It is not usual to see Superhero films win reputed awards, other than the technical categories such as makeup or special effects (the posthumous Best Supporting Actor Oscar won by Heath Ledger for his work in The Dark Knight was a rare exception). We expected things to change this year because Wonder Woman and Logan have created a vastly different genre.
Sadly, if the 2018 Golden Globes are an indication of the Academy Awards, then the comic book lovers don’t have much to look forward to.
Wonder Woman and Logan both failed to get any Golden Globe nominations despite their being huge enthusiasm about Patty Jenkins and Patrick Stewart (and quite a bit for Gal Gadot, Hugh Jackman, and Dafne Keen). The Lego Batman Movie also failed to win any hearts in the animation category.
So, What Went Wrong?
The Wonder Woman was a phenomenal box office success and turned out to be the highest earning film ever that was helmed by a female director, but, other than the hype it was a great deal typical superhero origin story for the awards, which usually go to substantial themes. On the other hand, Logan had a heavier tone, but, Stewart lost his nomination to All The Money In The World’s maker Christopher Plummer who had taken over from Kevin Spacey at the last minute to separate the film from the current waves of sexual harassment disclosures hitting Hollywood.
However, the failure to nominate Jenkins for best director or for that matter any other ladies, made a lot of people feel like a bad selection this year.
Other directors who got ignored at Golden Globes include Lady Bird’s Greta Gerwig, The Big Sick’s Kumail Nanjiani, Mudbound’s Dee Rees and Get Out’s Jordan Peele (Lady Bird and Get Out have both been nominated for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy). Wonder what caused these blunders?
There were too many great films to choose from in 2017
In any typical year, these ignored films and their makers would be automatically nominated, but, 2017 came up with a large number of superb movies. We can criticize the Golden Globes for glossing over several worthy names, but, very few moviegoers would find fault with nominations for movies such as Dunkirk, Call Me By Your Name, The Post, The Shape Of Water, Battle Of The Sexes, Molly’s Game, The Disaster Artist, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and several other instant classics. (However, the Academy might make different choices).
So, even if it turns out to be a sad day for superhero films, it has been a great year for movies overall, and there is no reason why we can’t love them both!
