Letter to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Dear Hollywood Foreign Press Association,
HI, Greg O'Neill here. I didn't have an opportunity to get a letter out to you before the Golden Globe nominations were announced. Truth is, I hadn't done much in the way of filmgoing in 2024, so I had not many requests to make.
That being said, I found out that I was happy with a lot of the choices that you made.
1. Young Woman and the Sea was the best movie I have seen so far from 2024. It was a beautiful prevailing against all odds story about Trudy Ederle, who was not expected to make it through the night when she was diagnosed with measles as a child in 1914 New Jersey. However, she not only lived, but she learned to swim. She gets trained by Charlotte Epstein, against the advice of her parents, who knew that her ears were extremely proned to infection. She was headstrong enough to go on to compete on the women's swim team in the 1924 Olympics. And the patriarchal society that had kept women from learning to swim for so long, which resulted in so many deaths in the ferry fire of 1914 on the Hudson, is what prompts Trudy to keep training to swim the English Channel. She wants to become the first woman to traverse the English Channel from France, going from Calais to Dover. I would have at least recommended Daisy Ridley for Best Actress in a Drama, and Best Original Score. It came up with zero Golden Globe nominations.
2. Hit Man was my 2nd favorite film that I have seen from 2024. Glen Powell began his moment in 2024, or rather continued his moment from 2022, by playing Gary, a straight-laced psychology professor who preaches to his class about society, about finding and rooting out the bad people, and how societies past would figure out who the bad seeds were, killing them before they could use their power to do harm to lots of people. As for Gary, he's not only a college professor. In addition to his day job, he has been doing routine moonlighting for the New Orleans Police Department, first helping with the process of wiretapping and collecting evidence, but upon request to serve as an understudy, finds out that he could fill in as a fake Hit Man used in sting operations to shake down potential murder-for-hire clients. He meets a girl that he ultimately likes, even though she tried to ask him to murder her boyfriend. Wow, did this movie make me laugh. I would have asked for Glen Powell to get a nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. It did. I would have raised you a nomination for Best Picture Musical or Comedy. But it got the one nomination that I had hoped for. It probably helped that Richard Linklater's name was attached.
3. Twisters- I was really drawn in by the story of Kate Carter, an ambitious young meteorology student at university who leads her friends Javi, Eddie, and a group of others right out into the middle of a storm zone, hoping to collect data using the Dorothy prototype we all know and love from the 1996 original Twister. However, a dramatic turn of events puts the team in the direct path of a much deadlier twister than they were expecting. No county highway overpass is sufficient to protect everyone. So Kate abandons her project and takes up work in an NOAA office in New York. This is where Javi catches up with her years later, and he convinces her to come back to Oklahoma. He's working for a corporation that's designing a similar device to the Dorothy. Only this device can actually unleash a chemical agent that disrupts and dismantles the tornado. Of course, they keep running into Tyler, a YouTube star whose motto is "if you can feel it, chase it." Unlike Jonas in the original, though, Tyler's not entirely in it for the money. And he doesn't have a background in science that would make him an existential threat to Kate. He can actually help her. His truck, with its drillbit capacity to grind into the ground, could get her closer to the tornado than any other device. I know. I remember this from the trailer we saw at Furiosa A Mad Max Tale. I know that there aren't categories for scientific and technical achievements in the Globes. That being aid, you had the Outstanding Box Office Achievement category. Thank you for giving one to Tiwster. I would have also given a nomination to Best Original Song for that "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" song.
