Golden Globe Awards Nominations: The Nominees’ Reactions

Nominations for the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced early Dec. 15 at the Beverly Hilton and awards frontrunner The Artist led the way with six nominations, with The Descendants and The Help following with five each. On the television side, Boardwalk Empire and Modern Family were among the leading nominees.

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist — best director, motion picture: The French director, who lives in Paris, was at a café when he learned The Artist scored the most Globe nominations of any film, including best motion picture, musical or comedy. “One of my producers, who was watching the nominations being announced on television, called and said that we had four nominations. Then he called me back and said it was actually six. Everybody was so excited, including me of course,” Hazanavicius told THR. Berenice Bejo, Haanavicus’ wife, landed a nomination in the best supporting actress category for her role in The Artist (she’s currently in Los Angeles). “She was with me from the beginning of this, and was the first one who took me seriously,” he recalls. “I feel like a have a big, stupid smile on my face. I made this movie out of desire, and never expected this sort of response. People really love the movie, and I guess there’s something special about it for people in the United States, because it’s about your movie history.” Hazanavicius said it was thrilling to make a silent film. “It’s a wonderful format. It’s challenging as a director, and really works in a different way on the audience. It lets you use your imagination. And black and white is the actor’s best friend, because it gives you some mystery.” — Pamela McClintock (Read more reactions from the cast of The Artist here.)

Jean Dujardin, The Artist — best actor in a drama, motion picture: “I was proud and thrilled. It’s such an honor to be nominated alongside such great actors. I feel like a spoiled child.” Dujardin said The Artist, which the Weinstein Co. is distributing in the U.S., is a “love letter to Hollywood. It’s a visual, emotional experience.” He added that making a silent film was a “liberating, instinctive experience. Your body does the work.” — Pamela McClintock

PHOTOS: Golden Globe Awards Nominees  

Tate Taylor, director of The Help, which landed five nominations, including best picture – drama; best performance by an actress in a motion picture (Viola Davis); best performance by an actress in a supporting role (Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer), best original song: The filmmaker is currently in Martha’s Vineyard, where he’s working on the adapted script for his next directorial effort, Peace Like a River. “I got up and watched the nominations live. I cheered out loud,” Taylor told THR. “I called Octavia, but she didn’t recognize the number, so was tentative. Once she realized it was me, she said, ‘oh my god!.’ I called Viola, but she was swept up in interviews. We’ve all been emailing back and forth.” The Help, a DreamWorks/Participant/Touchstone film, is the first feature Taylor has directed, and was a labor of love (he’s childhood friends with The Help author Kathryn Stockett). “I’m so proud of all my girls. We were the little movie that could. Everybody poured their hearts and souls into this movie.” — Pamela McClintock (Read more reactions from the cast of The Help here.)

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs — best supporting actress, motion picture: “I had literally just finished shooting my last scene in Luxembourg in Margarethe von Trotta’s Hannah Arendt. I play Mary McCarthy. It was a party scene — I was trouncing Hemingway. They said I might get a call about the Globe. It rang, and it was my dentist: ‘You owe me $36.’ I howled with laughter. She said, ‘Excuse me?’ I said, ‘I’m sorry, I really can’t explain why it’s so funny.’ Down to reality with a thump! I’m happy for me, don’t get me wrong, but I’m really thrilled for Glenn [Close]. I’m just running along on Glenn’s coattails really [as a Globe and SAG nominee]. She’s just worked so hard to get this up and done.” –-Timothy Appelo

