Yawn. It is a yawner for the Golden Globes? More and more nominees come from shows and movies not many watch. They say they watch but do not, in reality. "The Joker" was seen for sure and thus, should help generate interest. So should "The Irishman," but that is iffy. 

But, it is award season, so here we go again. I have done this for years, no matter how good or bad the overall products are. To me, streaming has hurt and not helped the business. We are in overload. And yes, politics matter. When they berate the audience because of their beliefs, that hurts them. Ratings are down and the movies people see are animated, "Star Wars" and super hero films.

Not bad but if that is all there is for the majority, people go because they like movies but that does not mean they are all so good, we need more of them.

Last year, "Bohemian Rhapsody" made over $900 million and surprised many, but not me. It was great.

Meanwhile, TV categories bore me here. They always have. Plus, they have two best pic categories, one drama and then musical and/or comedy. That skews all come Oscar time. But, since the Oscars now have up to nine nominations, it is better.

- "The Irishman" is loved and hated, but not because of the movie. It is how it was distributed. It was in theaters two days and then on Netflix. A movie that shows primarily on Netflix is suspect, to me, but Martin Scorsese did put it in a theater for the desired time for Oscar consideration. So, I am fine with that. Plus, Scorsese also blasted that system and super hero films. So, the drama is here.

Here are the nominees:
BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“1917”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Marriage Story”
“The Two Popes”
- No bad here. The "Joker" is this year's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the fact that there were forces trying to sabotage it and it did not matter as is soared over $1 billion at the box office.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
“Dolemite is My Name”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Knives Out”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Rocketman”
- "Rocketman" is not "Bohemian Rhapsody" and where is the Judy Garland biopic?

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Frozen 2”
“The Lion King”
“Missing Link”
“Toy Story 4”
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
- Deja vu here. Boring.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Farewell”
“Les Misérables”
“Pain and Glory”
“Parasite”
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”

BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
- Again, solid. Whoever wins his one wins the drama.

BEST ACTOR – DRAMA
Christian Bale, “Ford v. Ferrari”
Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
- Hmmm. No Robert DeNiro. Not is not a snub. It means nothing of the sort. He was not good enough and perhaps his politics hurt. Adam Driver is being pushed by insiders.

BEST ACTRESS – DRAMA
Cynthio Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”
- The feeling here for musical biopics and the lead is not the same as last yeart. Renee may win but no a shoe in at all. She needs some momentum. 

BEST ACTOR – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Daniel Craig, “Knives Out”
Roman Griffin Davis, “Jojo Rabbit”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Taron Egerton, “Rocketman”
Eddie Murphy, “Dolemite Is My Name”
- "Knives Out" was made for this only. Released late in the year strictly for award season.

BEST ACTRESS – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Awkwafina, “The Farewell”
Ana de Armas, “Knives Out”
Beanie Feldstein, “Booksmart”
Emma Thompson, “Late Night”
Cate Blanchett, “Where’d You Go Bernadette”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOTON PICTURE
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
- Yes, Hanks here for supporting. He was not the lead in the film about Mr. Rogers.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOTON PICTURE
Annette Benning, “The Report”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Jennifer Lopez, “Hustlers”
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

BEST SCREENPLAY
“Marriage Story”
“Parasite”
“The Two Popes”
“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”
“The Irishman”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Motherless Brooklyn”
“Little Women”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Marriage Story”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Beautiful Ghosts” – CATS
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” – Rocketman
“Into the Unknown” – Frozen 2
“Spirit” – The Lion King
“Stand Up” – Harriet

DECEMBER 3, 2019
​– NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2019 AWARD WINNERS

Best Film:
THE IRISHMAN
Best Director:
Quentin Tarantino, ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Best Actor:
Adam Sandler, UNCUT GEMS
Best Actress:
Renée Zellweger, JUDY
Best Supporting Actor:
Brad Pitt, ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Best Supporting Actress:
Kathy Bates, RICHARD JEWELL
Best Original Screenplay:
Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, UNCUT GEMS
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Steven Zaillian, THE IRISHMAN
Breakthrough Performance:
Paul Walter Hauser, RICHARD JEWELL
Best Directorial Debut:
Melina Matsoukas, QUEEN & SLIM
Best Animated Feature:
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD
Best Foreign Language Film:
PARASITE
Best Documentary:
MAIDEN
Best Ensemble:
KNIVES OUT
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography:
Roger Deakins, 1917
NBR Icon Award:
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino
NBR Freedom of Expression Award:
FOR SAMA
NBR Freedom of Expression Award:
JUST MERCY
​
Top Films (in alphabetical order)
“1917”
“Dolemite is My Name”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Knives Out”
“Marriage Story”
“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
“Richard Jewell”
“Uncut Gems”
“Waves”

​Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
“The Farewell”
“Give Me Liberty”
“A Hidden Life”
“Judy”
“The Last Black Man in San Francisco”
“Midsommar”
The Nightingale”
“The Peanut Butter Falcon”
“The Souvenir”
“Wild Rose”

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
“Atlantics”
“Invisible Life”
“Pain and Glory”
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
“Transit”
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
“American Factory”
“Apollo 11”
“The Black Godfather”
“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese”
“Wrestle”

From the Screen Actors Guild

Dec 2, 2019
Deadline For Paying November 2019 Dues And/Or Changing Address With SAG-AFTRA To Be Eligible For Final Balloting
Dec 6, 2019
Records Pulled For Final Balloting
Dec 8, 2019
Nominations Voting Closes At 5 P.M. PT
Dec 11, 2019
Nominations Announced
Dec 12, 2019
Publicists Ceremony Credentials Applications Open
Dec 17, 2019
Final Voting Opens
Jan 3, 2020
Final Day To Request Paper Final Ballots In Lieu Of Online Voting
Jan 10, 2020
Publicists Ceremony Credentials Applications Close At 5 P.M. PT
Jan 17, 2020
Final Votes Must Be Cast Online Or Ballots Received By The Elections Firm By 12 Noon PT
Jan 19, 2020
​26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®

 Rickey Gervais will take up the hosting duties at the Golden Globes. A good thing? Sure, why not? Over the years, the host has been an issue for this show and the Oscars. It should not be. The Oscars were much better without one. Anyway, when the host takes all the headlines, they did something wrong. They are the emcee and should push the show along - not take over, like they have of late. Then the issue has been, no host for certain shows. Come on.

For the Globes, Gervais works, and that is find and dandy.

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS Ricky Gervais Returns to Host the 77th Golden Globes
by HFPA November 12, 2019

• GOLDEN GLOBES


• 2019 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS


• 77TH GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS


• RICKY GERVAIS​

Ricky Gervais will resume hosting duties for a record fifth time at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards airing live on NBC coast to coast Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
  “Once again, they've made me an offer I can’t refuse. But this is the very last time I’m doing this, which could make for a fun evening,” said Gervais. “When Ricky Gervais is at the helm of the Golden Globes Awards, we can always expect the unexpected,” said President of the HFPA Lorenzo Soria. “We’re excited to see it all unfold on Jan. 5!”
  “There is always a palpable electricity in the room when Ricky takes the Globes stage. His return as master of ceremonies at the Golden Globes is much anticipated,”  added Paul Telegdy, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “It always makes for an unexpected evening. We can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeve.”
  “In a world where many award shows are opting to go the no-host route, the Golden Globes are going all in! It’s going to be a great night,” added Mike Mahan, CEO, dick clark productions.

Press release from ...Produced by dick clark productions in association with the HFPA, the Golden Globe Awards are viewed in more than 210 territories worldwide. Lorenzo Soria is President of the HFPA. Mike Mahan, CEO of dick clark productions and Barry Adelman, Executive VP of Television at dick clark productions will serve as executive producers.

FATHOM EVENTS - Did you know President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II survived assassination attempts just six weeks apart? Both believed they were spared to defeat communism and live out The Divine Plan. It remains one of the least known stories of the 20th century. Fathom tickets here...

Trailer

* It was real odd seeing the reaction to "Joker." All was well and then, all of a sudden, insiders turned on the movie. It reminded me of "Bohemian Rhapsody." Many insiders and so-called critics tried to ruin the box office for that movie. It appears they are doing the same for the "Joker." 

Then came calls for more security at certain venues. Now, that should happen more than it does, so when security is upped, it makes news. 

