The Golden Globe website has a terrific archive. So terrific, it’s depressing. It lists all the winners and nominees for the past 56 years and, taking advantage of this, Gary Quinn began to search for Irish winners.
Starting with ’99 I began to work backwards, year by year - after 20 years of results I gave up. In twenty years there wasn’t a single Irish tagline, not even the son of a son of a would be actor. Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker made the ceremony in 1990 with My Left Foot, but lost out to Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts respectively, on the night. Apparently Ireland has failed in two decades to ever make a mark on the Golden Globes winners enclosure.
With any luck though, that’s all about to change.
Neil Jordan’s latest film, The End of the Affair, has snapped up four nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. Quite a feat for a man who once came 108th in the credit listing for his first foray into film – John Boorman’s Excaliber in 1986. Since then Neil Jordan has gone on to Oscar glory with the Crying Game, Silver Berlin Bear acclaim for the Butcher Boy and the Silver Raven for his 1999 offering In Dreams.
Oft debated among filmmakers as to whether he is the best or least of Irish filmmaking, there can be no denying his success. Speaking at a screening of The End of the Affair recently he almost apologised for the seriousness of the piece to come. And it is a serious film, based on a serious book. Most Graham Greene fans will claim that it is true to the book, focusing on the relationships of the characters rather than on creating an overly exciting plot to engage them in. Although not a popular design in Hollywood, it is much more difficult to direct than hurtling down a freeway with all guns blazing.
But is it enough to claim the prize? Much of the mainstay of the awards hasn’t opened in Ireland yet. Given its seriousness and British based plot the End of the Affair could possibly find it’s polar opposite in American Beauty, a surreal comedy set in Anytown USA. And since they face each other in each award category Jordan’s film is nominated, the best competition lies between the two. Sam Mendes, the British director of American Beauty, has already claimed one prize. He has bagged six nominations against Jordan’s four, with Jordan losing out to Best Actor and Best Screenplay, a category particularly favoured by Jordan, always the writer at heart.
The awards ceremony kicks off on Sunday 23rd January from the Beverly Hilton Hotel at 8pm EST, which gives Ireland a 1am start. No doubt the Jordan team will be in attendance as the US Press clock up the credits. Hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the awards are a traditional ‘ready-reckoner’ for the Oscar nominations, which are set to be announced three weeks later. The full list of nominees is available at www.goldenglobes.org and the End of the Affairs individual stablemates are listed below. IFTN will publish the full list of winners here on Monday 24th.
Best Picture
American Beauty
The End of the Affair
The Hurricane
The Insider
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Best Director
| Norman Jewison | The Hurricane |
| Neil Jordan | The End of the Affair |
| Michael Mann | The Insider |
| Sam Mendes | American Beauty |
| Anthony Minghella | The Talented Mr. Ripley |
Best Performance by an Actress
| Annette Benning | American Beauty |
| Julianne Moore | The End of the Affair |
| Meryl Streep | Music of the Heart |
| Hilary Swank | Boys Don't Cry |
| Sigourney Weaver | A Map of the World |
Best Original Score
| Angelo Badalamenti | The Straight Story |
| George Fenton | Anna and The King |
| Lisa Gerrard and Pietar Bourke | The Insider |
| Ennio Morricone | The Legend of 1900 |
| Thomas Newman | American Beauty |
| Michael Nyman | The End of the Affair |
| Joclyn Pook | Eyes Wide Shut |
| John Williams | Angela's Ashes |
| Gabriel Yared | The Talented Mr Ripley |