ANALYSIS: Don’t Smack Your Forehead – It’s Just the Globes

Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method — best supporting actor, motion picture: Mortensen learned the news in Madrid, where he’s starring in Ariel Dorfman’s play Purgatorio. “I’m very surprised and pleased,” he told THR. A Dangerous Method marks the third time that director David Cronenberg and Mortensen have worked together. “Our movie hasn’t seemed to get much recognition, and I wish David Cronenberg would have bee nominated. He’s the most talented invisible director in the movie business.” Mortensen also praised A Dangerous Method co-star Keira Knightley. “What she did was something a young Meryl Streep would have done,” he said. Mortensen also conceded that he was terrified of so much dialogue — Dangerous Method charts the turbulent relationship between the young psychiatrist Carl Yung and his mentor Sigmund Freud, and the woman who came between them. “Going straight from that to Purgatoria was like going from the frying pan into the fire,” he confessed. — Pamela McClintock

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn — best supporting actor, motion picture: Kenneth Branagh arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday night from Sweden, where he was filming the television murder mystery series Wallender. He learned of the Globe nomination from Simon Curtis, director of My Week with Marilyn, which also landed a nomination for best picture in the musical/comedy category, as well as earning Michelle Williams a nomination for best actress in a comedy or musical. “My wake up call was hearing from the happiest director in the world,” Branagh told THR. — Pamela McClintock

Letty Aronson, producer of Midnight in Paris — best motion picture, comedy: “We’re so happy about it, we certainly are. You do a movie, you always think it’s great. Sometimes it hits with people and sometimes it doesn’t. This one definitely, something about it appealed to people of all ages. Which was very nice. Then when you get to awards season, if you’re nominated, it’s very gratifying, definitely. [Woody’s] always pleased as opposed to not pleased a) that people go see it, and b) that it is recognized for awards. For any filmmaker it’s a good experience.“ –Jay Fernandez

STORY: ‘The Artist’ Director, Cast Celebrate Golden Globe Nominations

Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids — best actress in a comedy, motion picture “I’m going to eat some donuts then go to work,” announced Wiig. Wiig’s duties on Saturday Night Live have her working late and sleeping late, so she wasn’t up for the official announcements but woke up to a slew of emails, the first one being from her agent at UTA. It contained a lot of exclamation points. “I’m speechless. I’m ecsatatic. I’m elated,” she said. “It’s hard to wrap your head around it. You set out to make a little movie and you don’t know how people are going to react to it.” –Borys Kit

Judd Apatow, producer of Bridesmaids — best motion picture, comedy: The king of comedy was about to sing happy birthday to his 14-year-old daughter when he learned that Bridesmaids landed a Golden Globe nomination for best motion picture—drama or comedy. “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to steal her moment. Can you imagine if I said, ‘put down that cake, this is daddy’s moment?’ Apatow said he is thrilled for Kristin Wiig, who earned a nomination for best actress in a motion picture, comedy or musical. She both wrote and starred in the comedy. “Kristin worked for so many years on the script. It shines through in every moment of the Universal movie, and her performance is really amazing.” Apatow said he was celebrating by going to the dermatologist, followed by a shrink appointment. — Pamela McClintock

STORY: ‘New Girl’s’ Zooey Deschanel on Golden Globe Noms: ‘There Was a Lot of Nerdy Love’

Albert Brooks, Drive — actor in a supporting role, motion picture — For yesterday’s SAG Awards, Brooks got up early to watch the nomination announcements only to walk away empty handed. Once bitten, twice shy, he stayed clear of today’s Golden Globe nominations and slept in. It was only when woke up and signed on to Twitter that he saw the news of his nomination. “I was very pleased,” Brooks said. He wished that fellow actor Ryan Gosling, director Nicolas Refn and the movie received accolades but isn’t dwelling on the omission. “The truth is, you can’t figure out the answer,” he says. “You can make a movie, someone will see it and think it reminds them of their dead aunt, and hate it.” –Borys Kit

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants — best actress in a supporting role, motion picture: The young actress was at her home in Los Angeles when the Globe nominations were announced. “I haven’t spoken to George [Clooney], but Alexander Payne texted me and said congratulations. This is beyond great. Making the movie was a magical and profound time in my life. Everyone had such positive energy and to work for four months in Hawaii, I don’t how you couldn’t leave changed.”  Woodley, who also stars in the TV series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, isn’t sure what her next film project will be. “Until I read a script that gives me butterflies, I’m not going to jump on that horse again.” — Pamela McClintock

