Over the past year, the entertainment industry has taken a big shot from the ongoing pandemic.  Many movies, shows, and other productions have had their release dates pushed back further into the future as the pandemic continues.  While the number of releases has not amounted to previous years, there have been many excellent movies that deserve acclaim.

One way many productions receive their acclaim is through awards shows.  Like the movies themselves, many of the biggest awards shows have been pushed back into 2021.  One of them includes the Golden Globes which will take place on February 28.  Usually, the Golden Globes take place in early January, but with the circumstances the world is in, it was delayed. 

This is the first year the Golden Globes will be hosted from two different parts of the country.  Host Tina Fey will be hosting from New York City while Amy Poehler will be hosting from the usual Golden Globes location at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California.  It is still speculated how many guests will be at the actual Golden Globes ceremony.  There may be nominees and guests from the Los Angeles area.  In addition, it is likely all the other nominees will not be in direct attendance and winners will be sent their awards via mail. 

With movie theaters closed, many movies did not receive a theatrical release that yields heavy profits.  In the ever evolving world, though, streaming services like, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and an array of other services have released productions exclusively on their own platforms.  In fact, Netflix took the heavy number one spot for the most nominations in motion pictures and television distributor with a staggering 22 nominations in motion pictures and 20 nominations in television.  Amazon Studios took second place with 7 nominations in motion picture.  HBO had the second most nominations in television with 7 nominations.

It is likely that many Americans have seen multiple of the productions, actors, and actresses nominated for this year’s Golden Globes show because many of them were streamed while many people were forced to stay at home or quarantined.  

One of the movies nominated for musical or comedy motion picture is “Borat Subsequent Movie Film.”  This movie was released in late October of 2020 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video and received a total of 3 nominations.  The first nomination was for best musical or comedy motion picture and the second two nominations were for best actor in a musical or comedy motion picture (Sacha Baron Cohen) and best actress in a musical or comedy motion picture (Maria Bakalova).

Sacha Baron Cohen also received a nomination for best supporting role in any motion picture for his work in “The Trial of the Chicago 7”.  “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, a Marc Platt Productions / Dreamworks Pictures production, received a total of 5 nominations.  These nominations include Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor in any motion picture, Best Director – motion picture, Best Screenplay – Motion Picture, and Best original song – Motion Picture.  “The Trial of the Chicago 7” can be streamed on Netflix.

Another spectacular film that was nominated for Best Animated Motion Picture was the Pixar film, “Soul”.  The Pixar film is the first Pixar film to star an African-American main character.  Joe Gardner, the protagonist of the film, is played by Jamie Foxx.  This film was released on Christmas exclusively on Christmas of last year.  “Soul” is a heartwarming film about finding one’s passions and individuality in life.  A total of two nominations were given to “Soul”.

The Golden Globes has an outstanding spread of nominations for Best Pictures, Actors, Actresses and everything in between.  This year has shown a great shift of many streaming services receiving nominations over big box production companies who usually receive the bulk of nominations.  It begs the question, will the COVID-19 pandemic forever change how movies and television is created and released?