'Barbie' edges 'Oppenheimer' to lead Golden Globe nominations

[December 12, 2023]  By Danielle Broadway and Lisa Richwine

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Pink-themed movie phenomenon "Barbie" topped the list of nominees for Hollywood's Golden Globe awards on Monday with nine nods, outpacing the eight for historical drama "Oppenheimer."

The two films - which featured in a summer box office clash dubbed "Barbenheimer" - will compete in different categories at the Globes, a red-carpet ceremony that kicks off Hollywood's awards season in January.

"Barbie," director Greta Gerwig's take on the iconic doll, will vie for best comedy or musical film alongside "American Fiction," "The Holdovers," and others.

"Oppenheimer" is in the running for best movie drama. It stars Cillian Murphy as the man behind the building of the atomic bomb. Competitors include Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," the story of the murder of Native Americans in Oklahoma in the 1920s.

In television categories, family drama "Succession" led all series with nine nominations, followed by "The Bear" with five.

After criticism for a lack of diversity in past years, an expanded group of Globe voters nominated two female directors - Gerwig and "Past Lives" director Celine Song. Acting nominees included Native American star Lily Gladstone in "Flower Moon," gay Black American "Rustin" actor Colman Domingo and Black American lead Jeffrey Wright in "American Fiction."

"For all of us, that means our work is being seen. So that feels good," Domingo told Reuters.

Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks were nominated for their roles in "The Color Purple," but the story of Black Americans living in the early 1900s was left out of the race for best movie musical or comedy.

"What makes me happy is the fact that I didn't give up, and that's what I want for every girl who sees the movie, every man, woman, Black, white - this movie is not just a Black thing - it's a world thing," Barrino said.

Tim Gray, a former Variety editor who is now executive vice president of the Globes, noted that the nominees reflected more diversity and inclusion than they have in the past.

"Two of the directing nominees are women, half of the screenwriting nominees are women. There's a lot of racial diversity in the nominations," Gray said.

"The Last of Us" star Pedro Pascal and "Past Lives" actor Greta Lee were among 27 first-time nominees.

"I've never been nominated before," Lee told Reuters. "I had no idea that these things were announced so early. I was asleep and my phone was activating in a way that was alarming."

Golden Globe statues are displayed, before the announcement of nominations for the 81st Golden Globe awards, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., December 11, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Bradley Cooper was nominated for best actor and director for "Maestro," the story of composer Leonard Berstein that also earned a best drama nomination.

Emma Stone, a nominee for gothic comedy "Poor Things," said her character Bella Baxter was the favorite she had ever played. "The journey of making this film is one that will stay with me for the rest of my life," she said.

'SOUL OF OUR FILM'

Other acting nominees included Murphy, "Barbie" star Margot Robbie, and Leonardo DiCaprio for "Killers of the Flower Moon."

DiCaprio praised his co-star Gladstone, saying she was "the soul of our film and helped to bring this sinister and painful part of our nation's history to life."

The Globes are one of the key contests that can provide a boost to movies on the road to the Academy Awards in March.

This year, Globe nominations were chosen by a new organization. The nonprofit Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of journalists that was criticized for ethical lapses and a lack of diversity, was disbanded in June.

New Globe owners Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions are operating the awards as a for-profit venture. The voting body now consists of 300 journalist members from 75 countries with 60% racial and ethnic diversity, organizers said.

The Globes added a category for blockbuster films, dubbed best cinematic and box office achievement. That opened a path for them to nominate concert film "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour."

Netflix led film distributors with 13 nominations. Warner Bros Discovery's HBO and Max topped TV distributors, landing 17 nods.

Winners will be announced on Jan. 7 at a ceremony broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross; Editing by Mary Milliken, Mark Porter and Deepa Babington)

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