Jim Burke, producer of The Descendants —  best motion picture, drama: Burke got up in the morning to watch the Golden Globe nominations but couldn’t find what channel they were on (sorry, NBC) so he went back to bed. “I was all psyched,” he said. “Oh well, I know the results, and that’s what counts. I couldn’t be happier!” One thing does make Burke happier than the five nominations the movie received this morning and that’s seeing the movie with an audience. “Going into a movie theater and watching with an audience, that to me seems like the best reward,” he said. “I love hearing them laugh, I love seeing them cry, I like it when they get mad at characters. It feels so good that they are with you.” –Borys Kit

Seth Rogen, producer and star of 50/50, was asleep at his home in Los Angeles when the Golden Globe nominations were announced. He didn’t expect the film — also starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt — to be nominated, so didn’t bother getting up to watch the Globes announcement. “My home phone rang, which it never does. I was scared at first,” a laughing Rogen told THR about hearing. One of the calls he fielded as the news sunk in was from his good friend Jonah Hill, who was nominated for best supporting actor for Moneyball. “The fact that any of us are getting nominated for anything is ridiculous, but it’s really exciting,” Rogen said. On a more serious note, Rogen said he hopes the nomination will make people more aware of 50/50, about a man grappling with cancer who turns to his good friend for support. “I hope it makes people who were afraid to see the movie realize that it is in fact a comedy,” he said. — Pamela McClintock

Sarah Smith, Arthur Christmas –best animated feature: “I was cooking with my two-year-old when I got the call, trying to make sure she didn’t actually stick her hands in a hot pan of rice and chicken. Before I knew it, she was eating a chocolate she seized from the bottom shelf of a shop. There’s clearly been a lot of competition in the market with family movies. I hope the endorsement it gets from the Globes will call it to people’s attention so they won’t miss it. But my daughter is going to be on a sugar high. I’m going to pay for this later.” –Timothy Appelo

Sir Elton John, Gnomeo & Juliet, “Hello Hello” — best original song: “I got back from an Australian tour, kind of jet-lagged, I’m looking for a birthday card for our son, and David [Furnish] was on the phone saying, ‘You’ve gotten a Golden Globe nomination.’ I was completely flummoxed. “Hello Hello” is light and cheerful — The Beatles did “Hello Goodbye,” it’s got the same feel to it. I was on dangerous ground with the title, but It has that light and cheerful, rousing chorus thing. You have to be careful not to be accused of plagiarism, to be as close to it as possible without stealing anything. This is the first time I’ve been nominated with Bernie [Taupin] except for the Grammys. He won a Globe for Brokeback Mountain, I won for Lion King, so we’re hoping we can put one up together. But it’s a fun night win or lose. If you lose at the Oscars, it’s like, ‘Oh, GOD!’ The Globes have far more surprises. In recent years you know who’s going to win the Oscars, and it’s boring. With the Globes, they come out with left-field things time after time after time. And that’s what makes the evening more fun.” –Timothy Appelo

Graham King was woken up by his two daughters, aged 22 and 15, for the nominations, just in time to see three of the four movies he produced this year land major Golden Globe nominations. “It’s a nice wake-up call,” he said, adding he was equally elated that his daughters felt so invested and excited. One reason King felt proud is that the three movie – Hugo, Rango, and In the Land of Blood and Honey – involved directors doing something new for the first time. “It’s Gore (Verbinski) doing animation, Angie (Jolie) directing, and Marty (Scorsese) doing this kind of genre and in 3D,” he summed up. Just don’t ask him to choose a favorite or root for one more than the other. “I don’t have favorites,” he says. “I treat my children all the same.” –Borys Kit

