The Golden Globes nominations were announced on December 13. While many actors were helped by their nominations, some lost momentum for potential Oscar nominations.
The biggest snub came in the animated category with Paranorman being left out of the Best Animated film category. The film has been hailed by critics and was thought to be the frontrunner to win the Oscar award, but now looks like it is in trouble after missing a Globe nomination.
The other major snub was for Beasts of the Southern Wild which was completely shutout with no nominations. The film is expected to receive a best picture nomination at the Oscars but the last two days have been bad for the Sundance hit. The Screen Actors Guild also ignored the film when their nominations were announced.
Three major directors were snubbed: David O. Russell, Paul Thomas Anderson and Tom Hooper. Russell and Hooper were nominated for comedy but it is rare for a comedy to get nominated for best director at the Globes and Hooper has not been a Hollywood Foreign Press priority. Hooper lost for The King's Speech but then won the Oscar. Anderson's film was not nominated at the Globes for Best Picture.
Two major actresses that were snubbed were Emanuelle Riva and Quenzhane Wallis. However many pundits believed that the actresses would not get nominated considering they are not A list stars.
Three supporting actor potentials Robert De Niro, Matthew McConaughey and Javier Bardem missed the vote. De Niro already has a SAG and Critics nomination which made his omission from the Globes all the more shocking. He is also an A-list Actor. McConaughey has received a Critics nomination but missed the SAG. His Oscar chances are falling especially after he missed the Globes. As for Bardem, it was also odd considering he has a SAG and Critics nomination and this may be a sign that he can lose the spot when the Oscar nominations are revealed.
The lack of a Globe nomination also seemed like the end of the road for many hopefuls including Matt Damon (Promised Land), Foxx (Django Unchained), Tom Hanks (Cloud Atlas), Tom Holland (The Impossible), Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock) and Omar Sy (The Intouchables); best actress hopefuls Halle Berry (Cloud Atlas), Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina) and Laura Linney (Hyde Park on Hudson); best supporting actor hopefuls Bryan Cranston (Argo), John Goodman (Argo and/or Flight), Dwight Henry (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Hal Holbrook (Promised Land), Ewan McGregor (The Impossible) and Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables); and best supporting actress hopefuls Samantha Barks (Les Miserables), Kelly Reilly (Flight), Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables), Kristen Stewart (On the Road), Kerry Washington (Django Unchained) and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook).
However it is possible for an actor to receive a nomination despite completely missing precursors. The possibility of a win is unlikely but the nomination is possible. For example last year Gary Oldman missed the SAG, Critics, and Globe awards despite winning critics awards. He went on to be nominated for the Oscars. Max Von Sydow was ignored by every precursor but was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar nomination. Other lucky actors include Maggie Gyllenhaal in 2009 and Javier Bardem in 2010 who only received a BAFTA nomination and was completely ignored by all major awards. In 2007 Laura Linney also received a Best Actress nomination even though she was ignored by virtually all guilds and precursors.