The Golden Globes
The Golden Globes usually are more fun to watch than the Academy Awards and often predict Oscar wins. The show airs at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10 on NBC.
FILM NOMINEES: Lead actress, comedy: Amy Schumer, 34, “Trainwreck.” This hit film turned Schumer into the comedy “It Girl” of 2015. Best supporting actress, drama or musical/comedy: Jennifer Jason Leigh, 53, “The Hateful Eight.”
Best director: Todd Haynes, 54 (“Carol”). Best screenplay: Josh Singer, 43 (“Spotlight,” with Tom McCarthy), whose highly lauded script will almost certainly get an Oscar nom, too; and Aaron Sorkin, 54 (“Steve Jobs”). The Globes always have a few quirky nominations, and Sorkin’s screenplay, which got more pans than raves, is a Globe quirk. Best original song: “See You Again” (from “Furious 7”), co-written and co-sung by Charlie Puth, 24, also a Grammy nominee this year.
Best foreign film: “Son of Saul,” directed and written by László Nemes, 38, a Hungarian-born Jew who grew up mostly in France. The film, which opens in the Bay Area Jan. 15, follows 48 hours in the life of a Hungarian Jew forced to remove bodies from the Treblinka gas chambers. He comes across a boy whom he believes is his son and tries to find a way to give him a proper burial with a rabbi.
The awards for best film go to the principal producers. However, what follows are films with a significant Jewish connection other than just producers. Best drama: “Carol,” directed by Haynes. “Carol,” like his previous hit film “Far From Heaven,” is about a concealed gay relationship. In 2003, Haynes told the L.A. Jewish Journal about his history of identifying with Jewish struggle: “All my films are about resilient outsiders, whether in terms of race or sexual orientation,” something he believes he inherited from his Jewish grandfather, a social and political activist.
Also competing for best film are “Room” and “Spotlight.” “Room” was directed by Lenny Abrahamson, 49, an Irish Jew. “Spotlight,” in addition to being co-written by Josh Singer, co-stars Liev Schreiber, 48, as Marty Baron, 60, the Jewish Boston Globe editor who led the team that uncovered the Boston pedophile priest scandal.
Best musical or comedy: “Joy,” directed and written by David O. Russell, 57. It competes with “Trainwreck,” directed by Judd Apatow, 48, and written by Amy Schumer.
TV NOMINEES: Best actor, drama: Jeffrey Tambor, 71 (“Transparent” on Amazon). He plays a transgender Jewish woman, with a Jewish ex-wife and adult children, who is just beginning to transition. Best actor, comedy or musical: Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan” on Showtime). Best actress, drama: Eva Green, 35 (“Penny Dreadful” on Showtime). Green is a former Bond Girl who was born and raised in France. Best actress, musical or comedy: Rachel Bloom, 28 (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” on the CW), whose series combines musical numbers with comedy; and Jamie Lee Curtis, 57 (“Scream Queens” on Fox). Supporting actress, drama or musical/comedy: Judith Light, 66 (“Transparent”), playing Tambor’s ex-wife.
Five of the nominees for best musical or comedy series have big Jewish connections: “Casual,” on Hulu, was created and is written by Zander Lehmann, 28. His father is director Michael Lehmann, 57, a native San Franciscan. “Casual” stars Michaela Watkins, 44. “Mozart in the Jungle” is an Amazon series co-created by Jason Schwartzman, 35, and co-starring Lola Kirke, 25. “Orange Is the New Black,” on Netflix, was created by Jenji Kohan, 46. HBO’s “Silicon Valley” was co-created by John Altschuler, 52, and Dave Krinsky, 52. And finally, “Transparent” was created and is written by Jill Soloway, 50. Best drama series: “Empire,” on Fox, co-created by Danny Strong, 41, includes co-star Jussie Smollet, 32. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was co-created and co-written by D.B. Weiss, 44, and David Benioff, 44.