Gore Verbinski, director of Rango — best animated feature: Verbinski was coming down the stairs for a morning job when his wife stopped him, said “Congratulations,” and handed him a cup of coffee. “I had a moment then ran through the trees with a smile on my face,” Verbinski said. “We came out in March and to still be thought about this late in the year was very nice.” Verbinski made his animated feature debut with Rango, making him part of a cross-pollinating trend that sees Steven Spielberg making his first motion capture/animated movie with The Adventures of Tintin while animated directors such Brad Bird jump into live-action (with the new Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol). “Animation, video games, live-action are all colliding and influencing each other. It’s healthy,” added Verbinski. –Borys Kit

STORY: ‘Breaking Bad’s’ Bryan Cranston Reacts to Globe Nom: ‘I Don’t Know When This Love Affair is Going to End’

Chris Miller, director of Puss in Boots – best animated feature film: Chris Miller learned about the nomination from his publicity team. “I got a text saying I should get a tux, and it ended with a sideways smiley face,” Miller said. “Getting this nomination is such an honor, and I’m grateful to be associated with a ceremony that has so much film history attached to it. It’s going to be a blast.” — Pamela McClintock

Mireille Enos, The Killing — best actress in a TV drama series: “So we are in our third week of shooting Season Two of The Killing, this week we will complete the first two episodes. It will air, I think, beginning of April. So yes, I get to have a Golden Globe nomination while I go to the set. I know, it’s so fun that I get to go to work today. It’s really really sweet,” the actress said. “The Golden Globes feel weighty, because it crosses into film. It feels like a very big deal. I wasn’t expecting this at all. It feels really big. Now I need a really, really big dress.” –Merle Ginsberg

Producer Denise Ream, Cars 2 — best animated feature film: “I’m going to go to work and get our key supervisors and managers and hopefully have a glass of champagne later today.” Ream told THR she exchanged texts with John Lasseter early in the morning upon learning about Pixar’s Cars 2 nomination. “It said, ‘Congratulations! Yippee!’ And had a whole lot of smiley faces and exclamation points,” Ream described. She said the film presented some unique challenges – a switching of genres, a huge number of characters and locations – and said nominations mean a lot for animation crews, who spend years on projects. –Borys Kit

Abel Korzeniowski, W.E. — best original score: “It was pretty weird, because I couldn’t sleep all night, what woke me up was my phone started twitting. So I found out on Twitter, before I could find any confirmation from the internet. It was a little different this time [from being nominated in 2009 for A Single Man], because it became more real this time. But not less thrilling. My phone informed me of the great news, then it went dead. It didn’t survive the flood of tweets and emails. I talk on the new one now. This score is much richer and more complex than A Single Man. I use the themes in the same way W.E. was shot. A lot of the time we see a face in a mirror or reflection. My musical themes appear once, then again in a different context, almost unrecognizable, but without changing a single note. The melody in the first scene, full of sadness and despair, is transformed into something very optimistic and hopeful and uplifting at the end. It was something I hadn’t tried before.” –Timothy Appelo

STORY: Golden Globes TV: Newcomers ‘Homeland,’ ‘New Girl’ and ‘Boss’ Each Score Multiple Nominations

Asghar Faradi, A Separation — best foreign language film: “The phone rang at 6 a.m., I was awoken abruptly and told the film had been nominated. This is my fourth trip in recent weeks to North America — Telluride, Toronto, New York, now L.A. — and I’ve had interviews every single day. This is an activity I find much more difficult than filmmaking because all these questions arise in a very short time. The answer I give might not convey all I want to say. I wrote the script in four months. Even if I had four months to answer questions, I would say, can I have eight months? But if they gave me more time, the answer would wind up being the same.”

Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, was delighted to find out that along with Emmy-nominated Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern, leading actor Hugh Bonneville was also recognized for his efforts on the British period drama. “This is very much a team show,” a chipper Fellowes told THR early Thursday. “The cast, I think, is the main reason why we’ve done so well. Elizabeth and Maggie were nominated for Emmys and now Hugh has been added to that number. That is rather important to me; I wrote the part for him. I was absolutely determined we should get him. He has made it tremendous success of it, so I couldn’t be more pleased to see him recognized.” Downton Abbey premieres its sophomore effort shortly in the U.S. on PBS, but Fellowes is already plotting for the third season, which begins filming in February. “I have to get moving,” Fellowes said with a laugh. “We do have to have probably six or seven of the scripts ready before we start just so everyone knows what we’re doing.” Fellowes was previously nominated for Gosford Park. –Philiana Ng

Farhad Safinia, creator of Boss — best TV series, drama: TV newcomer Farhad Safinia was extremely optimistic that the Golden Globe nomination for freshman political thriller Boss would help raise awareness of the little-seen Starz drama. “It’s a network trying to do something different — something courageous and cool — and it takes time [to build an audience],” he said of the series, which also collected star Kelsey Grammer’s first Globe nom in the drama category. “I think this will help in that direction. “People who pay attention to the Golden Globes I hope will pay attention to the show.” — Lesley Goldberg

ANALYSIS: How Golden Globe, SAG Film Noms Will Impact the Oscar Race

Callie Thorne, Necessary Roughness — best actress in a TV drama series: One day after USA Network snagged a shocking SAG nomination for Suits star Patrick J. Adams, the cabler continued on its roll with Necessary Roughness‘ Callie Thorne, receiving kudos in the leading actress in a drama TV series category. “I was awoken with my cell phone by my bed going bippidy-boop, bippidy-boop and trying to ring at the same time,” Thorne, who was staying at her mother’s house, happily told THR. “I was so groggy and so not aware that I really was like, ‘What’s happening? What’s the mistake going on?’ ” Thorne admitted she could barely contain her excitement. “I woke up my mother, I terrified her by jumping on the bed,” the Rescue Me vet recalled. “I love that I’ll remember this morning being with my mother because I owe so much to her and she’s been the most supportive.” Co-star Scott Cohen, whom Thorne has known for almost 20 years, was the first to congratulate her on the nom: “It very much warms my heart that I heard from him first, just because we had such a connection from before the show as friends.” Thorne said that HFPA’s recognition of her work hopefully will mean more eyeballs to her show when it returns next year. “I like the idea of more people coming in to discover what is so remarkable,” she says. –Philiana Ng

Martin Scorsese, Hugo — best director, motion picture: “Making Hugo was an extraordinary experience for me. It gave me a chance to work in 3D, which I’ve wanted to do since I was young; it allowed me to make a child’s adventure, the type of picture that I loved when I was young; and it provided an occasion to pay tribute to one of the cinema’s greatest pioneers, Georges Méliès. Given the support they’ve provided to The Film Foundation in our efforts to restore many films over the years, the recognition of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for this particular picture has a very special meaning for me.”

COMPLETE LIST: 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominees

Angelina Jolie, In the Land of Blood and Honey  — best foreign film:  “I am grateful that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is honoring our film. This was a true collaboration and I am forever indebted to our cast and crew, who experienced their own personal tragedies in the Bosnian War and gave me an authentic  perspective into the conflict. This nomination is a tribute to the collective talent and passion of this extraordinary cast.”

Pedro Almodóvar, The Skin I Live In — best foreign film: “I am very happy with my Golden Globe nomination for my latest film The Skin I Live In. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has always been very generous with me and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I’m competing with other foreign films that are so fabulous; I don’t mind being defeated by any of them. For me, the award will be being at the Beverly Hilton sharing dinner and mineral water with so many people I admire.”

Laura Dern, Enlightened — best actress in a TV comedy series: “I am so thrilled and grateful for the support for our show “Enlightened” by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. This has been such an incredible character to play, with an amazing cast, extraordinary writing, and of course only made possible by the team at our fearless, HBO home.”

