Netflix Sweeps Golden Globe Nominations

By Ellen Gamerman and John Jurgensen 

The Golden Globe race is under way, as award-season buzz and predictions turned into actual nods with Monday's nominations.

Noah Baumbach's divorce drama "Marriage Story" led with six nominations, including best picture, actress, actor, and screenplay. Martin Scorsese's mob epic "The Irishman" received five nominations including best director, best supporting actors for Joe Pesci and Al Pacino and best screenplay for Steven Zaillian. Robert DeNiro, considered a lock for a best-actor nomination in the three-and-a-half hour movie from Netflix, was left out of that category.

Netflix swept the competition, drawing 17 nominations, more than double the eight received by the top studio motion-picture distributor, Sony Pictures Releasing. Observers had been watching to see how works from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon hold up against the traditional studios in the movie categories. Netflix's "Unbelievable," about a series of sexual assaults and based on a true story, received four nominations.

On the TV side, there were questions about how Apple TV's "The Morning Show," which was the tech company's first foray into series when it launched its streaming service in November. "The Morning Show" received three nominations for best television series, and best actress nods for Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

The 77th Golden Globes ceremony will be held Jan. 5 in Beverly Hills, Calif., and will air on NBC. Tom Hanks will collect the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his career in film. For her achievements in television, Ellen DeGeneres will receive the second Carol Burnett Award after its namesake got the first one last year.

Ricky Gervais returns to host the award show for the fifth time. The controversy-courting comic has said that he isn't required to submit a script before the show. As it has in years past, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association played up the risk factor. In a recent promo, Mr. Gervais sprays the cameraman with champagne as a voiceover reminds viewers that "as usual, you have no idea what he's going to do."

Write to Ellen Gamerman at [e-mail] and John Jurgensen at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 09, 2019 09:03 ET (14:03 GMT)

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