Golden Globes 2021 Snubs and Surprises: Ryan Murphy, ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ and more

Hands down, the most shocking Golden Globes nominations of the morning had to be the Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy honor bestowed upon Sia’s controversial film, Music. Currently sitting with a 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film was all but written off by critics after the trailer sparked harsh blowback from the autism community. (The film not only casts neurologically typical actor/dancer Maddie Ziegler as a teen with autism, but the trailer also suggested that the film fans the flames of the most twee stereotypes about the neurologically atypical community.)

Not only did Music earn a Best Picture nomination, but star Kate Hudson is in contention for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. To say both nominations took Hollywood by surprise is probably an understatement.

Ever since Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods premiered last summer, it’s been considered an awards season lock for at least one blisteringly brilliant performance. Delroy Lindo delivered the performance of a lifetime in the film while Chadwick Boseman played the specter of a brilliant man whose life was tragically cut short by a cruel twist of fate. The fact that neither performance made the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s cut is shocking, but no less galling is the realization that Spike Lee’s tetchy, traumatic look at the effect the Vietnam War had on a generation of Black vets was completely shut out. What gives, HFPA? Was Lindo’s “Salt in the Vaseline” monologue too good for you to consider?!?!

Decider’s Kayla Cobb may have been banging the drum for Ryan Murphy’s 2020 slate, but many Hollywood insiders had written off Murphy’s recent work at Netflix. Sure, awards season prognosticators expected some love for Ratched’s Sarah Paulson and The Prom‘s Meryl Streep in acting categories, but very few folks thought that Murphy could dominate the nominations like he did this morning. Ratched elbowed into the Best Drama race, Jim Parsons got a nomination for his work in Hollywood, and The Prom dominated in the Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy categories.

Like it or not, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association still thinks Murphy is the undisputed titan of TV (and film).

Ryan Murphy isn’t the only mega-producer that Netflix has wooed away from network cable in the last few years. The streamer made headlines when it poached super-showrunner Shonda Rhimes and her production company Shondaland from ABC. That deal seemed to be a stroke of genius when Shondaland’s first scripted drama, Bridgerton, became the biggest hit in Netflix history (according to Netflix).

Indeed, many awards seasons experts predicted Bridgerton might squeak into the Best Drama and Best Drama Actress categories at the Golden Globes. However, it was fully shut out…seemingly in favor of Ryan Murphy’s Ratched.

Okay, maybe it’s not that much of a shocker that the Golden Globes chose to honor a chic, sweet soufflé of a show starring HFPA fave Lily Collins, but the uber-popular Netflix show was never much of an American critics’ darling. (I remain a weirdo among my friendly group of critics because I found the show not terrible, but rather charming and just fine.)

Still, there is something so bluntly “Golden Globes” about Emily in Paris‘s nominations. After keeping journalists and fans waiting for nominations for nearly 35 minutes this morning, the very first nod announced was…Emily in Paris. We shouldn’t be shocked, but yet, we still are. That’s just how the Golden Globes work, baby!

Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You was one of the most masterful shows of 2020. The limited series dared to question the pernicious nature of hookup culture, victim shaming, and the infinite ways in which our society is comprised of abusive interactions. The show is also a masterpiece, looking at the effects of trauma on the psyche and the struggles of being a young Black artist in 2020. Tricky, troubling, and even hilariously absurd, I May Destroy You was unlike anything else on TV…ever. While it may have been too much to expect Golden Globes wins for the HBO series and its star/auteur Michaela Coel, experts at least predicted nominations. Instead, this work of true art was completely snubbed.

One of the biggest controversies to stain the Golden Globes in recent years has been the dearth of women in the Best Director category. So much so, that Natalie Portman pointedly called out the fact that brilliant directors like Greta Gerwig and Marielle Heller had been snubbed (while their films and films’ stars weren’t) during the broadcast.

This year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association seems to be giving three of the best directors this year their due. Emerald Fennell received a nomination for her work on Promising Young Woman, Regina King for One Night in Miami, and Chloe Zhao for Nomadland. In terms of representation, that means for the first time, women out weigh the men in the Best Director Golden Globes category.

However, the Globes might have another issue. Sure, Regina King was nominated for Best Director, but her film missed the boat on a Best Motion Picture Drama nomination. As did any of the critically-acclaimed Black-led dramas this year…

Maybe one of the most egregious oversights in this year’s Golden Globe nominations is the fact that none of the four critically-acclaimed Black-led drama films of the year is in contention for Best Picture. In addition to Da 5 Bloods and One Night in Miami, the HFPA also decided not to honor Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom or Judas and the Black Messiah. What’s even more confounding is the latter three films snapped up some major nominations in directing, writing, acting, and music categories. That suggests that the Golden Globes knows they’re good films, but apparently none of them is good enough to duke it out with an Aaron Sorkin film or ode to old Hollywood for top prize? Really? 

As with all Golden Globes nominations, there are always performances that sneak into contention to the delight or disgust of everyone involved. This year, we’ve got the lovely swerves of Rosamund Pike and Tahir Rahim earning spots in top film acting categories, but we’ve also got Jared Leto?!?

Look, he was fine in The Little Things. He was fine!! But you’re telling me he was better than Chadwick Boseman (or Jonathan Majors or Clarke Peters) in Da 5 Bloods???

Golden Globes, this is where you and I have to agree to disagree…