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady — best actress in a drama, motion picture: “I’m thrilled to be included in this beautiful group of actors and actresses. I’m very proud of our movie and look forward to seeing everyone at the party in January.”

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist — best director, motion picture: “It’s a great privilege and an honor for us to be nominated for a Golden Globe award by the HFPA. This movie is a love letter to Hollywood, and it’s an indescribable joy to receive this news. I feel lucky, proud and excited to be included alongside such brilliant movies. Thank you.”

STORY: ‘The Artist’ Tops Golden Globe Nominations 

Aaron Sorkin, co-writer of Moneyball — best screenplay, motion picture: “It’s a thrill to share this honor with Steve Zaillian and have Moneyball nominated alongside these four fantastic screenplays. I hope people really are judged by the company they keep.”

Berenice Bejo, The Artist — best supporting actress, motion picture: “A Golden Globe nomination is unbelievable!  I am so happy, and am very grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and to audiences across America, for their support of The Artist.”

David Duchovny, Californication — best actor in a TV comedy series: “The Hollywood Foreign Press has always been supportive. As always, I am grateful for the recognition, especially with so many fine actors in comedy all across television, and, most of all, happy for everyone on the show as we all share in this. And the HFPA throws by far the best party of the endless awards season.”

STORY: ‘New Girl’s’ Zooey Deschanel on her Globe Noms: ‘There was a lot of Nerdy Love’

Kelsey Grammer, Boss — best actor in a TV drama series: “It is rewarding, not only to receive personal recognition from the HFPA, but to see that those who worked so hard and tirelessly to make Boss a reality were also recognized.”

Jeremy Irons, The Borgias — best actor in a TV drama series: “I am delighted to be nominated for my work in Neil Jordan’s The Borgias. In truth I know it reflects the tireless efforts and exceptional talents of all those who bring this splendid series to the screen. Without the magnificent work in the costume and set design, script writing, lighting and camera work, and the constant care in the direction, production, and marketing, this series would not have grabbed its audience as it appears to have done. That I am surrounded by a talented and dedicated cast is self-evident. But, of course, if you want to nominate anyone, and escape with your life, then you’d better first nominate the Pope.”

Alexander Payne, The Descendants — best drama, motion picture & best director, motion picture: “I’m very touched by the HFPA’s recognition of The Descendants among so many other fine films this year, and I’m particularly gratified by theinclusion of Shailene Woodley along with George Clooney for acting honors. I’m looking forward to the Golden Globes dinner and hope they provide a low-sodium option.”

Thomas Langmann, The Artist producer — best motion picture, drama: “They said I was crazy to take on making a black and white, silent movie, but I had a feeling The Artist could be something special, something magical. I’m so thankful that audiences are taking a chance and embracing it with a spirit of adventure and love of cinema. And today we are grateful for the incredible honors we received from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.”

STORY: ‘Enlightened’ Creator Reacts to Golden Globe Noms: ‘It Would Be Nice to Celebrate With a Pickup’

Asghar Farhadi, writer/director/producer of A Separation — best foreign languange film: “For myself and for all my collaborators on this film as well as for the extended family of Iranian cinema to which I belong, the selection by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association of A Separation as a nominee for the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe is a significant event and it makes us all happy. The nomination gives me greater resolve and encouragement to continue making this kind of cinema.”

Idris Elba, Luther — best actor in a TV mini-series or motion picture: “I wasn’t expecting this at all. The first nomination was massive, but two years in a row is colossal!! Wow. I can’t wait to swap ‘How surprised were you?’ stories with Ricky Gervais. Thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press and go Luther!!”

Chris Cornell, Machine Gun Preacher, “The Keeper” — best original song, motion picture: “I was dead asleep after staying up with my family, the four of us with two beds pushed together watching Hook. It’s a huge honor for me and also an opportunity for a song to have a little more life and to get a message across. I tried really hard to write a song about the Sudanese orphan children without having lived those lives. “