4. Mufasa: The Lion King- I was pretty deeply moved by the origin story for Mufasa, who's separated from his parents by a torrential rainstorm and subsequent flood. Much like his son Simba would be, years later, he's presumed dead. But he meets a young cub named Taka, heir to the throne of his own kingdom, as son of the king. Mufasa carries out some brave actions against some enemy white lions of Taka's pride. Taka and Mufasa wind up on a journey to find Melelee, which I figure out to be the Pride Lands. And from everything that I had read about Mufasa The Lion King in the lead up to its release, I had figured out that Taka would one day grow up to be Scar. It becomes a far more interesting tale when it introduces the love triangle. Sarabi arrives. Scar, I mean Taka falls in love with her first. He kind of claims her, and begs Mufasa to train him in the ways of winning over a lioness. Some spectacular comic awkwardness ensues, as Mufasa gives Taka some sincere, thoughtful advice on how to win her over. The thing is, Mufasa probably has some unprofessed, unaddressed, repressed affection for Sarabi. It comes full circle when he's able to rescue her from an invading stampede on the mountain trail. He tries to give Taka credit, being both gallant in keeping her safe, and gallant in letting somebody else take the credit. I kind of loved that moment! Of course, Sarabi only has eyes for Mufasa, and Scar will become bitterly jealous of him for that. I wound up loving Mufasa. It met expectations, maybe even exceeded them. I have it in fourth place, but it has the propensity to rise up higher after subsequent viewings. But it didn't get any Golden Globe nominations.
5. Jim Henson- Idea Man- This was a delightful Disney Plus documentary about the life and times of puppeteer Jim Henson. We see him from his humble origins, working on variety shows, comedy series and television specials, starting in local markets and moving his way up. By the mid 1960's, he is married and working on starting a family. And his short films are starting to gain traction. But it's Sesame Street that really launches him into the national public consciousness, and sets him on course to become a premier puppeteer of the 20th Century. Though he wasn't initially setting out to specialize with children's programming, that was the path that put him on course to do his passion project, The Muppet Show. This primetime series, shot in London, and syndicated to networks, would put him on a global orbit of entertainment and cement his legacy. We learn about the strains on his marriage and family. But we learn about all the lives he touched through his programming, through his stories. We learn about the chances he took in the 1980's, from The Dark Crystal to Labyrinth. We learned that he didn't know how much time he had, and he constantly wanted more. This is diametrically opposed to his ability to take care of himself, always gaunt, malnourished, and lacking in sleep. He had an infection that ultimately claimed his life in 1990, years before he had accomplished everything that he wanted to. The Golden Globes do not have a Documentary category, so I'm not sure for which this could be nominated. So I'll keep it in my back pocket for a letter to the Academy.
6. The Union- Mark Wahlberg Halle Berry action spy comedy on Netflix. In years past, this might have gotten Golden Globes nominations for Actor, Actress, and Film in the Musical or Comedy category. Instead, it had a low-key release on Netflix, and it popped up for me as a recommendation to watch over Thanksgiving break.
7. The Beach Boys- Again, a documentary, this time about the life and legacy of the Beach Boys, it informed me about the music that they had done, and I know that they have a deeper catalogue than the hits suggest. I've started to go down that rabbit hole as a result of watching the film, listening to The Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer compilation and Pet Sounds. I'm getting their Live in London album for Christmas. Again, since there are no original songs in here, probably not eligible for Golden Globe recognition.
8. Carry-On - A Netflix thriller starring Taron Egerton as a low-level TSA employee who has to choose between keeping the entire airport safe and doing everything that a mercenary working for a terrorist is telling him to do through the bluetooth device in his ear. I don't think this ever had a chance at Golden Globes nominations- but Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was playing on the main TV in the living room at the group home I was working, so this looked like an unqualified masterpiece by comparison.
9. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire- McKenna Grace, Best Actress in a Comedy.
10. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga- Anya Taylor-Joy, Best Actress in a Drama, or Alyla Browne, Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
I still need to finish The Throwback, which is a great comedy, but a low-key comedy I found on DVD. Justina Machado and Will Sasso are pretty great in the film, though!
Madame Web didn't get nominated for Cinematic and Box Office Success? Heh. Oh, wait, Deadpool and Wolverine did. I hope it loses to Wicked.
Thank you so much!