There were stories about "The Joker" being a hero, and this is the first time Hollywood has made a hero from a bad person Really? Take a look at "Bonnie and Clyde" or "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." One could even so people really like the killer in "Silence of the Lambs." I sure some even felt for Norman Bates in "Psycho."

Oh, and it will not ruin the box office for the film. 

* Summer BO ...is up and down.
* Depending on when certain outlets wrote their stories, one could see doom while the later stories reported the summer BO being up.
- This was written on Aug. 26, 2019...Hollywood Reporter - ​Box Office: Hollywood's High Hopes for Summer End With Bummer...in this they state that the summer BO will be 2 percent off from 2018, despite a number of films going over $1 billion at the turnstiles.
​- Deadline reported: ​Summer 2019 B.O. Rings Up $4.8B+: After Being Slaughtered By Disney, Rival Studios Ponder ‘What’s Theatrical?’- they say the BO is up 1 percent and just shy of the all-time record. Deadlines used the end of April through Labor Day. "Avengers: Endgame" opened then, so that matters.

* The biggest blockbuster is now "Avengers: Endgame," which took over as the all-time (not including inflation) top-grossing film of all-time. It passed "Avatar." They are more than $2 billion at the BO.

* It looks like they are going with it being down. Yes, it matters when one actually starts the summer. Hollywood generally starts the summer on Memorial Day Weekend, and ends over Labor Day. Over the years, it has been moved to the first week in May, so that would add to the BO totals for sure. 

- - -
From Screendollars ...Summer Wrap by Gower Street Media The summer season has remained relatively stable in 2019 despite a number of high-profile box office disappointments and trending topics of discussion around franchise fatigue. Gower Street Analytics latest figures show the official summer box office window, running from Memorial Day to Labor Day, delivered $3.45 billion – a drop of 2.7% against the same period of 2018 ($3.54bn).
- - -
* "Avengers: Endgame" opened on August. 26, 2019 - - so, it technically does not qualify as a summer movie, it seems. "Lion King 2019" is the top film of summer 2019. I look at it that when "Avengers: Endgame" is taken out of the summer mix, then being off from a record 2018 is not bad at all.
Summer Top Five
1. "The Lion King 2019"
2. "Toy Story 4"
3. "Aladdin 2019"
4. "John Wick Chapter 3"
Notes: Not much originality in that list. I am not sure if that is good or bad. People often want to go see things that are comfortable to them and they do not have to invest anything in a new offering. That is taking a risk. This list is not for the movie-goer. The box office is huge for many films but there were many clunkers that could have a story by itself. I no longer have it in me to hash those out. They were bad movies and nobody went, so let's just forget about them. Overall, though, we need to tone down the use of special effects and get back to original storytelling. "Avengers: Endgame" had both but even with that movie, I actually got bored of the special effects. They are use the same techniques, so they are blur together. And yes, suspending your own belief system on what superheroes can accomplish is one thing, have them do certain things that are just downright ridiculous, is another. That is true for an ordinary person (hero) as well. Just stop with the stupid scenarios in every movie, just to show off the special effects capabilities.
Source: Box Office Mojo

* Perhaps even the ideas for new movies are lame - and implemented poorly. We always complain that remakes and sequels are ruining the movie business. Not really. Without them, the BO would be toast. 
* "The Lion King" remake is now the highest-grossing animated film of all-time, passing "Frozen." Proof that a boffo box office film can go unnoticed by many. I paid no attention to this and here we are - passing "Frozen," which was talked about so much, even if you did not see it, you felt like you did. 
* "Titanic," when it became the highest-grossing film at the time, was in movie theaters for a year. Now, a movie can get there in a few months. Odd? You bet. You put a movie in well over 4,000 theaters, and it does decent business, and run it 24 hours, you can pushed that BO sky high early on.
* My top films of all-time do change over time, but, for the most part, stays pretty consistent. Do this. Think of your own and see if they change over time.
1. "Casablanca"
2. "Schindler's List"
3. "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
4. "The Ten Commandments"
5. "It's A Wonderful Life"
6. "The Sting"
7. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
8. "Ghost"
9. "Titanic"
10. "Grease"
"Wizard of Oz" has fallen of my list because it has been ruined by overplay. "Bohemian Rhapsody" willl make it when it stands the test of time of at least five years from release.
​