Mortensen actor nom, no Cronenberg directing nom, no supporting actor mention or even original score! Obviously these things happen in competitions, but it's still a little weird.

The big thing the Globes proved is that there are a lot of well-liked films this year, but no clear favorites (other than Brokeback).

On the TV side the selections were almost laughable in their over-the-top recognition of Hot New Shows. Three of the six nominees for comedy series and four of the five for drama are in their first year of Globes eligibility. The only show nominated for a series prize that has been on the air longer than two seasons is Curb Your Enthusiasm (and thank god they at least included that).

Two of the most notable snubs: Deadwood and Arrested Development. Two of the year's best series, both nominated for zero awards. (Deadwood isn't even old! This was only its second season!) The Globes also turned their backs on FX in a major way, the only nomination for the quality cable channel went to Glenn Close for The Shield (last year's drama series winner, Nip/Tuck, was deservedly shut out but why no attention for Rescue Me?).

ABC was the Globes' network of choice this year thanks to its big shows Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Commander-in-Chief. All of those nabbed at least two acting noms (all four Housewives got in this year and Lost scored its first ever Globe acting noms courtesy of Matthew Fox and Naveen Andrews - where's Terry O'Quinn?). Consider it the new FX (which was already the new HBO).

Also benefiting from the everything-new-is-Golden approach was Showtime's Weeds, which seemed like an obvious contender and didn't disappoint with noms for the show and actresses Mary-Louise Parker and Elizabeth Perkins. Don't be surprised to see Parker take down all the Housewives (although anyone but Teri Hatcher could conceivably win that category).

I suggest all TV nominees celebrate a lot and right now. Because half of them won't be invited back next year.