Greg O'Neill
HI, Greg O'Neill here. I didn't have an opportunity to get a letter out to you before the Golden Globe nominations were announced. Truth is, I hadn't done much in the way of filmgoing in 2024, so I had not many requests to make.
That being said, I found out that I was happy with a lot of the choices that you made.
1. Young Woman and the Sea was the best movie I have seen so far from 2024. It was a beautiful prevailing against all odds story about Trudy Ederle, who was not expected to make it through the night when she was diagnosed with measles as a child in 1914 New Jersey. However, she not only lived, but she learned to swim. She gets trained by Charlotte Epstein, against the advice of her parents, who knew that her ears were extremely proned to infection. She was headstrong enough to go on to compete on the women's swim team in the 1924 Olympics. And the patriarchal society that had kept women from learning to swim for so long, which resulted in so many deaths in the ferry fire of 1914 on the Hudson, is what prompts Trudy to keep training to swim the English Channel. She wants to become the first woman to traverse the English Channel from France, going from Calais to Dover. I would have at least recommended Daisy Ridley for Best Actress in a Drama, and Best Original Score. It came up with zero Golden Globe nominations.
2. Hit Man was my 2nd favorite film that I have seen from 2024. Glen Powell began his moment in 2024, or rather continued his moment from 2022, by playing Gary, a straight-laced psychology professor who preaches to his class about society, about finding and rooting out the bad people, and how societies past would figure out who the bad seeds were, killing them before they could use their power to do harm to lots of people. As for Gary, he's not only a college professor. In addition to his day job, he has been doing routine moonlighting for the New Orleans Police Department, first helping with the process of wiretapping and collecting evidence, but upon request to serve as an understudy, finds out that he could fill in as a fake Hit Man used in sting operations to shake down potential murder-for-hire clients. He meets a girl that he ultimately likes, even though she tried to ask him to murder her boyfriend. Wow, did this movie make me laugh. I would have asked for Glen Powell to get a nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. It did. I would have raised you a nomination for Best Picture Musical or Comedy. But it got the one nomination that I had hoped for. It probably helped that Richard Linklater's name was attached.
3. Twisters- I was really drawn in by the story of Kate Carter, an ambitious young meteorology student at university who leads her friends Javi, Eddie, and a group of others right out into the middle of a storm zone, hoping to collect data using the Dorothy prototype we all know and love from the 1996 original Twister. However, a dramatic turn of events puts the team in the direct path of a much deadlier twister than they were expecting. No county highway overpass is sufficient to protect everyone. So Kate abandons her project and takes up work in an NOAA office in New York. This is where Javi catches up with her years later, and he convinces her to come back to Oklahoma. He's working for a corporation that's designing a similar device to the Dorothy. Only this device can actually unleash a chemical agent that disrupts and dismantles the tornado. Of course, they keep running into Tyler, a YouTube star whose motto is "if you can feel it, chase it." Unlike Jonas in the original, though, Tyler's not entirely in it for the money. And he doesn't have a background in science that would make him an existential threat to Kate. He can actually help her. His truck, with its drillbit capacity to grind into the ground, could get her closer to the tornado than any other device. I know. I remember this from the trailer we saw at Furiosa A Mad Max Tale. I know that there aren't categories for scientific and technical achievements in the Globes. That being aid, you had the Outstanding Box Office Achievement category. Thank you for giving one to Tiwster. I would have also given a nomination to Best Original Song for that "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" song.
