Awards season begins on January 12 with the Golden Globes, and 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle lead the nominations with seven each.
12 Years A Slave is nominated for Best Drama, Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Director (Steve McQueen), Best Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender), Best Score (Hans Zimmer), and Best Screenplay (John Ridley).
Lupita Nyong’o, who made her film debut in 12 Years A Slave and is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, said, “I feel this film is pivotal and just good for the world.” Nyong’o is also nominated for a SAG Award, as are Ejiofor and Fassbender. The entire cast is nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Last week, Italian distributor, BIM Distribuzione apologized for 12 Years A Slave posters that featured Fassbender and Brad Pitt more prominently than Ejiofor. The company apologized and recalled the posters, which Lionsgate and Summit said were unauthorized. Summit also said it was investigating the matter.
American Hustle is nominated for Best Musical/Comedy, Best Director (David O. Russell), Best Actor and Actress (Christian Bale and Amy Adams), Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence), and Best Screenplay (Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell). Lawrence took home a Golden Globe last year for Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook , as well as an Academy Award.
Both American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave are expected to be announced as frontrunners for the Academy Awards. Oscar nominations will be announced January 16, with the ceremony scheduled for March 2. Ellen DeGeneres will host for the second time.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the Golden Globe Awards for the second year in a row and will host next year’s ceremony as well. Despite some criticism about their performance for last year’s broadcast, Fey and Poehler’s hosting brought in 19.7 million viewers, which was up 17 percent from the previous year.
