Amidst scandals, the Golden Globes announces its nominees

As the most prominent platform yet in Hollywood's awards season to confront the post-Harvey Weinstein landscape, the Globes seemed eager to turn the page not just in its love for "All the Money in the World" but by shunning previous favorites like "House of Cards" and "Transparent." The latter remains in limbo following sexual harassment allegations against star Jeffrey Tambor, charges that he has denied.

Instead, the Globes lavished nominations on some tried-and-true favorites — Meryl Streep scored her 31st Globe nod — and some new faces, like the 21-year-old breakthrough of "Call Me By Your Name," Timothee Chalamet.

Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-era fairytale "The Shape of Water" swam away with a leading seven Golden Globes nominations on Monday and the HBO drama "Big Little Lies" came away with six nods. But nobody made landing a Globe nomination look easier than Christopher Plummer.

TRT World's Patrice Howard reports.

Newcomers outshine television mainstays

In the television categories, popular and critically-acclaimed shows "Veep," ''Narcos" and "Orange is the New Black" were shut out of Globes nominations this year, giving way in some cases to newcomers like Showtime's "SMILF," USA's "The Sinner," Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and HBO's "Big Little Lies" and "The Deuce," but the Globes often favour the new and shiny television shows.

The Emmy-winning "Big Little Lies" earned a host of acting nods (Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard, Laura Dern) as well as best limited series. HBO, which recently announced a second season for "Big Little Lies," led TV networks with 12 nominations overall.

Also with multiple nominations were Netflix's "Stranger Things," Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" and NBC's "This Is Us." HBO's "Game of Thrones" received a nod for best drama series, but nothing for its cast.

Love for unreviewed films

Two films that have yet to be released or reviewed (and in some cases even seen) by critics, "All the Money in the World" and "The Greatest Showman," scored three Golden Globe nominations each. The P.T. Barnum musical "The Greatest Showman" earned a best musical or comedy nomination and an acting nod for Hugh Jackman. 

The Getty kidnapping drama "All the Money in the World," which got a publicity boost when Scott decided to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer six weeks before the film's release.

Just two weeks after shooting his scenes in Ridley Scott's "All the Money in the World," Plummer was nominated for best supporting actor — a nod that was once considered a possibility for the actor he replaced, Kevin Spacey.

The nomination for Plummer — which was joined by nods for Scott's directing and Michelle Williams as best actress — was just the latest, and most last-minute, twist in an awards season that has been rocked by the industry's continuing sexual harassment scandals. 

Sexual misconduct takes its toll

Under the glare of sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey and Jeffrey Tambor, neither "House of Cards" nor "Transparent" received any Golden Globe nominations. 

Both shows, and actors, have been Golden Globes darlings. Tambor has won once and been nominated twice since 2015 for his performance in "Transparent," while Spacey has picked up one nomination and one win since 2014.

While it might not be all that surprising or, exactly, a snub, it is notable for being an early indication for how awards season might go for not only those accused of sexual misconduct, but the shows and films they're associated with too.

Pamela Adlon did, however, get an acting nomination for "Better Things," despite its association with Louis C.K., a co-creator and frequent writer on the FX show. C.K. will have no future association with the show, but the same is also true of Spacey and "House of Cards."

No Female Directors

But if the Globes hoped to present a group of nominations that looked beyond the likes of Weinstein — so long a dominant force at its annual awards — they failed in one notable category. 

Women might be at the center of four out of five of the films that snagged best director nominations, including "The Shape of Water," ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," ''The Post" and "All the Money in the World," but the filmmakers behind the projects this year were all men. 

Many  hoped for a different story in a year where a parade of sexual harassment scandals has laid bare Hollywood's gender imbalances. 

But contenders like Greta Gerwig (whose film garnered four nominations, including nods for star Saoirse Ronan, supporting actress Laurie Metcalf and Gerwig's screenplay), Patty Jenkins ("Wonder Woman") and Dee Rees ("Mudbound") were overlooked for a group of Spielberg, del Toro, Nolan, McDonagh and Scott.

"Lady Bird" did get a nod for best motion picture, musical or comedy and its Gerwig-penned screenplay, Jolie's was nominated in the foreign film category, and Mary J. Blige was singled out for her performance in "Mudbound," but it's hard not to notice the lack in the directing category in an industry where, in 2016, only 7 percent of the top 250 films of the year were directed by women.

The 'big' shut out

Apart from the success of "All the Money in the World," the morning's biggest surprise was the complete omission of the romantic comedy "The Big Sick," penned by real-life couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon. 

The two wrote the screenplay together and the film has been one of the most celebrated of the year since its premiere last January at the Sundance Film Festival and splashy acquisition by Amazon. 

Another Sundance film, "Wind River," was also among the surprising shut outs, especially after the filmmakers wrested back control from The Weinstein Company.

Another Oscar underdog, "The Florida Project," emerged with only one nomination, for Willem Dafoe's supporting performance as the manager of a low-rent motel.

Looking to the Oscars

The Globes haven't traditionally predicted the Oscars, but they did last January. The Globes two best-picture winners — "Moonlight" and "La La Land" — both ultimately ended up on the stage for the final award of the Oscars, with "Moonlight" emerging victorious only after the infamous envelope flub. 

The press association, which has worked in recent years to curtail its reputation for odd choices, is composed of about 90 freelance international journalists.

The last Globes broadcast, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, averaged 20 million viewers, an upswing of 8 percent, according to Nielsen. This year, Seth Meyers, will host the January 7 ceremony. He will have his hands full trying to keep a famously frothy show light amid such dark scandals for the movie industry.