Due to the grace of God and the writers’ strike, the Golden Globe awards show was canceled this year, but that did not stop the Hollywood Foreign Press from handing out their little statues (which Jay Leon calls “Golden Globules”). Personally, I cannot take seriously an organization that awards the Best Motion Picture Drama Designation to ATONEMENT (as a general rule, any film starring Kiera Knightley should be automatically barred from award consideration); nevertheless, I was happy to see that SWEENEY TODD – easily the best film of 2007 – won in a couple categories.
The wonderful “horror-musical-comedy” (as I am wont to call it) took home the globule for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and Johnny Depp was honored in the Best Actor, Comedy or Musical category. Unfortunately, Tim Burton was passed over in the Directing category, where the winner was Julian Schnable for THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY; likewise, Helena Bonham Carter lost out int he Best Actress, Comedy or Musical category to Marion Cotillard of LA VIE EN ROSE.
There were few other genre nominations. The Hollywood Foreign Press made the mistake of nominating PUSHING DAISIES in a few of their television categories but somewhat redeemed themselves by not actually giving it a win. Also, James Nesbitt was nominated in the category for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries of a Motion Picture Made for Television – for his work in BBC’s JEKYLL.