Entertainment

Your Golden Globes Questions, Answered

by Kristie Rohwedder
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Now that I've had a few hours to process the 2014 Golden Globe nominations, my mind burns with questions. I'm all about trivia and statistics (and by "statistics" I mean "counting." Don't make me look at standard deviations or distributions)! "12 Years a Slave and American Hustle received seven nominations each," I noted. "That must be a record." As impressive seven nominations may be, it is not the record. WHAT? Whoa. "Did Titanic get the most? It must be Titanic." I'm wrong again. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been handing out film awards since 1944 and television awards since 1956, so hey! There were awards handed out before Titanic. Who knew? Nashville (the 1975 film, not the current television show) accumulated nine noms. Titanic had eight. Wow. Learnin' stuff every day.

Here are some of the other questions we had after reading through the noms. Some of the questions were answered, others remain... questions:

Have Any Actors Been Nominated Twice In One Year?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Idris Elba, and Chiwetal Elijafor were all cross-nominated this year and no, this isn't the first time this has happened. Here are some recent double nominees:

In 2013:

  • Nicole Kidman The Paperboy, Hemingway & Gellhorn
  • Maggie Smith Quartet, Downton Abbey

In 2012:

  • Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March, Crazy, Stupid, Love
  • Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce, Carnage

In 2011:

  • Johnny Depp Alice in Wonderland, The Tourist

In 2010:

  • Sandra Bullock The Proposal, The Blind Side
  • Matt Damon The Informant!, Invictus
  • Ana Paquin The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, True Blood
  • Meryl Streep Julie and Julia, It's Complicated

In 2009:

  • Meryl Streep Doubt, Mamma Mia!
  • Ralph Fiennes The Duchess, Bernard and Doris
  • Tom Wilkinson Recount, John Adams
  • Kate Winslet Revolutionary Road, The Reader

Has Anyone Won Two In A Year? Is it Possible?!:

So! How many times has an actor/actress won more than once in a year? Drumroll, please: Four times. And who are the fearsome foursome? Drumroll again, please:

  1. Sigourney Weaver in 1989: Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey and Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Working Girl
  2. Joan Plowright in 1993: Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Enchanted April and Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Film for Stalin
  3. Helen Mirren in 2007: Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for The Queen and Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for Elizabeth I
  4. Kate Winslet in 2009: Best Actress in a Motion PIcture — Drama for Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for The Reader

Get it, ladies.

Any Other Examples of Movies/Current Events Overlap?:

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom received three nominations. The nominations were filed before the passing of Nelson Mandela, so no, we're not implying that his death influenced the ballots or something, but we do think the timing is worth noting. Here are some past nominated movies that coincided with current events:

  • The Social Network: In 2010, Facebook was (and is) still very much a thing.
  • The Hurt Locker: This movie was released in 2008, a few years before the Iraq War officially ended.
  • Ray: Ray Charles passed away June 10, 2004, just a few months before the movie premiered on Oct. 29, 2004.
  • Walk the Line: Johnny Cash passed away in 2003 and the movie was released in 2005
  • There Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming… A comedy about the Cold War that was released in 1966 (during the height of the Cold War).

What makes a movie a Comedy?:

American Hustle, Her, and The Wolf of Wall Street ... are they comedies? Why were they nominated for Best Motion Picture —Musical or Comedy? Sorry to be a nag, but I'm putting on the "comedy purist" cap for a hot minute. Like, Martin Scorsese movies definitely have their humorous moments (and I love, love, LOVE his movies), but I wouldn't call them comedies. I guess American Hustle is more Silver Linings Playbook and less The Fighter. Okay, I'll give the HFPA that one.

Which comedies do I think were overlooked? The Kings of Summer, The Heat, In a World..., and The World's End were all critically-acclaimed funny movies, and it's a bummer they didn't receive any nods. I'm sure there are others, but those four are way less head scratch-worthy than Her or The Wolf of Wall Street. I mean, they're comedies. If someone at the HFPA could send me their definition of "a comedy," I'd really appreciate it. In the mean time, I'm going to keep scratching my head.

How Many Nominations/Wins For The Legendary Ladies?:

Some of my favorite legendary actresses were nominated this year. How nominations and wins do each of the queens of my heart have as of today?:

  • Judi Dench: 11 noms/2 wins
  • Emma Thompson: 9 noms/2 wins
  • Meryl Streep: 27 noms/8 wins
  • Jessica Lange: 14 noms/5 wins
  • Helen Mirren: 12 noms/2 wins

Such regal queens. And yes, the win tally is as of the 2013 Golden Globes. I can't predict the future.

Oof. I've done enough high level math for the week. Onward to the actual event!