The Hollywood Foreign Press has officially designated which films will be eligible in which categories for the upcoming Golden Globes. And there are a few surprises.
The movie most were waiting to learn about – David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” – will compete in the Drama category. Like last year’s “Silver Linings Playbook”, O. Russell had a tough choice. He went Comedy with “SLP”, which helped Jennifer Lawrence win Best Actress honors.
From the trailer, “American Hustle” looks like a dramatic period piece with some light moments. It will be going head-to-head in the DRAMA category with the likes of “12 Years a Slave”, “Gravity”, “Captain Phillips”, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”, “Philomena”, and “Saving Mr. Banks”, so it may struggle just to get a nomination.
For me, the biggest surprise entry in the DRAMA category is “Blue Jasmine”. The film was promoted as a comedy and played as a comedy. Would Woody Allen have done this so Cate Blanchett could avoid going up against Meryl Streep (“August: Osage County”) in the Best Actress – Comedy/Musical category? We all know how much the HFPA LOVES Ms. Streep. If this is the plan, it’s a smart one. However, Blanchett will still face tough competition from Judi Dench (“Philomena”), Amy Adams (“American Hustle”), Emma Thompson (“Saving Mr. Banks”) and, above all (literally), “Gravity”‘s Sandra Bullock.
Along with “August: Osage County” getting a COMEDY designation, the other mildly surprising decision in this category is “Her”, which appears more heavy-hearted than light-hearted, but it may help Joaquin Phoenix snag a Best Actor nomination. I also wasn’t expecting “The Wolf of Wall Street” to be called a COMEDY, but I guess trailers don’t lie. They will face-off against potential noms “Nebraska”, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, “Inside Llewyn Davis” (the sole musical of this group) and “Enough Said”.
The 2014 Golden Globes are Jan. 12.