4. Mufasa: The Lion King- I was pretty deeply moved by the origin story for Mufasa, who's separated from his parents by a torrential rainstorm and subsequent flood. Much like his son Simba would be, years later, he's presumed dead. But he meets a young cub named Taka, heir to the throne of his own kingdom, as son of the king. Mufasa carries out some brave actions against some enemy white lions of Taka's pride. Taka and Mufasa wind up on a journey to find Melelee, which I figure out to be the Pride Lands. And from everything that I had read about Mufasa The Lion King in the lead up to its release, I had figured out that Taka would one day grow up to be Scar. It becomes a far more interesting tale when it introduces the love triangle. Sarabi arrives. Scar, I mean Taka falls in love with her first. He kind of claims her, and begs Mufasa to train him in the ways of winning over a lioness. Some spectacular comic awkwardness ensues, as Mufasa gives Taka some sincere, thoughtful advice on how to win her over. The thing is, Mufasa probably has some unprofessed, unaddressed, repressed affection for Sarabi. It comes full circle when he's able to rescue her from an invading stampede on the mountain trail. He tries to give Taka credit, being both gallant in keeping her safe, and gallant in letting somebody else take the credit. I kind of loved that moment! Of course, Sarabi only has eyes for Mufasa, and Scar will become bitterly jealous of him for that. I wound up loving Mufasa. It met expectations, maybe even exceeded them. I have it in fourth place, but it has the propensity to rise up higher after subsequent viewings. But it didn't get any Golden Globe nominations.
5. Jim Henson- Idea Man- This was a delightful Disney Plus documentary about the life and times of puppeteer Jim Henson. We see him from his humble origins, working on variety shows, comedy series and television specials, starting in local markets and moving his way up. By the mid 1960's, he is married and working on starting a family. And his short films are starting to gain traction. But it's Sesame Street that really launches him into the national public consciousness, and sets him on course to become a premier puppeteer of the 20th Century. Though he wasn't initially setting out to specialize with children's programming, that was the path that put him on course to do his passion project, The Muppet Show. This primetime series, shot in London, and syndicated to networks, would put him on a global orbit of entertainment and cement his legacy. We learn about the strains on his marriage and family. But we learn about all the lives he touched through his programming, through his stories. We learn about the chances he took in the 1980's, from The Dark Crystal to Labyrinth. We learned that he didn't know how much time he had, and he constantly wanted more. This is diametrically opposed to his ability to take care of himself, always gaunt, malnourished, and lacking in sleep. He had an infection that ultimately claimed his life in 1990, years before he had accomplished everything that he wanted to. The Golden Globes do not have a Documentary category, so I'm not sure for which this could be nominated. So I'll keep it in my back pocket for a letter to the Academy.
6. The Union- Mark Wahlberg Halle Berry action spy comedy on Netflix. In years past, this might have gotten Golden Globes nominations for Actor, Actress, and Film in the Musical or Comedy category. Instead, it had a low-key release on Netflix, and it popped up for me as a recommendation to watch over Thanksgiving break.
7. The Beach Boys- Again, a documentary, this time about the life and legacy of the Beach Boys, it informed me about the music that they had done, and I know that they have a deeper catalogue than the hits suggest. I've started to go down that rabbit hole as a result of watching the film, listening to The Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer compilation and Pet Sounds. I'm getting their Live in London album for Christmas. Again, since there are no original songs in here, probably not eligible for Golden Globe recognition.
8. Carry-On - A Netflix thriller starring Taron Egerton as a low-level TSA employee who has to choose between keeping the entire airport safe and doing everything that a mercenary working for a terrorist is telling him to do through the bluetooth device in his ear. I don't think this ever had a chance at Golden Globes nominations- but Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was playing on the main TV in the living room at the group home I was working, so this looked like an unqualified masterpiece by comparison.
9. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire- McKenna Grace, Best Actress in a Comedy.
10. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga- Anya Taylor-Joy, Best Actress in a Drama, or Alyla Browne, Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
I still need to finish The Throwback, which is a great comedy, but a low-key comedy I found on DVD. Justina Machado and Will Sasso are pretty great in the film, though!
Madame Web didn't get nominated for Cinematic and Box Office Success? Heh. Oh, wait, Deadpool and Wolverine did. I hope it loses to Wicked.
Thank you so much!
Greg O'Neill